Amid Jarange's Maratha quota stir, Bhujbal calls meet of OBC leaders in Mumbai on Monday

Mumbai, Aug 31 (PTI) Senior NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal has convened a meeting of OBC leaders to discuss the demand of activist Manoj Jarange seeking reservations for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes category.

Talking to PTI, Bhujbal, a prominent OBC face in Maharashtra politics, said the meeting will be held on Monday at 3pm here.

Representatives of the Samata Parishad headed by him and other OBC organisations have been invited, Bhujbal said.

"The Kalelkar commission and later Mandal commission have not included Marathas as a backward community. A chief minister can implement the commission recommendations and not include castes on his own," Bhujbal said on criticism that NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar didn't do anything for Marathas.

Bhujbal said even the High Court and Supreme Court have said Kunbis and Marathas are not same.

Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai since Friday over his demand for 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.

He has demanded that Marathas be recognised as Kunbis — an agrarian caste included in the OBC category — which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education. PTI MR BNM