Maratha quota stir intensifies as Jarange pledges to give up water from tomorrow

Manoj Jarange's stir at Mumbai's Azad Maidan for Maratha quota entered the third day on Sunday (August 31) with the activist hardening his stand by maintaining his demand was constitutionally valid, even as some Maharashtra ministers from the BJP said the community must avail the existing EWS quota.

Also read | Jarange’s hunger strike continues; protesters turn Azad Maidan area into open camp

He refused to soften his stand after a delegation under retired HC judge Sandeep Shinde met him a day earlier. He has been demanding 10 per cent quota for Marathas and wants them to be recognised as Kunbis -- an agrarian caste included in the Other Backward Classes category -- which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.

Firm on quota under OBC

Asserting that he will not leave Mumbai till his demands are met, Jarange said, "From tomorrow, I will stop taking water as the government is not accepting the demands. But I am not going back till the quota demand is met. We will get Marathas reservation under the OBC category no matter what."

Meanwhile, Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Nitesh Rane, both from the BJP, have said the Maratha community should benefit from the existing EWS quota rather than being categorised as OBCs. Both Patil and Rane belong to the Maratha community.

Rohit Pawar funding protest?

Rane also accused NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar of funding Jarange's protest, and said he could provide proof if the latter denied it.

Speaking to reporters in Solapur district on Sunday, Chandrakant Patil said Marathas never faced untouchability and were not backward by caste, but shrinking landholdings over the years pushed them into financial distress.

Patil also said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is never rigid but there are some constitutional limitations. "Normally, delegations come to meet the CM, not the other way round. However, he (Fadnavis) is so flexible that he can even go. But it must bring a solution, not just lead to humiliation," Patil said.

‘Can’t classify all Marathas as Kunbis’

Rane claimed Jarange's demand to classify all Marathas as Kunbis and include them in the OBC category would not be acceptable across Maharashtra.

"If Jarange restricts his demand to Marathwada, the government may examine it. But in Konkan, where I come from, Marathas and Kunbis have distinct identities and are content with their present status. Marathas cannot get quota benefits through the OBC category," Rane said.

Efforts underway to resolve issue

Meanwhile, efforts to reach a solution continued at the state government level with Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis late Saturday night, sources said.

Also read | CM Fadnavis on Maratha quota: Govt working to resolve issue legally

Vikhe Patil heads a cabinet sub-committee on issues related to the Maratha community's demand for reservation and its social, educational and economic condition. The sub- committee is expected to meet again during the day.

Fadnavis has said the government was trying to find a solution to the issue within the constitutional and legal framework.

(With agency inputs)