Government divisions escalate over Maratha and OBC quotas in Maharashtra state
In a significant development, the Maharashtra state government has formed a Cabinet sub-committee to address the grievances of OBC leaders and community members. The move comes amidst ongoing internal tensions within the Maha Yuti government over the dispute about Maratha and OBC reservations in Mumbai.
On Wednesday, the state OBC department issued a Government Resolution (GR) to form a nine-member Cabinet sub-committee led by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The committee includes prominent OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal, Ganesh Naik, Gulabrao Patil, Sanjay Rathod, Pankaja Munde, Atul Save, and Dattatray Bharne, with the secretary of the OBC department as the member-secretary.
Veteran OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal skipped the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday in response to the ongoing dispute. Bhujbal stated that the GR contains ambiguous language and is currently reviewing its legal implications. He also threatened to legally challenge the GR related to the Hyderabad Gazette, which facilitates Maratha reservation under the OBC category, if necessary.
Bhujbal's dissatisfaction with the government's handling of Maratha demands is shared by other OBC leaders. Laxman Hake, another OBC leader, publicly tore a copy of the GR in protest, accusing the government of acting in an unconstitutional and illegal manner. Hake also claimed that the GR has effectively ended OBC reservation and warned of a political boycott of leaders who supported the Maratha quota agitation.
The committee will examine the social, educational, and financial status of the OBC community, and address related issues. It will also monitor programs run by the Maharashtra State OBC Finance and Development Corporation and recommend steps to ensure fair representation of OBCs in state services, public sector undertakings, statutory bodies, and semi-government institutions. The sub-committee formed to address OBC grievances will also review existing welfare schemes for OBCs and suggest improvements for effective implementation.
The ongoing dispute has led to large-scale protests. The Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh initiated a chain hunger strike at Samvidhan Chowk in Nagpur on August 30. Manoj Jarange began an indefinite fast at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, demanding OBC-category reservation for Marathas through the implementation of the Hyderabad Gazette.
It is likely that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will meet with OBC protestors in Nagpur to de-escalate the situation, as previously mentioned. However, no new fact was explicitly stated about this meeting in the provided information.
In a separate development, the MP Congress chief stated that Adivasis are not Hindus. This statement, although not directly related to the ongoing dispute, is an important statement made in the context of the article.
The OBC leaders have threatened to launch large-scale protests if their existing quota is compromised. The government official stated that the committee will deliberate with protesting OBC leaders and work toward resolving their concerns. The formation of the Cabinet sub-committee is a significant step towards addressing the grievances of OBC leaders and community members in Maharashtra.
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