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OBCs start parallel stir against Maratha quota demand
On Saturday, OBC leaders said that they would lead a morcha towards Mumbai akin to Jarange-Patil in a fortnight’s time
Mumbai: A day after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil began an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai seeking blanket reservation for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, OBC activists on Saturday started a chain hunger strike in Nagpur to defend their 27% quota.
Hundreds of OBC activists gathered at the Samvidhan Chowk in Nagpur on Saturday morning to take part in the chain hunger strike as OBC leaders declared that they would continue with the protest until the state government assured them that Marathas would not be accommodated within the OBC quota.
“We do not oppose reservation for Marathas. But when they seek it from our quota, we will have to defend our rights,” said Babanrao Taywade, president of the National OBC Mahasangh.
None of the seven commissions which were formed following demands of reservation from Marathas had recommended the same, he alleged. “Hence they are trying to seek reservation through the back door,” he claimed.
In Maharashtra, the OBC quota is availed by 382 sub-castes and OBCs fear that inclusion of Marathas’ within the category would further shrink their prospects.
On Saturday, OBC leaders said that they would lead a morcha towards Mumbai akin to Jarange-Patil in a fortnight’s time. A statewide campaign would be started soon to create awareness among OBCs and consolidate them for the march to Mumbai, they noted.
Various OBC groups had started a parallel agitation against the Marathas last year, when Jarange-Patil led a morcha from Jalna to Mumbai and then chief minister Eknath Shinde assured that Kunbi certificates would be issued to all 57 lakh Marathas with Kunbi antecedents. A draft notification to this effect was also issued by the state social justice department but was not implemented under pressure from the OBCs.
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