Jalna: Maratha agitator Manoj Jarange announced he will stage the indefinite fast for reservation for Marathas from January 25.
Jarange appealed the Maratha community to showcase their strength and join his fast. "We will not back down now. The Maratha community should show its strength once again. We will not give up until we get reservation. The Maratha community should start preparing for the movement from tomorrow," Jarange said. His call for agitation has emerged as a challenge for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
He said the state government had started search for Kunbi records to provide reservation to the Maratha community. However, now the government has stiopped the search, he told mediapersons. He asked the government to search for the records and withdraw cases against Marathas who were part of his movement.
The activist argued the BJP-led government must show its intent to resolve the quota issue by taking concrete steps during the winter session of the state legislature which is being held in Nagpur. "The government has already expressed its commitment to addressing the Maratha community's demands. Now, we expect them to show their sincerity and dedication by taking concrete steps during the session," he insisted.
Jarange asked the government to implement the draft notification of Sage soyare (closed relatives), the Hyderabad, the Bombay and the Satara Gazetteers declaring Maratha as kunbi. Jarange has been demanding implementation of a draft notification that recognises Kunbis as ‘sage soyare’ (those related by birth or marriage) of Marathas and granting reservation in jobs and education to the latter under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. The agrarian Kunbi community already gets quota benefits under the OBC category. He also demanded speeding up the work of the Justice (retd) Sandeep Shinde Committee set up by the Maharashtra government to expedite the process of granting Kunbi certificates to members of the Maratha community, making them eligible for quota.
In February this year, the state legislature unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs under a separate category. However, Jarange has been insisting on quota to the community under the OBC head.
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