Maratha Quota: Third Day Of Jarange's Protest As Talks With Govt Fail To Yield Solution

Activist Manoj Jarange's hunger strike in Mumbai to press for Maratha quota continued for the third day on Sunday, a day after the 43-year-old gave a cold shoulder to a government delegation which met him at Azad Maidan.

Mumbai Police on Saturday extended permission for Jarange's protest by another day.

Traffic in and around the Azad Maidan protest venue was hampered on Saturday, with the sea of protesters making the movement of vehicles difficult. Some protesters were even seen bathing on the roads.

The Maratha leader slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for sending retired High Court judge Sandeep Shinde, who heads a committee set up to expedite the process of granting reservation to the community, to hold talks with him.

"It is not Justice Shinde's job to issue a Government Resolution (GR) announcing grant of reservation to Marathas," Jarange said on Saturday, vowing to continue the agitation.

While Fadnavis has said the government was trying to find a solution within the constitutional and legal framework, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar said a constitutional amendment to raise the cap on overall reservation was necessary.

The BJP-led government on Saturday deputed a delegation led by Justice Shinde to hold talks with Jarange, as thousands of his supporters who have arrived in the city thronged the nearby Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and the surrounding area.

Jarange has been demanding a 10% quota for Marathas and wants them to be recognised as Kunbis — an agrarian caste included in the Other Backward Classes category — which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education, though OBC leaders are opposed to it.

The activist, who had launched a hunger strike on seven occasions in the past, has claimed this is the community's 'final fight'.

As the delegation met him on Saturday, Jarange said the committee headed by Justice Shinde studied gazettes related to the issue for the past 13 months and now it was time for it to submit its report to pave the way for Marathas to get Kunbi status.

"Marathas in Marathwada must be declared as Kunbis and given reservation. The Hyderabad and Satara gazettes must be made into law for this," Jarange said during the talks which were telecast live on Marathi news channels.

Justice Shinde said he was not authorised to give such a report, and it was the job of the Backward Class commission. 'Caste certificate is given to individuals and not the entire community,' the former judge added.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Jarange slammed Fadnavis. 'It is not Justice Shinde's job to issue GR (government resolution) declaring that Marathas and Kunbis as the same. It is an insult of the government, Raj Bhavan and state to send Justice Shinde here,' he said.

Justice Shinde told reporters that the state cabinet had given in-principle approval to the Hyderabad Gazette.

"I will go back to the cabinet sub-committee (on the Maratha quota issue) with details of my discussion with Jarange," he added.

Justice Shinde heads the committee formed in September 2023 by the then Eknath Shinde government to decide the methodology for issuing 'Kunbi' caste certificates to members of the Maratha community.

Speaking to reporters earlier on Saturday, Jarange asked the government not to spread misinformation that the Marathas were seeking reservation from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota.

"We are only demanding that we get our rightful share of quota based on the eligibility under the Kunbi category," he said.

Before the government delegation met Jarange, state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said the issues raised by the Maratha leader were discussed in detail in the cabinet sub-committee, and the government was committed to resolving them positively.

Maratha protesters at Azad Maidan, meanwhile, complained about the lack of basic amenities such as water and toilets. The protest site is located right opposite Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Jarange accused the municipal commissioner and state-appointed BMC administrator Bhushan Gagrani of not making food and water available to the protesters.