Mumbai: The demand for reservations by the Maratha community in Maharashtra has resurfaced after a violent clash between the police and protesters in Jalna district Friday. The incident has put the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state in a tight spot.
During the clashes, the police reportedly resorted to lathicharge and use of tear gas after protesters allegedly threw stones at police personnel and torched at least two buses.
The Opposition has accused the government of mishandling the situation and demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister. Fadnavis, however, Monday apologised on behalf of the government for the lathicharge.
The Maratha community — which, according to the 2011 Census, constitutes 33 percent of the state’s population — has been seeking reservations in government jobs and education for a long time.
In 2018, the Maharashtra legislature had even passed a law granting 16 percent reservation to the Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category. However, the move was challenged in court and the issue remains contentious.
Meanwhile, some Maratha leaders have started an agitation demanding that the Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates, which will put them in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. They claim that Marathas from Marathwada region were part of Kunbi caste when they were under Hyderabad province before Independence. They joined Maharashtra nearly a year after. The community, after losing the OBC tag, got counted as Marathas.
One such leader is Manoj Jarange-Patil, who has been on a hunger strike in Jalna’s Antarwali Sarathi village since 29 August.
“The matter in the Supreme Court is different. What we demand is that now Marathas across the state be given Kunbi caste certificates as the community has been fighting for reservation for a long time,” Jarange-Patil told media persons Monday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who belongs to the Maratha community, expressed his solidarity with the protesters and said his government is committed to providing reservations to them.
The state government also held a meeting of the Maharashtra cabinet sub-committee Monday.
“We are working seriously towards the reservation issue for Marathas. The community should get the reservation, and it should stay in the framework of law and we are working towards it. I have asked the sub-committee to give its recommendations within a month,” said Shinde at a press conference Monday.
The CM added that the issue would be solved only by dialogue.
“On giving reservation to the entire community, the government is working continuously. As far as the Kunbi caste certificate is concerned, we have asked the committee to give their results within a month. And the government will also take back false cases against the community,” Shinde assured.
However, the uproar around this matter intensified later in the day with former CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demanding Home Minister Fadnavis’s resignation.
“Taking responsibility for the violence, the home minister should resign. And if the government is saying that the police acted without any orders from the top, then the government has no control over its administration,” he said at a press meeting Monday.
Even the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Sharad Pawar has condemned the incident, reportedly indicating that he has found the police took action following instruction from the Mantralaya (Secretariat) — a claim refuted by the government.
“It is uncomfortable and awkward for us as well. I am surprised. When the protest was going on peacefully, why resort to lathicharge at all?” asked an NCP MLA requesting anonymity. “Who gave the instructions to the police to resort to a lathicharge, and why was it given should also be investigated. Knowingly or unknowingly, the buck stops at the home department only.”
Meanwhile, protests continued Monday in Baramati, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s home turf, where protesters raised slogans saying, “Ajit Pawar should get out of the government”.
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Political reactions
Following Friday’s clashes, CM Shinde Sunday announced that Superintendent of Police (SP) Tushar Doshi has been sent on forced leave, while other officers involved are under scanner. He added that the government was willing to talk to protesters and “committed to restoring the Maratha reservation”.
However, according to senior political analyst Hemant Desai, the incident has exposed the rift between Shinde and Fadnavis.
Speaking to ThePrint, Desai said, “Fadnavis has said that there was a provocation and that is why police resorted to lathicharge. But with Shinde taking action against senior police officers, the difference between Shinde and Fadnavis has come forward.”
The incident also reignited the political war between NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Fadnavis. Sharad Pawar was quick to take charge and visited Jalna Saturday and told the media that he had information that “a call from Mantralaya (Secretariat) led to the police action.”
Refuting this allegation Monday, Fadnavis said that it was unfortunate that politics was being played around the issue.
“The narrative is being spread that the instructions came from Mantralaya when they know that the Superintendent of Police (SP) and deputy SP work on their own in such a situation,” Fadnavis told the mediapersons.
He then challenged the Opposition to prove their accusations and added that, “The violence cannot be supported. So, I apologise on behalf of the state government. But these accusations should be proved.”
Ajit Pawar, too, questioned the Opposition’s accusations. “If the order has been given by any one of us (Shinde-Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar), then prove it and we will step away from politics. Else you should step away from politics,” he said at a press conference.
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Maratha reservation
Marathas have been demanding the reservation for decades. In 2014, ahead of assembly elections, during the then Congress-NCP government, CM Prithviraj Chavan had brought in an ordinance to give 16 percent reservation to the community in education and jobs sector. But then the government changed in 2014 and the BJP-Sena government came to power.
The community even reportedly organised 58 silent protests under the banner of Maratha Kranti Morcha between 2016 and 2017.
The BJP-Sena government passed a bill in November 2018, granting 16 percent reservation to Marathas, who were declared SEBCs by the state government. This increased the total reservation in the state to 68 percent from 52 percent — exceeding the 50 percent cap set by the Supreme Court for backward classes in public employment under Article 16 of the Constitution.
The move was challenged in the Bombay High Court, and in 2019, ahead of the assembly elections, it upheld upheld the reservation for the Marathas, but reduced it to 12-13 percent, as suggested by the State Backward Classes Commission.
However, in 2020, during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) rule, this decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, which stayed the implementation of the reservation, and referred it to a larger constitutional bench.
In May 2021, the SC struck down the reservation for the Marathas, saying that there was no valid ground to breach the 50 percent limit. This sparked a political blame game between the MVA and the BJP, with both parties accusing each other of failing to protect the interests of the Marathas.
In April 2023, the state cabinet reportedly formed a committee under the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) to review the claims of Marathas and check their revenue and educational records. The committee is yet to submit a report.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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