Maratha Quota Leader Ends Protest As Government Accepts All Demands (image- facebook/manoj jarange patil)
Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who commenced a hunger strike on Friday demanding reservation in education and jobs for the community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC), ended his protest on Saturday following the acceptance of his demands by the Maharashtra government.
The Maratha quota leader’s demand included Kunbi certificates for all Marathas, free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level, and reservation of seats for Marathas in government job recruitments.
So far, the Maratha government has issued 37 lakh Kunbi certificates and this number will be raised to 50 lakhs, he said, reports NDTV. This Kunbi certificate is instrumental in enabling them to access reservation benefits within the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
Concluding the protest, while addressing a press conference on Friday night, Patil expressed appreciation towards Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s action, by saying, “Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has done a good job. Our protest is now over. Our request has been accepted. We will accept the letter from him. I will drink juice by the hands of the chief minister tomorrow”.
Earlier on Friday, the 40-year-old has threatened to march to Mumbai’s Azad Maiden for a massive protest if their demand were not met. “If the government does not agree, then we will show what we can do,” Mr Patil had said. He also urged the Maharashtra government to withdraw all the cases registered by the police regarding the demand for Maratha reservation.
The protestors said that Mr Patil met with two Maharashtra ministers on Friday night and the government has accepted all of their demands.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is expected to visit the protest site and meet Manoj Patil today. Maratha leader has also planned a victory march in Vashi for later today.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha declared that the ongoing movement for reservation has found resolution. Lodha then asserted that the recently enacted ordinance addresses all the issues at hand, says Times of India.
On May 5, 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the reservation for the Maratha community in colleges, higher educational institutions, and jobs, after noting that there was no valid ground to breach 50 percent reservation while granting Maratha reservation.
