Maratha quota: Talks with govt delegation fail; Jarange firm on continuing protest

Mumbai, Aug 30 (PTI) No headway appeared in sight as the talks between Maratha quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange and a government-appointed delegation ended inconclusively in Mumbai on Saturday.

Jarange also slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for sending former Justice Sandeep Shinde, who heads the committee set up by the state government to expedite the process of granting reservation to the Marathas, to hold parleys with him.

"It is not the job of Justice Shinde to issue a Government Resolution (GR) announcing grant of reservation to Marathas," Jarange said, vowing to continue with his two-day-old hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.

The government deputed the delegation earlier in the day to hold talks with the Maratha leader, who launched this latest round of protest on Friday at the sprawling Azad Maidan, with thousands of Maratha community members drawn from across the state thronging the area to extend their support.

Jarange has been demanding a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the OBC category. He wants Marathas to be recognised as Kunbis - an agrarian caste included in the OBC category - which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.

He has said that this protest was the community's "final fight" to get reservation.

The government delegation met Jarange in the afternoon.

He said the committee under retired judge Shinde had studied gazettes related to the issue for the past 13 months and now it was time for the panel to submit its report to pave the way for Marathas to get Kunbi status.

"Marathas in Marathwada must be declared as Kunbis and given reservation. The Hyderabad and Satara gazettes must be made into law for this," Jarange said.

In response, Justice Shinde said he wasn't authorised to give such a report, and added that it was the job of the backward class commission.

"Caste certificate is given to individuals and not the entire community," he said.

The entire conservation between Shinde and Jarange was beamed live on Marathi news channels.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jarange slammed CM Fadnavis for deputing retired judge Shinde to hold talks with him.

"It is not Justice Shinde's job to issue GR (government resolution) declaring Marathas and Kunbis as the same. It is an insult of the government, Raj Bhavan and state to send Justice Shinde here," he said.

Shinde told reporters the cabinet had given in-principle approval to the Hyderabad Gazette.

"I will go back to the cabinet sub-committee with details of my discussion with Jarange," he added.

Justice Shinde heads the committee formed in September 2023 by the then Eknath Shinde government to decide the methodology for issuing 'Kunbi' caste certificates to members of the Maratha community.

Speaking to reporters in the morning, Jarange asked the government not to spread misinformation that the Marathas were seeking reservation from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota.

"We are only demanding that we get our rightful share of quota based on the eligibility under the Kunbi category...We don't want to indulge in politics. We only want a reservation. The government should not test the patience of the Maratha community," he warned.

"We are not asking to reduce the OBC quota. Don't spread misinformation," he charged.

He further urged CM Fadnavis not to insult poor Marathas, and accused him of trying to create instability and vitiate the atmosphere in the state.

Before the government delegation met Jarange, state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said the issues raised by the Maratha leader were discussed in detail in the cabinet sub-committee, and the government was committed to resolving them positively.

Protesters gathered for the agitation at Azad Maidan complained about the lack of basic amenities at the protest site, which is located close to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters.

Jarange and thousands of his supporters braved the overnight rain, battled the mud on the ground and bemoaned the lack of basic amenities, including a paucity of water in the toilets.

Talking to reporters, Jarange accused BMC commissioner and state appointed administrator Bhushan Gagrani of not making food and water available to the protesters.

"The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has an administrator, and under the influence of the chief minister, he has stopped food and water for protesters. We won't forget this. You have closed public toilets and hotels. Let's see how many days you harass poor Marathas," he said.

Protesters are angry because they have been denied basic facilities, he added.

Responding to the charge, minister Vikhe Patil said, "We have discussed complaints of lack of water and sanitation for protesters, with CM Fadnavis regarding, and the issues are being resolved." Many of them complained of food scarcity, alleging that the government had shut down shops around the protest site. They also claimed that the ground lacked adequate facilities to ensure their safety and hygiene.

Amid the allegations, the BMC on Saturday afternoon claimed that it had put two truckloads of gravel in Azad Maidan and provided necessary amenities.

Puddles of mud at the protest site have been cleared and two truckloads of gravel have been spread. Regular cleaning is being carried out at the protest site by the sanitation workers and a medical help desk has been set up to provide healthcare services, it said. PTI MR DC KK ND PR VT ARU BNM NP