Taking all steps to issue Kunbi certificates to eligible Marathas: Maharashtra govt tells Bombay High Court

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The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it was taking all necessary steps to include eligible Marathas in the OBC category by granting them Kunbi caste certificates.

Advocate General Birendra Saraf told a division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Shyam Chandak that it has not been even 20 days since the government issued a draft notification stating that (eligible) Marathas would be included in the Other Backward Classes, but Jarange has already launched a hunger strike, newswire PTI reported.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by activist Gunaratan Sadavarte over disruption of law and order due to Jarange's ongoing agitation. Saraf said the government has always been sensitive to the situation.

"Last time people (Jarange and his followers) marched to Mumbai and the state took steps, including issuing a notification calling for objections to amend the rules. The law has a certain timeline. In situations like this, a continuous fast will lead to various situations which will become difficult," the advocate general told the court.

"The government is taking all steps to amend the rules to issue Kunbi caste certificates to persons from the Maratha community," he added. Kunbis, an agrarian community, get reservation under the OBC category.

The government was also concerned about Jarange's health and he should accept medical assistance, Saraf further said. Sadavarte, arguing himself, said frequent protests created law and order problems.

Jarange's lawyer Ramesh Dubepatil told the court that the activist was being administered saline.

The court said it would hear the matter further on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the health condition of Jarange is deteriorating, but he is not allowing doctors to examine him, an activist close to him said.

Talking to reporters from the protest site, Jarange warned the state government that in case he dies during his hunger strike, the members of the Maratha community would set Maharashtra on fire just the way Lord Hanuman did to Lanka.

Talking about his health condition, activist Kishor Markad said, "Jarange's indefinite fast has entered the fifth day and his health is deteriorating. His nose is bleeding, but he is not letting doctors examine him."

He is neither consuming water not taking his medicines, he added.

Among other things, Jarange has sought that a special session of the Maharashtra legislature be convened to convert the draft notification on 'blood relatives' of Kunbi Marathas into a law.

Warning the government, Jarange said, "In Ramayana, Lord Hanuman set Lanka on fire with the tail. If I die during my protest, the Marathas will turn Maharashtra into Lanka."

He also threatened that no public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be allowed to be held in Maharashtra.

The activist appealed to his community members to observe a peaceful 'bandh' called by the Maratha outfits in Jalna on Wednesday.

Jarange accused Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar of deceiving the Marathas by failing to implement the draft notification on "sage soyre" or blood relatives and for not withdrawing cases filed against the Maratha protestors during the agitation last year.

He alleged that Ajit Pawar was supporting minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal even as the latter was against the inclusion of Marathas into the OBC category.

This is the fourth time in less than a year that Jarange has been observing a hunger strike demanding the inclusion of the Maratha community into the OBC grouping. (With inputs from PTI)