‘CM Shinde is backing Maratha activist Jarange-Patil’
n the second phase of their agitation, they spoke to Surendra P Gangan at Bhagwangad, Ahmednagar, about their fight and the ruling government throwing its weight behind Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s agitation.
Bhagwangad/ Ahmednagar : The Other Backward Class (OBC) quota activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare are on a seven-day OBC Arakshan Bachav Jan Akrosh Yatra in three districts of Marathwada, to oppose the inclusion of Marathas in their quota. In the second phase of their agitation, they spoke to Surendra P Gangan at Bhagwangad, Ahmednagar, about their fight and the ruling government throwing its weight behind Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s agitation.
What is the objective behind the OBC Arakshan Bachav Jan Akrosh Yatra?
Hake: Our sole aim is to protect the OBC reservation. Recently, BJP leader Pravin Darekar said that the state government has spent ₹4500 crore from the state budget only for the Marathas. This is startling – the government has no right to spend people’s money on just one community, when OBCs who comprise 60% of the population only get 1% of the state budget. Strong horses are being made stronger at the cost of the weaker ones.
Why are you opposing the inclusion of Marathas in OBC quota?
Waghmare: OBCs account for 60% population but have just 10 MLAs while Marathas who account for 20% population have over 150 MLAs in the state Assembly. They are trying to eat into our political reservation in the local bodies through the OBC quota. We do not have adequate reservation in politics despite a quota in the local bodies and over 400 castes in the community.
Are you against 10% quota to Marathas given under SEBC Act?
Hake: Yes. They are not entitled to it as they are a dominant caste and have been rulers for decades. Their demand cannot stand legal scrutiny, and the apex court has struck it down in the past. Reservation to any community should be given on the basis of empirical data of its backwardness and following the triple test laid down by the court.
Marathas are not backward. There is difference between their and our backwardness. They will be concerned if their suits are not properly ironed or their children fail to get admissions to engineering; members of our community are still struggling to give basic education to our children.
They have ruled for years as MLAs, MPs, heads of the cooperative bodies like banks, sugar factories and milk societies.
Why should you oppose Maratha reservation if they are claiming to be Kunbis since Nizam and British era?
Hake: If that’s so, even Dhangars can claim that they were scheduled tribes in the past and therefore should be included in ST. Backwardness among the Marathas must be proven on parameters of their educational standards, social standing and professional gains.
The empirical data was collated by Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes (MSCBC) under justice Gaikwad and justice Shukre in 2018 and 2024 respectively.
Hake: As a former member of the MSCBC, I can openly challenge both the commissions – it was a sham data and betrayal of the constitution. The state, MSCBC and the judiciary had no mechanism to cross-verify data collected by the Shukre commission. It was akin to ‘mass copying’ in exams – questions and answers were provided ready-made during the commission’s survey.
How do you substantiate your claim that Manoj Jarange-Patil is being backed by the CM?
Waghmare: Apart from chief minister Eknath Shinde, Maratha MPs and MLAs are also supporting him. The CM is caste-ist and not acting as the head of 120 million people of the state. After orchestrating the split in Shiv Sena he managed to alienate a lot of people, including Marathas. To erase his tarnished image, he created the so-called leader Jarange-Patil. Shinde wanted to become the messiah of poor Marathas.
He would have succeeded too, but people understood the conspiracy; in fact some Maratha leaders are participating in the protest only to derail it.
So you feel Jarange-Patil’s agitation is political?
Waghmare: His agitation is the rule of the mob. The lathicharge on his strike (on September 1, 2023) was to fuel the agitation. More than 100 policemen and officers were injured but no cases were registered the way they should have been. Marathwada is under a Naxalite-like threat, but the state is looking the other way.
Are there other leaders backing him?
Waghmare: Senior-most leaders of the state are involved. Look closely – the activist does not target those he is in connivance with. On the one hand, they say the OBC reservation will not be touched, while on the other they support the demand for Kunbi certificates.
Pawarsaheb is our leader – he is progressive and knows the pulse of the people.
Your detractors say you are backed by NCP (AP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal.
Waghmare: Bhujbalsaheb is not the CM, and has no power to take any decisions. He has been fighting for the cause for years.
What about BJP and its leader Devendra Fadnavis?
Waghmare: Fadnavis had said BJP’s DNA is OBC. If that were the case, what did they do when the community’s quota was at stake?
Has last month’s hunger strike yielded anything?
Hake and Waghmare: It was not a complete success, but at least the notification of Sage-Soyare, which was on the verge of being issued, was delayed. They will now link the caste certificate with Aadhaar and act against the bogus certificates.
Are all the 400 OBC sub-castes with you? How will this affect Assembly polls?
Hake: Apart from OBCs, there are Muslims, Brahmins and non-Brahmins with us. I don’t know if there will be an impact in the Assembly polls, but there will be a larger impact on political arena, like Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, in the future.