Give Jarange AK-47 to eliminate OBC in one go, says Vijay Wadettiwar on Maratha quota

Mumbai, Oct 5 (IANS) Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Sunday lashed out at Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, saying the activist appears intent on "eliminating" the OBC category from the state, controversially suggesting he be handed an AK-47 to carry out such a task in one go.

The remarks come amid rising tensions over the state government's order to issue Kunbi certificates to Marathas and fear among OBC groups that the move could lead to Marathas claiming reservation under the OBC category.

Jarange held a hunger strike in Mumbai's Azad Maidan last month, after which the government agreed to accept six of his eight demands. The OBC community has since voiced strong concerns that the September 2 government resolution (GR) on Kunbi certificates could pave the way for Marathas to be included in OBC lists, thereby diluting existing quotas.

OBC leaders, including Wadettiwar, met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday (October 4) and submitted a memorandum demanding the withdrawal of the September 2 order. They also announced plans for an OBC protest march in Nagpur on October 10 to press their demands.

Speaking to reporters, Wadettiwar -- a defender of OBC rights -- said the meeting aimed to overturn the GR.

"The meeting called by the Chief Minister was to reject the GR of September 2. We presented our side, we told them that this GR is going to ruin the entire 374 OBC categories, they will suffer a huge loss... Everyone was of the same opinion that the GR of September 2 should be cancelled, but the government tried to convince us a little that there would be no harm from this," he said.

Wadettiwar warned that the certificate provisions and the data being collected point to Marathas being subsumed under the OBC lists.

"The government's decision clearly indicates that the Marathas will come under OBC, no one will be left out, and in this situation, the OBC community will suffer a huge loss," he said.

"It will not be visible anywhere, it will not be visible in the Gram Panchayat, Zila Parishad, local bodies, jobs and education also. The Maratha community will take over every place, and the poor people, people of the small community, will be completely ruined," the Congress leader added.

Turning personal, Wadettiwar singled out Jarange Patil for what he described as violent rhetoric.

"Harming the entire OBC, what kind of policy is this? What does Jarange want from us? He wants to eliminate over 350 castes, give him an AK-47 and tell him to eliminate everyone. He says that anyone who is against the GR should be eliminated by blowing them up; what kind of statements are these? He should be arrested for using such language," Wadettiwar said.

The Congress leader clarified that his opposition is not to reservation for the poor but to Marathas being accommodated within the OBC quota.

"If it happens, the OBC will be destroyed. Where will we go? We will not get any jobs," he said.

"Hence, our demand is to cancel the GR of September 2 and cancel all the bogus certificates that have been given. Along with this, a white paper should be issued on all the Kunbi certificates that have been given since 2015 to make the Maratha community 'OBC'. This is our demand," he further added.

The government's earlier engagement with Jarange-Patil produced several concessions after deliberations by a cabinet sub-committee headed by Vikhe-Patil.

The measures the state accepted included implementing the Hyderabad (1909) and Satara (1884) gazette entries to facilitate Kunbi certificates for Marathas in the OBC category; withdrawing cases against Maratha activists from 2023-24; compensating families of Marathas who lost their lives during protests, and offering jobs to eligible relatives in state transport and MIDC.

Along with this, the government agreed to issue a GR outlining the process for issuing caste certificates based on some 58 lakh Kunbi records identified by authorities; creating village-level scrutiny committees to vet applications before Kunbi certificates are issued; and ensuring immediate clearance of certificates by the caste verification committee.

--IANS

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