07 October,2016 08:30 AM IST | | Dharmendra Jore
Chandrakant Patil will soon face a Maratha morcha at Kolhapur; the party also passes resolution to give the caste a 16 per cent quota in jobs and education
Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil (left), Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and CM Devendra Fadnavis at the BJP's state executive meeting. Patil has been asked to negotiate with the agitating Maratha community
A concerned BJP has finally decided to make the first move to negotiate with the agitating Maratha community. It also passed a resolution on Wednesday to give the dominant caste, which is facing a legal hurdle in the Bombay High Court, a 16% quota in jobs and education.
The party chose a Maratha minister, Chandrakant Patil, to initiate talks with the community, which has been staging a show of strength across Maharashtra through Maratha Kranti Muk Morcha (silent march) over the past two months. Patil will face a morcha at his native Kolhapur on October 15, said a senior BJP leader.
State BJP president Raosaheb Danve said that the resolution was passed unanimously by party executives. Other than quota, the community is demanding harsh punishment for rapists in the Kopardi case, amendment to the Atrocities Act, and fast-tracking of construction of a memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai. They are also demanding a loan waiver for farmers.
Organisers of the Maratha agitation, which has no specific leadership from the established lot of Maratha leaders, has been refusing to conduct parleys with the BJP government.
Purushottam Khedekar, founder of Sambhaji Brigade, which is one of several participant organisations, told a news channel on Wednesday that CM Devendra Fadnavis should have met protesters on his own to break the ice.
"The government must give a reservation that stands scrutiny of the court," he said, referring to the erstwhile government's decision that was scrapped by higher courts. He said the best way to offer reservation was to accommodate Marathas in the existing OBC quota of 27%. The HC is expected to hear Maratha reservation case next week. The government has assured it will present its side in the strongest possible manner. But some Marathas don't think the government's argument seeking a quota for them will survive the court.
While Marathas are seeking their share in OBC reservation, the communities that enjoy quota in this category have started protesting the move.
OBCs protest Maratha move
Interestingly, Kunbi-Marathas, who actively supported Maratha agitation by taking out marches, have also started feeling the heat. A community which is known as Kunbis is also opposing the demand by Marathas.
Kunbi Yuva Mumbai, a community group from Konkan and Mumbai, issued a statement saying that they would take to the streets if they were robbed of their share in the OBC reservations. Other OBCs are grouping to counter challenge Marathas.
