Totally oppose 'sage soyare' demand, says VBA chief Ambedkar; backs OBCs

Kolhapur, Jul 26 (PTI) Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar on Friday said he opposes the 'sage soyare' demand of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange.

Jarange is seeking implementation of the Maharashtra government's 'sage soyare' (relatives by birth and marriage) notification to enable Marathas to get quotas under the category of Kunbis, who are part of the Other Backward Classes.

Speaking to reporters in Kolhapur, Ambedkar said, "In the Lok Sabha elections, OBCs did not get tickets, while 31 Kunbi-Maratha candidates were elected as MPs. The OBCs now think such a situation could arise in the upcoming assembly polls too. Therefore, considering the fears of the OBCs, we completely oppose the sage soyare demand." The 'sage soyare' demand amounts to "adulteration of quota" and courts have given decisions against it in the past, he added.

"In the last one-and-half months, seven OBC supporters were killed and the police records state it happened due to the conflict over quota," Ambedkar claimed.

He was here as part of the VBA's 'Arakshan Bachao Yatra', which began a day earlier in Mumbai. PTI SPK BNM