‘Enforce GR, start giving Kunbi certificates to Marathas before Sep 17’

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday demanded that the Maharashtra government implement a GR issued last week for issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas before September 17, or else he will take a “tough decision” again.

Jarange also claimed 96 per cent of their demands have been fulfilled and asserted his struggle for “full justice” to the Maratha community will continue.

He expressed confidence that the Maratha community members from Marathwada and western Maharashtra will get reservation.

The activist ended his five-day-old fast for quota in Mumbai on September 2 when the government announced forming a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members with historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a social group classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in the state.

The government made the announcement in a resolution and it followed hectic talks between state ministers and Jarange.

The Kunbi is a traditional farming community in the state and they have been included in the list of OBC category in Maharashtra in order to make them eligible for government reservations in jobs and education.

The government resolution (GR) issued by the social justice and special assistance department also mentioned about implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer.

“We expect that the government will ask the taluka level offices in the state to act upon the GR. We expect that the work should start before September 17. If not done, I will have to make tough decisions,” Jarange told reporters at a hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where he was undergoing treatment after he called off his agitation last week.

“The distribution of certificates should start based on the GR before September 17. I believe the government will act on it. If they listen to someone from Yeola (apparently referring to minister Chhagan Bhujbal) and anything goes wrong, we will also challenge the 1994 GR that gave our reservation to others,” Jarange said.

Bhujbal, an OBC leader and MLA from Yeola in Nashik district, has been opposing reservation to Marathas under the Other Backward Classes category. mpost