Don’t know whether Jarange has been managed: adv Ambedkar

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Adv Prakash alias Balasaheb Ambedkar, leader of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) said that he does not know whether Manoj Jarange Patil has been managed over the reservation issue.

He was interacting with journalists at Subhedari Guest House on Tuesday afternoon.

Jarange demanded that the entire Maratha community be included in the OBC category. ‘Did Jarange give up the demand as per the new Government Resolution? Now, he is criticising his own advisors. What should one make of this? Whether he was managed,’ when this was asked to Adv Ambedkar, he simply said, “I don’t know.”

On the point that earlier, you used to visit Antarwali Sarati and Jarange used to recognise you. Now he (Jarange) says he doesn’t recognise you. On this query, the VBA leader only said, “Thank you,” and remained silent.

On a question whether he would represent the OBCs in court, the VBA replied that there would be no need for that.

“The Supreme Court has already made it clear that Marathas and Kunbis are not the same. Kunbi is not a caste, it is a profession. Moreover, the current new GR is neither in accordance with the law nor the Constitution. Therefore, it will not hold up in court. My stance from the beginning has been that OBCs and the Maratha community should have a separate quota. Marathas can be given a distinct reservation, and this is what I was telling to Jarange,” said Ambedkar.

Criticising sharply the Nizami Maratha tendency, he called on OBCs to recognise in time that the BJP is their number one enemy. Adv Ambedkar said that the leadership of Vasantdada Patil and Shankarrao Chavan emerged from the common people.

"Both the leaders had strong ties with the general public. In contrast, the ruling Nizami Maratha is creating a conflict between OBCs and Marathas. This is a conspiracy,” he said.

He also clarified that challenging the Mandal Commission is not easy.