Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, said on Thursday that he was committed to giving Marathas a reservation, while the state government again urged quota activist Manoj Jarange to break his 10-day fast over the issue in the Jalna district.
Sumant Bhange, secretary (services), General Administration Department (GAD), sent a copy of a Government Resolution, dated September 7, on reservation to Jarange, who is on an indefinite fast since August 29 in a village in Jalna seeking quota benefits in education and jobs for Marathas. On behalf of the government, the senior bureaucrat, in a letter, appealed to him to call off his fast. GR focuses on the state cabinet's decision to grant OBC quota privileges to Marathas from the Marathwada region who have tax or educational records from the Nizam era that identify them as Kunbis by issuing them with Kunbi caste certificates.
Speaking to reporters in adjoining Thane, Chief Minister Shinde said his government will make efforts to prove the Maratha community is backward and its members need reservation in public jobs and education for their socio-economic upliftment. The government is firm on giving reservation to the Maratha community and while doing that it will not do injustice to any other community,” Shinde asserted.
In reply to a question, the CM said whatever good work was done on the Maratha quota front during the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation (2014-19) was undone by the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government (November 2019-June 2022), but things will be set right now. But now we will examine the lapses and set things right and ensure reservation to Marathas without affecting reservation to other classes, he said.