OBC leaders should focus on ST quota for Dhangar community, says Jarange-Patil
Pro-quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil assured OBC leaders that the Marathas were “not their enemies” and said he would support the Dhangar community’s fight for ST status
Pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on June 17 said that OBC leaders should prioritise securing Scheduled Tribes (ST) category reservations for the Dhangar community rather than criticising the demand for Maratha quotas.
He said that OBC leaders are “not their enemies” and assured that Marathas would support the Dhangar community’s reservation under the ST category.
“The OBC leaders are not our enemies. I have not spoken anything against them. Instead of criticising and talking about the Maratha quota, they should spend their energy on getting reservations for the Dhangar community under the ST category. The Maratha community will also stand firmly with them,” he said from a private hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad) where he is undergoing treatment.
On June 13, Mr. Jarange-Patil suspended his indefinite fast over the Maratha quota, six days after launching it, and set a deadline of one month before the Maharashtra government to accept the community’s demands, including implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as ‘sage soyare’ (blood relatives) of Maratha community members and a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas.
Amid the push for Maratha reservation under the OBC category, two activists from the Other Backward Classes in Jalna have been fasting, seeking assurance that their quota will remain unaffected.
On June 17, a government delegation led by State Minister Atul Save, Rajya Sabha member Dr. Bhagwat Karad and Shiv Sena MP-elect Sandipan Bhumre, met with the fasting activists, Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, urging them to end their fast, but they refused. The protesters clarified that they are not against Maratha reservations, but it should not impact the OBC quota.
Mr. Hake is a former member of the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission, and Mr. Waghmare is president of the Samta Parishad, Jalna, an organisation working for the welfare of OBCs.
“We will not end the fast until the government gives a written assurance. The government is neglecting the OBC quota issue. We are not against the reservation for Marathas, but it should not disturb the OBC quota,” Mr. Hake said.
On June 16, former BJP MLA and OBC leader Prakash Shendge met Mr. Hake here and extended support to him, demanding the withdrawal of the draft notification on ‘sage soyare’. “The government has given 10% quota to Marathas and now Jarange is seeking Kunbi certificates under the ‘sage soyare’ (notification) which is no acceptable to us,” he said.
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