Shinde government cedes ground, accepts slew of demands by OBC groups

The delegation had the chief minister speak to the activists on the phone, when he assured them that no injustice would be done to the community

MUMBAI: On day-nine of the indefinite hunger strike by two Other Backward Class (OBC) activists -- Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare – in Wadigodri village, Jalna, protesting the government’s ‘soft treatment’ to Marathas by allowing its members reservation from the OBC quota, chief minister Eknath Shinde chaired a meeting attended by his deputies Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, along with a delegation representing the two activists, at Sahyadri guest house on Friday. After the deliberations the state government accepted the slew of demands made by the OBCs.

No blanket reservation for Marathas from OBC quota, says government

The meeting at Sahyadri took place in the evening after a delegation comprising senior ministers and leaders met Hake and Waghmare on Friday morning, and requested them to call off the strike. In response, the activist demanded a written assurance from the government that the OBC quota would not be affected by any means. The delegation had the chief minister speak to the activists on the phone, when he assured them that no injustice would be done to the community.

After the meeting at Sahyadri, it has been decided that apart from the scrutiny of the OBC certificates given to Marathas, a cabinet sub-committee will be formed to discuss the reservation issues of the community. The caste certificates will be linked to respective Aadhaar cards to avoid their misuse. While the government admitted that there would not be blanket reservation for Marathas, as it will not stand in a court of law, it assured to reconsider the draft notification issued for Sage-Soyare (blood relatives).

A delegation of at least seven ministers will meet Hake and Waghmare on Saturday and request them to call off the strike. An all-party meeting will be held in the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislature from June 27, and the government has decided to invite the two activists on June 29.

Others who attended the meeting at Sahyadri were state ministers Girish Mahajan, Atul Save, Dhananjay Munde, Uday Samant, Sanjay Bansode, BJP’s OBC faces Pankaja Munde, Gopichand Padalkar, leader of opposition and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, apart from the delegation representing Hake and Waghmare.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Bhujbal said: “The chief minister has assured that caste certificates will not be issued fraudulent means. The government will probe Kunbi caste certificates issued recently and if it comes to light that the documents were forged, both the beneficiaries and the concerned officials will face action.”

Linking the certificates with Aadhaar cards will eliminate possibilities of individuals taking advantage of several government schemes based on caste certificates. Bhujbal added: “The cabinet sub-committee to look into the issues of the OBC community will be along the lines of a similar committee formed for the Maratha community in the past.”

Bhujbal, who is also an OBC leader, came down heavily on the issue of draft notification which allows issuing Kunbi certificates to blood relatives of Marathas. He alleged it was being done fraudulently and demanded the certificates be scrapped.

“We pointed out several lacunae in the draft notification. There is already a document that defines the process of issuing of caste certificates including the process of verification. The draft notification will disturb the existing process unnecessarily. It was then decided to call an all-party meeting to discuss and resolve,” the NCP leader said, adding that the CM had assured no injustice will be done to either Marathas or OBCs.

Meanwhile, in Pune advocate Manoj Sasane has been on hunger strike for the last few days opposing the demands made by Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. A ministerial delegation will be sent here to convince him to withdraw the protest.