Why Maratha Quota Activist Manoj Jarange Is Not Ready To End His Strike Despite Assembly Passing Reservation Bill?

The leader of the Maratha reservation movement, Manoj Jarange Patil, who is fasting for his cause, expressed his approval of the bill passed by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, but argued that it did not meet the expectations of his community. He said that they deserved reservation under OBC for those who had proof of being kunbi, and for those who did not, he demanded a law of "Sage Soyare". He announced a meeting of the Maratha community at noon on Wednesday.

Jarange Patil wanted all Marathas to be treated as Kunbi, a caste under the OBC category in Maharashtra, and to get reservation accordingly. However, the government decided that only those who had documents from the Nizam era to certify their Kunbi status would be eligible for this.

He urged everyone to join him at Antarvali sarati for the meeting and said that he was firm on his demand for "Sage Soyare".

He said that he welcomed the reservation, but it was not what they wanted. He said that the reservation given by the government would only benefit a few Marathas, while the rest would be left out. He said that he would announce the next phase of the protest on Wednesday and that they would fight for what they deserved. He also refused to take any medical treatment and removed the drip from his hand.

The Maratha Reservation Bill, which aimed to give 10 per cent reservation to Marathas above the 50 per cent limit, was unanimously passed by the lower house of the state legislature on Tuesday. The CM would now present the bill in the upper house for approval, after which it would become a law.

The opposition leader in the state assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, said that the opposition parties also supported the reservation for the Maratha community. The state government had called a special one-day session of the state legislature to table and discuss this bill.

The bill for the 10 per cent Maratha quota approved by the Mahayuti government of Eknath Shinde on Tuesday was similar to the one introduced by the previous government of Devendra Fadnavis in 2018 under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act. This was the third time in ten years that the state had brought a bill for the Maratha quota.

The CM, Eknath Shinde, said that he was the CM of the whole state and that he did not discriminate on the basis of caste or religion. He said that he would have the same stand for any other community as he had for the Maratha community. He said that the PM always said Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas.

He said that he would not make any political statement here as they all had the same views on the Maratha reservation. He said that he had fulfilled his promise to the Maratha community and thanked his colleagues, including his two deputy CMs and other ministers. He said that today was a day of keeping their promises.

He said that their goal was to work hard and fast to resolve this issue. He said that the Maharashtra government was fully committed to giving reservation to the Marathas and that they had done it today. He said that Devendra ji and Ajit Pawar ji always told him that they had to give reservation to the Maratha community by any means.

He said that Devendra ji had given reservation to the Maratha community once when he was the CM and that it was upheld by the High Court. But he said that it was unfortunate that it was struck down by the SC for some reason.