Maratha quota: Maharashtra govt trying to give quota at the cost of OBC reservation, says Haribahu Rathod

Pic/Haribahu Rathod/X

Maratha quota: Former MP Haribhau Rathod on Sunday reportedly said that the Maharashtra government is trying to provide reservation in jobs and education to Marathas at the cost of the quota for Other Backward Classes but the move won't be tolerated by the OBCs, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, Following protests spearheaded by activist Manoj Jarange, the Eknath Shinde government is working towards giving Kunbi certificates to Marathas, said Rathod, an OBC leader, at a news conference in Thane.

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One of the demands of Manoj Jarange is that the Marathas should be given Kunbi caste certificates. The agrarian Kunbi community already gets quota benefits in the OBC category.

"This means there will be gross injustice to the OBCs," Rathod said, adding that they will not tolerate if the government starts providing Kumbi certificates to crores of Marathas.

OBCs will take to the streets, he said.

The former Lok Sabha member said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stressed that the reservation to the OBCs would not be disturbed.

"Chief Minister Eknath Shinde says that while giving quota to Marathas, there will be no injustice to other communities. But in the assurance given to Jarange Patil and as per the GR on Kunbi-Marathas, crores of Marathas will be given Kunbi certificates," Rathod claimed.

This will eat into the quota already provided under the OBC category.

Rathod said the government is now searching for proof to give quota to Marathas but is not making similar efforts to provide reservations to Pardhis and the Banjara community.

Rathod, a prominent Banjara leader, said their community should be included in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

Meanwhile, The administration in Thane district of Maharashtra has set up a special cell as per the directions of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to verify caste records for issuing Kunbi caste certificates to eligible persons from the Maratha community, an official said on Sunday, the PTI reported.

According to the PTI, the district Collector, Ashok Shingare, will monitor the work of the cell, which was set up on Saturday, and report the progress to the state authorities, an official press release stated.

The cell has been set up on the lines of the one in the Marathwada region and will verify the caste records based on which Kunbi caste certificates can be issued to eligible Marathas, it said.

(with PTI inputs)