Maharashtra: All political parties agree on Maratha reservation
All political parties in Maharashtra agreed to reservations for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said after an all-party meeting on Wednesday. The meeting was called as demand for the reservation turned violent in several areas. While seeking time to implement it, leaders from all major parties urged Manoj Jarange Patil to end his hunger strike.
Why does this story matter?
The move is expected to placate the politically dominant Maratha community, which constitutes around one-third of the state's population. However, it can also escalate friction within communities falling under the OBC category since more rivals will now compete for the same share of resources. The government will now have to pacify the Kunbis and other OBC communities, who are against granting quota to Marathas.
Government seeks time to implement quota
Patil continues his fast-unto-death
CM Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, and the Leaders of Opposition of the state's two legislative bodies signed a resolution urging Patil to call off his fast and cooperate with authorities. Patil, who is leading the current wave of protests, has been on an indefinite fast for over a week.
Patil sought blanket OBC reservations for all Marathas
Shinde earlier said the state government will start issuing Kunbi certificates to Marathas from Tuesday, adding that Nizam-era records of 11,530 Marathas had mentions of Kunbi caste. Patil said that they weren't seeking any separate quota, but merely their inclusion under the Kunbi caste. He earlier said the government shouldn't distribute caste certificates to selected people but should grant blanket reservations to all Marathas.
Agitation turned violent in last few days
In the last few days, Maratha quota agitators have torched the NCP's office and houses of NCP MLAs Prakash Solanke and Sandeep Kshirsagar in Beed district. They set ablaze the BJP office in Hingoli district and vandalized the office of the BJP MLA in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. They also torched Karnataka government-run buses in Osmanabad district, prompting the suspension of bus services until normalcy.
