Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that an all-party meeting held earlier in the day reached a consensus that reservation should be given to the Maratha community without tampering with the existing quotas of other communities in the state.
During a conversation with reporters, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also made an appeal to activist Manoj Jarange, who has been on a hunger strike advocating for Maratha reservation since October 25, asking him to conclude his fast and allow the government some time to address the issue.
It was decided unanimously at the all-party meeting that the state should make efforts for securing Maratha reservation without touching the existing quotas of other communities. I appeal and request Manoj Jarange to withdraw his fast and cooperate with the government. The state needs some time to prepare for the curative petition filed in the Supreme Court, Shinde said.
The government is working on two fronts issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas from Marathwada (so that they can avail of OBC reservation) and preparing an error-free submission as part of the curative petition filed in the apex court, he said. The all-party meeting also expressed its disappointment over the violent incidents reported in the last few days. Such violent acts would be a blot on the Maratha community’s agitation for reservation. The state government needs some time to prepare a submission that will pass the legal test, he said.
The state government is making honest efforts so that the Maratha community gets reservation benefits. The backward class commission is working on a war footing. The reservation given by the government when Devendra Fadnavis was chief minister was upheld by the Bombay High Court but struck down by the Supreme Court on the grounds of some errors. We want to avoid a repetition of this situation, Shinde added.