Decisions on Maratha quota being implemented; no question of rollback: Vikhe Patil

Mumbai, Sep 9 (PTI) Maharashtra Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, on Tuesday said that decisions regarding reservations are already being implemented and there is no question of a rollback.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee, Vikhe Patil said that OBC leader and state Minister Chhagan Bhujbal's "misunderstandings" on the issue would be clarified in person.

The Other Backward Class (OBC) community has expressed apprehensions after the state social justice and special assistance department issued the GR on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer, which will allow eligible members of the Maratha community to apply for Kunbi caste certificates. This will enable them to claim quota under the OBC category after certificates are issued.

The government resolution (GR) was issued after the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation successfully persuaded quota leader Manoj Jarange to withdraw his hunger strike in Mumbai on September 2.

Vikhe Patil said, "The committee has kept its doors open for discussions with everyone. The effort is to preserve social harmony in the state, and the sub-committee is working on that line under the chief minister's guidance." The meeting reviewed the implementation of the decision to issue caste certificates based on the Hyderabad and Satara gazetteers.

Divisional commissioners and district collectors were consulted on how to scrutinise applications and grant certificates. Ministers Chandrakant Patil, Girish Mahajan, Ashish Shelar, Manikrao Kokate, Dada Bhuse, Shivrendra Raje Bhosale and Makarand Patil were present, along with senior officials.

Vikhe Patil informed that cases registered against Maratha protesters will be withdrawn by the end of the month, with district collectors and police superintendents submitting weekly reports to the committee.

Compensation to the families of 96 people who died during the quota agitations has already been released to district collectors, and steps are underway to fulfil assurances of government jobs to their kin, including posts in the state transport corporation and industrial development corporation, he told reporters.

The minister said that a detailed report has been sought about fines imposed on vehicles belonging to protesters during the quota agitation in Mumbai.

Earlier in the day, Akhil Bhartiya Mahatma Phule Samta Parishad, led by Bhujbal, wrote to the chief minister, urging him to withdraw or suitably modify the GR, claiming that it was issued "in haste under pressure from one powerful community" without cabinet approval or consultation with stakeholders from the OBC community.

Reacting to the development, Vikhe Patil stressed that decisions were taken without any pressure on the government after three to four meetings of the sub-committee.

"If there are misunderstandings, we will meet and clarify them. There is no rigidity on our part," he said, adding that a separate sub-committee has been constituted for the OBC community, and joint meetings could help find solutions.

On activist Jarange Patil's announcement of resuming the agitation from September 17, Vikhe Patil said, "The sub-committee has already taken decisions and implementation has begun. But the time required for the process needs to be taken into account." PTI MR ARU