Mumbai, May 6 (PTI) Senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, accusing him of harming the community whose interest he claims to protect and disrupting social amity in villages.
Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, expressed satisfaction over the Supreme Court ruling on holding the long-delayed local body polls in Maharashtra and reservation for Other Backwards Classes in them, saying there was “no need for anyone to be upset”.
Asked about Jarange getting active again, he said, “His activism has not brought any benefit. In fact, he has caused maximum damage to the Maratha community. He has disrupted the peace in villages across the state.” Jarange, a week back, had announced marching to Mumbai in the last week of August to stage a fresh protest against the state government for Maratha reservation. The 42-year-old activist, who has launched multiple hunger strikes in the last two years, has been demanding reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and education under the OBC category.
Speaking to reporters at Shirdi town in Ahilyanagar district, Bhujbal expressed satisfaction over the Supreme Court verdict on the local body polls and OBC reservation in them.
“This is a moment of happiness for eight crore people. The Supreme Court has restored our reservation. There is no reason for anyone to be upset,” he remarked.
Earlier in the day, the apex court fixed a timeline for concluding the local body polls in Maharashtra and asked the State Election Commission (SEC) to conclude them in four months.
The top court also maintained that reservation will be provided to the OBC community in these polls as existed in the state prior to the Jayant Banthia Commission report of 2022.
“The Jayant Banthia Commission did a shoddy job. Officials of the commission did not visit many villages and districts before stating the number of OBCs in their report. That is why OBCs lost their reservation even in civic body elections,” noted the former minister.
The commission under Banthia, a retired IAS officer, was formed by then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in whose cabinet Bhujbal was a minister.
Bhujbal took direct aim at the Maratha reservation issue, stating, “What has happened and is happening is in front of everyone. Some new leaders are making decisions without any study of what the reservation means, why it should be granted, and how. Those who are well-informed are not upset. Why should we care about what those without any understanding feel?” Bhujbal’s comments were apparently aimed at Jarange, who had stirred the state politics in mid-2023 when he sat for an indefinite hunger strike for Marathas to be considered as OBCs.
The NCP leader reiterated that the Maratha community had already been granted a separate 10 per cent reservation, and asked its members to take benefit of the provision.
“You take advantage of your reservation. But do not encroach upon the quota meant for the poor, the nomadic and the denotified tribes. Help them instead,” Bhujbal said.
He also criticised Maratha leaders who previously obtained Kunbi certificates to claim OBC benefits but now, according to him, work against OBC interests.
“If you have taken benefit under the OBC category, then fight for OBCs. Do not sit in OBC seats and then oppose them,” Bhujbal insisted.
Kunbi, an agrarian community in Maharashtra, is already classified as OBC. Jarange is demanding that eligible Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates to benefit from the OBC quota.
With Jarange now planning a march to Mumbai and Bhujbal’s pointed remarks, the stage appears set for further escalation in the Maratha-OBC reservation debate. PTI ND RSY
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.