The Justice (retd.) Sandeep Shinde Committee set up by the Maharashtra government to expedite the process of granting reservation to the Marathas submitted its second and final report to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday.
The Shinde committee, which was established on September 7 to decide the methodology to issue other backward class (OBC) certificates to Marathas and find proof to establish Marathas as Kunbi OBCs, presented its report to CM Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in Nagpur where the winter session of the State legislature is currently on.
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The report is likely to be tabled in the House on Tuesday. The first report of the Shinde Committee, running to 13 pages, was submitted to the government on October 31.
“Now, the second one has been submitted to us. I thank Justice Shinde and his team for [their] dedicated efforts regarding the Maratha reservation issue and in finding Nizam-era proofs showing Marathas as Kunbi OBC in the Marathwada region and elsewhere across Maharashtra. We will act on this after a detailed presentation on this report,” the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, whose hunger strikes compelled the government to constitute the Justice Shinde committee, said the CM should not delay any longer the process of granting a quota to the Marathas.
“The Maratha community is convinced that CM Shinde will remain true to his word and give reservation by December 24. If he and the Deputy CMs do not do this, they will fall flat on their promises,” said Mr. Jarange-Patil, who had earlier warned he would not extend his deadline for the government to grant a quota.
Mr. Jarange-Patil had been demanding that all Marathas be included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category by being given Kunbi OBC certificates — a demand that has provoked a backlash from a section of OBC leaders led by Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who have protested against the Marathas trying to eat into the OBC reservation pie.
Despite Jarange-Patil remaining adamant on his demands, BJP Minister Girish Mahajan on Monday reiterated that there was “no law under which blanket reservation for the Marathas” could be granted.
“If we are giving a quota for the community, then it must be a foolproof one. If we do this process in a haphazard manner, then it will not stand scrutiny in courts and be scrapped immediately. I have been telling this to Jarange-Patil time and again,” he noted.
