Maha Minister Chhagan Bhujbal to challenge in court Fadnavis govt decision on Maratha

Maharashtra Food & Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said here on Friday that he would move the court against the decision of the Fadnavis government to give OBC Kunbi certificates to Marathas, which would make them eligible for government job reservation quotas.

Reacting to statements by other OBC leaders that the Fadnavis government’s decision would not affect existing OBC quota in any way, Bhujbal said, “Suppose 10 people were living in a house and 10 more people are brought into the house, will it not affect the earlier 10 people? When two people were eating from one plate, two more were invited to eat from the same plate. Will the stomachs of the first two get filled? This is what the new government decision does. The benefits of reservation which OBCs get will be lost due to sharing it with others. A large share of what they were getting in education, jobs and politics will be lost”.

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Two government resolutions (GRs) were issued regarding Maratha reservation. In the first GR, it was written that eligible persons from the Maratha community should be given certificates as per Kunbi, Kunbi-Maratha and Maratha Kunbi records. But when Jarange-Patil objected to the word ‘eligible’, the government removed the word and issued a second GR in which it is written that individuals from the Maratha community should be given certificates as per Kunbi, Kunbi-Maratha and Maratha Kunbi records. This means certificates should also be issued to the members of the Maratha community who do not have such records as per the Hyderabad Gazette”.

“Earlier, Manoj Jarange-Patil demanded that all Marathas must be given OBC Kunbi certificates, but that could not be done. So, Jarange-Patil asked the government to remove the word ‘eligible’. Through this manipulation, it was decided to give reservation to Marathas. When this demand was accepted, he celebrated by throwing gulal and went back to his village. He said that through this move, three crore Marathas in Marathwada have become Kunbi,” Bhujbal said.

Bhujbal further said that after the Maratha protest went unruly and the Bombay High Court intervened, the state government realised that the protest had to end. Since using force by police against the Marathas was not an option, government resolutions (GRs) were used to get Jarange-Patil to call off the protest.

“I had told them (the government) that the Hyderabad Gazettes of 1921 and 1931 showed that Marathas and Kunbis are separate. If the Hyderabad Gazette is followed, then it’s fine. But what should be done if this will not be the case? The document says the Marathas must fulfil certain conditions to get a Kunbi certificate. If a Kunbi did not get a certificate earlier but gets it now, that’s fine, but how can any Maratha get it? How can you change someone’s caste? Religion can change in this country, but not caste,” Bhujbal said.

“Now, Jats, Patels, and other communities will also demand reservation. Many other gazettes will come up. There will be no Marathas anymore since they will all become Kunbis. Will that not affect the OBC quota? The government has opened a Pandora’s Box,” Bhujbal contended.