Maratha quota protest: Maharashtra cabinet sub-committee discusses Jarange's demands

Mumbai, Aug 26 (PTI) The cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation discussed on Tuesday some of the demands raised by activist Manoj Jarange and granted a six-month extension to the Shinde panel.

The Shinde committee was established in September 2023 to frame a methodology for issuing OBC certificates for Marathas and find proof to establish Marathas as Kunbi OBCs.

The sub-committee meeting reviewed matters related to the Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Satara gazettes, as well as demands concerning the inclusion of "sagesoyare" under the reservation framework, state minister and the sub-committee head Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told reporters.

Jarange has been demanding the implementation of the "sage soyare" draft notification. The Marathi term “sage soyare” means through birth relations and through relations by marriage.

Vikhe Patil has appealed to Jarange to reconsider his decision to stage demonstrations for quota, saying more meetings will be held to address his concerns.

"The Shinde Committee on Maratha reservation has been granted a six-month extension, a demand put forth by Jarange, which the sub-committee accepted in its very first sitting," he said Jarange has been demanding that all Marathas be recognised as Kunbis — an agrarian caste included in the OBC category — which will make them eligible for reservations.

"The government's approach to the Maratha reservation is positive. There is no negative stance on the issue, but decisions will have to be taken within the legal framework," Vikhe Patil said.

He recalled that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had taken a special initiative to grant a 16 per cent reservation to Marathas (during his first term as chief minister), which was later struck down.

He alleged that the erstwhile MVA government had failed to sustain the reservation.

"After the change of government, Fadnavis decided on a 10 per cent reservation," he added.

The Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act was enacted in February 2024, granting a 10% reservation to the Maratha community for government jobs and educational admissions, based on findings by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC).

Jarange has announced he would set out for Mumbai with supporters on August 27, the first day of the Ganesh festival, and sit on an indefinite fast on Friday if the government failed to grant the 10 per cent reservation to Marathas under the OBC grouping. PTI MR NSK