Stop issuing Kunbi certificates to Marathas, NCP minister tells Maharashtra govt

MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday called for an end to the encroachment of the quota benefits of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and demanded that people who obtained Kunbi certificates over the last three months should be transferred to a separate Maratha quota.
“There should be a separate Maratha reservation for the community. So, all those who obtained Kunbi certificates for the benefits of the OBC quota should now be shifted to the Maratha quota. There should be no encroachment on the OBC quota,” Bhujbal, a prominent face of the OBCs, said on Friday, hours after the State Commission of Maharashtra for Backward Class (SCMBC) chairman Sunil Shukre submitted its report to the state government.
The commission was tasked with collecting data to demonstrate the backwardness of the Maratha community to make a case for quota benefits to the community in education and government jobs.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a special session of the state legislature on February 20 to address the issue of the Maratha reservation. The report will be discussed by the legislature, which is expected to pass new legislation providing a separate quota for the Maratha community.
The commission was mandated to conduct a survey and submit a report on the backwardness of Marathas following agitation by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is on a hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district of central Maharashtra, seeking immediate implementation of the promises made to him when he called off his march to Mumbai last month.
OBC leaders in the state have opposed Jarange-Patil’s demand that all Marathas who can prove their Kunbi antecedents should be given certificates as Kunbi, a sub-caste of the Maratha community that falls under the OBC category and receive reservation in government jobs and education. They argue that extending reservation benefits to Marathas will reduce their share in the OBC pie.
Bhujbal intensified his opposition, days ahead of the special session of the state legislature.
“Maratha community is a ruling community, so how can they be backward? This will create great unrest in the state. Educational reservation is fine. As of now, lakhs of objections have been registered against the ‘close relatives’ (Sagya Soyare) notification issued for the Maratha community. If there will be a separate quota for the Maratha community, then what is the reason for providing false documents issued to give them reservation under OBCs?” asked Bhujbal.
Bhujbal also criticised Jarange-Patil, questioning if he understood the legal aspects of the issue and expressed surprise at the commission completing its survey of Maratha families in 15 days.