Maharashtra: Manoj Jarange urges OBC leaders to focus on Dhangar quota, not criticise Maratha reservation demand

Manoj Jarange/ PTI

Activist Manoj Jarange urged OBC leaders on Monday to focus on getting reservations for the Dhangar group under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category rather than opposing the demand for Maratha quotas.

Speaking to reporters, Jarange stated that OBC leaders are "not our enemies" and that the Maratha community will support the Dhangar group's reservation claim.

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Jarange completed his indefinite fast for the Maratha quota on June 13 after six days, giving the Maharashtra government a one-month ultimatum to answer the community's demands. This decision was made after meetings with Maharashtra Minister Shambhuraj Desai and Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumare in Jarange's native hamlet of Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district.

Some OBC leaders have rejected the Maratha quota in the OBC category. In February, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed a law allowing Marathas 10 per cent reservation in education and government posts under a separate category.

Jarange has been campaigning for the implementation of a draft notification recognising Kunbis as "sage soyare" (blood relatives) of Marathas, as well as the passage of legislation identifying Kunbis as Marathas. The Kunbi clan, an agrarian community, is classified as OBC, and Jarange wants Kunbi certificates supplied to all Marathas so that they might qualify for quota advantages.

Speaking from a private hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where he is receiving treatment, Jarange emphasised that OBC leaders are not adversaries. "I have not spoken anything against them," he said.

He asked OBC leaders to concentrate their efforts on securing ST category reservations for the Dhangar community, assuring them of Maratha community support.

"Instead of criticising and talking about the Maratha quota, they should spend their energy to get reservations for the Dhangar community under the ST category. The Maratha community will also stand firmly with them," Jarange stated.

In response to OBC leaders' plans to run in the next state assembly elections, Jarange stated, "Instead of discussing who will win and who will lose, they should work and see how the children of their Dhangar community will get educated. Today they have to graze the cattle and work in farms."

"Only 10-20 persons from every community will move forward if they join politics. But we should think about how our children will get educated. When they (OBC leaders) say that their political existence will come to an end, it means the career of only 5-10 persons will end," he said.

With PTI inputs