MUMBAI: Expressing his dissatisfaction with local officials on the issue of providing Kunbi (OBC) certificates to Marathas with Kunbi antecedents, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Tuesday held on to his ultimatum of holding a fast in Mumbai from January 20th if his demands were not met.
For the first time since his agitation began, Jarange Patil joined the state’s meeting on the Maratha quota online from Jalna and spoke to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.“I will not wait beyond January 20th. We have given the government seven months and I had withdrawn my fast on your assurance,” he said.
Jarange Patil has been demanding that Marathas with Kunbi antecedents be given Kunbi caste certificates which will bring them into the OBC category. The Justice Shinde committee which was formed to lay down the procedure for providing the Kunbi certificates had been formed last September.
“The local officials are not surveying all the villages in the district. In Beed, Hingoli and Nanded, many villages have been left out in the search of the Kunbi antecedents of the Maratha community,” alleged Jarange Patil. He also claimed that in some cases officials said no cases had been found, which was untrue. Also, local officials rejected legitimate proof of the Kunbi antecedents of Marathas, he alleged.
In response, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said there would be a special drive to survey all the villages. “We have taken this seriously. There will be a special drive and every village will be examined. There will be 100% coverage,” said Shinde.
Jarange Patil also said that when the Kunbi antecedent of a Maratha was found, then all the relatives of that person including those by marriage should be eligible for the Kunbi caste certificate. He also questioned why there was a delay in providing certificates, “when the gazettes say that all those in Marathwada are Kunbi.”
He also said that cases had not yet been withdrawn against Marathas who had participated in the agitation for the quota. “The government had promised to withdraw cases in two days but four months have passed and the cases have not been withdrawn,” said Jarange Patil.
Chief Minister Shinde said that the process had started. “The cases of those who participated in the protest through democratic means without indulging in violence will be withdrawn,” he said.
Shinde also asked district officials to cooperate with the survey which is being undertaken by the state’s backward class commission to prove the social and educational backwardness of the Maratha community. This is crucial in the state’s case for a Maratha quota in the Supreme Court. “The government wants to provide the Maratha quota in a way which will stick and not be struck down by the court,” he said.
For the first time since his agitation began, Jarange Patil joined the state’s meeting on the Maratha quota online from Jalna and spoke to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.“I will not wait beyond January 20th. We have given the government seven months and I had withdrawn my fast on your assurance,” he said.
Jarange Patil has been demanding that Marathas with Kunbi antecedents be given Kunbi caste certificates which will bring them into the OBC category. The Justice Shinde committee which was formed to lay down the procedure for providing the Kunbi certificates had been formed last September.
“The local officials are not surveying all the villages in the district. In Beed, Hingoli and Nanded, many villages have been left out in the search of the Kunbi antecedents of the Maratha community,” alleged Jarange Patil. He also claimed that in some cases officials said no cases had been found, which was untrue. Also, local officials rejected legitimate proof of the Kunbi antecedents of Marathas, he alleged.
In response, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said there would be a special drive to survey all the villages. “We have taken this seriously. There will be a special drive and every village will be examined. There will be 100% coverage,” said Shinde.
Jarange Patil also said that when the Kunbi antecedent of a Maratha was found, then all the relatives of that person including those by marriage should be eligible for the Kunbi caste certificate. He also questioned why there was a delay in providing certificates, “when the gazettes say that all those in Marathwada are Kunbi.”
He also said that cases had not yet been withdrawn against Marathas who had participated in the agitation for the quota. “The government had promised to withdraw cases in two days but four months have passed and the cases have not been withdrawn,” said Jarange Patil.
Chief Minister Shinde said that the process had started. “The cases of those who participated in the protest through democratic means without indulging in violence will be withdrawn,” he said.
Shinde also asked district officials to cooperate with the survey which is being undertaken by the state’s backward class commission to prove the social and educational backwardness of the Maratha community. This is crucial in the state’s case for a Maratha quota in the Supreme Court. “The government wants to provide the Maratha quota in a way which will stick and not be struck down by the court,” he said.
