Maha set for Legislature Special Session, Marathas optimistic & OBCs skeptical

Mumbai, Feb 20 (IANS) All is set for the one-day Special Session of Maharashtra Legislature which could be a game-changer for the long-pending issue of giving reservation to the Maratha community, though major OBC leaders like state Minister Chhagan Bhujbal remain skeptical, here on Tuesday.

MahaYuti government Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have assured that they are committed to give quotas to the Marathas without affecting the reservation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The Special Session of Legislature comes barely four days after the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) Chairman, retired Justice Sunil Shukre submitted its comprehensive report ascertaining the backwardness of the Marathas, to the CM on Friday.

The state cabinet will first discuss and approve the report -- which surveyed the social, economic and educational backwardness of the Marathas -- after which it will be tabled before the special sitting of the legislature this afternoon.

The big challenge for the government is to fulfil its promises -- of giving the Maratha quotas without disturbing the existing OBCs reservation -- making it a tricky proposition, with little room for manoeuvres.

An adamant Shivba Sanghatana leader Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is on the 11th day of his indefinite hunger strike, reiterated on Tuesday that what the community desires is “actual quotas and not just empty assurances”, including the demands for formalising the ‘Sage-Soyare’ (family bloodline).

Bhujbal countered by saying that over 6.50 lakh objections have been received to the proposal of ‘Sage-Soyare’ and they must be studied before any decision is taken on it, “and this will take time”.

Undeterred, Jarange-Patil warned in his village Antaravali-Sarati (Jalna) that February 20 is the last day of his ultimatum, and they would await the outcome of the Special Session of Legislature before deciding the next course of action.

The MSBCC’s latest survey covered over 2.25 crore families, making it the biggest exercise of its kind anywhere in the country, and involved between three-four lakh officials toiling across the state.

Simultaneously, the state government went on a deep dive search for ‘Kunbi-Maratha’ and ‘Maratha-Kunbi’ records and according to Jarange-Patil, more than 57 lakh records have been found so far, in the past nearly three months, kindling hope among the Marathas.