The fast by Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil ended on Saturday with the state government agreeing to all his demands. The government agreed to give Marathas certificates of OBC status if they have records of their ancestors being classified as Kunbis. The decision has been met with mixed reactions from OBC leaders. Some have welcomed it as a victory for Marathas, while others have criticized it as a betrayal of OBCs.
Harabhau Rathod, a former MP and OBC leader, said that Jarange Patil won the battle, but lost the war. He fought a strong battle for the Maratha community, and he received a lot of support from Maratha people. In a way, he won the battle, but he lost in the agreement, Rathod said.
He won the battle of the Maratha community, but he lost the battle of the OBC community. The 17% reservation that OBCs have will be taken away by the Marathas, Rathod said. The government has not just given a setback to OBC reservation, but has dealt a blow to it. The government had repeatedly said that it would not allow OBC reservation to be affected. But now, the government is giving certificates of OBC status to Marathas based on their family records. This is a great injustice to OBCs, Rathod said.
Rathod also criticized the government for not following the recommendations of the Justice Rohini Commission, which had suggested that the OBC reservation be divided into two categories. We had been saying that the OBC reservation should be divided into two categories, one for Marathas and the other for other OBCs. This would have ensured that all social groups received social justice, Rathod said. The government is responsible for this situation, but OBC leaders are also equally responsible, Rathod said. He demanded that OBC minister Chhagan Bhujbal should resign.