Jarange-Patil ready for dialogue, cabinet meet on Monday to discuss Maratha reservation

At the meeting, the government is expected to take a call on Jarange-Patil’s demand of issuance of Kunbi certificates to all Marathas to enable them to get benefits under the OBC quota

MUMBAI: Faced with the rapidly intensifying agitation for Maratha reservation, the state government has convened a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on Monday and is expected to start a dialogue with Manoj Jarange-Patil, who resumed his hunger strike on Wednesday. The Maratha activist, who was refusing to talk to the government, has now agreed.

Jarange-Patil, whose health has been deteriorating, said he was ready for dialogue with the government but there had been no official communication from the latter thus far. (ht pHOTO)

At the meeting, the government is expected to take a call on Jarange-Patil’s demand of issuance of Kunbi certificates to all Marathas to enable them to get benefits under the OBC quota. “We expect the meeting to be attended either by the CM or deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis,” said a Mantralaya official, adding that the government would probably reassure the Maratha community that its legal battle in the Supreme Court would be intensified. “It may also announce a plan to start issuing Kunbi certificates to those who possess documents,” he added.

Jarange-Patil, whose health has been deteriorating, said he was ready for dialogue with the government but there had been no official communication from the latter thus far. “We will wait for another two days, before giving them a befitting reply,” he said.

Public health minister Tanaji Sawant said that a contentious issue like reservation needed a comprehensive discussion. “This is being done by our CM, deputy CMs and several union ministers,” he said. “I am sure the issue will be resolved in the next one or two days.” Jarange-Patil, however, questioned why in that case the CM or deputy CMs were mum on the issue.

Balasaheb Sarate, one of the initial petitioners in the Maratha reservation case, said the government had no alternative but to issue Kunbi certificates to all Marathas on the basis of their profession and documentary evidence found so far. “There is no need for every Maratha to have individual documents,” he declared. “Once the class is identified as backward and Kunbi by virtue of its profession, that is enough. Seventy-five percent of Marathas in the rest of Maharashtra have already been identified as Kunbis. This is just a quarter that has been deprived. The government is not ready to accept this fact, as it is into appeasement politics to woo OBCs.”

Meanwhile, the Maratha community intensified its protest by stopping more politicians from entering villages and torching State Transport buses. Activists blocked the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar-Jalna highway and effigies of CM Shinde, deputy CM Fadnavis and prime minister Narendra Modi were burnt in villages in Kolhapur and Parbhani.

The opposition MVA, on its part, will meet governor Ramesh Bais on Monday to demand his intervention. On Sunday, NCP leaders Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad met Bais, demanding the same. “The governor should immediately tell the government to accord reservation to Marathas,” said Patil. “The government has constituted too many committees but not taken any decision.”

BOX

Demand and way ahead

What is the demand/issue?

Manoj Jarange-Patil has been demanding that all Marathas be issued Kunbi certificates to entitle them to benefits under the OBC quota. According to him, only 30 percent are outside the quota for want of certificates.

The committee under Justice (Retired) Sandeep Shinde has found only around 10,000 documents from the over-14 million documents scanned. Marathas, however, say these are sufficient to issue certificates to all.

What is the way ahead for the government?

The blanket inclusion of all Marathas in the OBC category will irk the OBC vote bank, which has already been assured that its existing quota will not be touched. The government is thus expected to buy more time by assuring the Marathas that it will fight a legal battle in the SC and also begin issuing certificates to those with documents. The curative petition filed by the state government to reconsider the quota quashed by the SC in May 2021 is expected to be admitted soon. The state could get another opportunity through it to solicit a quota for Marathas.