Chhatrapati Sambhajingar, Jun 18 (PTI) Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde has said the government is not against reservation for anyone and the demands of two activists agitating for protection of the OBC quota will be kept before the government.
Amid the Maratha reservation demand under the OBC category, two activists from the Other Backward Classes have been sitting on a fast in Maharashtra’s Jalna district, seeking an assurance that their quota will not be affected.
On Monday, NCP MLA Dhananjay Munde along with his cousin and BJP leader Pankaja Munde met OBC activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, who have been sitting on a fast since June 13 at Wadigodri village in Jalna district.
The OBC activists have seeking a written assurance from the government that their quota will not be affected.
“We don’t oppose giving reservation to anyone. The state government has also clarified it numerous times. But even after that, misunderstandings are being created among communities, hence the government should clarify what is going to happen on this (quota) issue and it should be communicated to all the communities,” the agriculture minister said after meeting the agitators.
The misunderstandings should be cleared as fast as possible, he said.
“The demands of our two agitators (Hake and Waghmare) will be kept before the government. Government should respect the demands of these two agitators. The respect that earlier agitations in this state and the country have received from the government should also be given to this agitation and demands,” Dhananjay Munde said.
In February this year, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs under a separate category.
Activist Manoj Jarange has been demanding implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as “sage soyare” (blood relatives) of the Maratha community members and a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas.
Kunbi, an agrarian group, falls under the OBC category, and Jarange has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas, thus making them eligible for quota benefits.
Hake and Waghmare have said they are not against the reservation for Marathas, but it should not disturb the OBC quota.
The OBC activists have been demanding scrapping of the government’s draft notification that recognises Kunbis as “sage soyare” of the Maratha community members. PTI AW GK
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