NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal to challenge Maharashtra government's order expediting Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas, citing concerns from OBC leaders and seeking legal opinion on the government's authority to change people's caste.
The poll aspirants who feel threatened are seeking to garner sympathy from their voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region
A decision on supporting candidates for the November 20 state polls will be taken in due course, he told a Marathi news channel in Jalna district.
Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal opposes including Marathas in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota, citing limited reservation available for existing OBC communities and warning of potential protests if their share is reduced.
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced forming a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members with historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a social group classified as an OBC in the state.
Jarange has repeatedly targeted the BJP warning that the community would defeat its candidates in the assembly polls, which will be held on November 20.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
Petitions challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community for reservation have been filed in the Bombay High Court. The pleas claim the decision is arbitrary and unconstitutional.
Jarange said he had decided to call off the fast keeping in mind the sentiments of the Maratha community.
'Those who have wronged or harassed the Maratha community should be taught a lesson through the ballot'
A Maratha protest in Mumbai caused significant traffic disruptions, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the city, impacting office-goers and students. Train services were also affected.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addressed questions about advertisements featuring only CM Fadnavis, asserting that there is no race for credit among Mahayuti allies and that they are working as a team. He also commented on the Maratha reservation issue and the government's efforts to address it.
The Maharashtra government has formed a committee to facilitate the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas who can provide documentary evidence recognizing them as Kunbis in the past, potentially opening the door for reservation benefits.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assures implementation of Bombay High Court directives regarding the Maratha quota protest led by Manoj Jarange, while also exploring legal options to resolve the issue. He condemned harassment of journalists and appealed to avoid politicizing the matter.
The monk claimed that since the closure of the feeding area, the pigeon population has drastically declined.
The Bombay High Court has refused to grant an interim stay on the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members with OBC antecedents. Petitions challenging the decision were filed by OBC individuals, but the court declined immediate relief, pending a response from the government.
Political tensions rise in Maharashtra as OBC, SC, and ST groups express concerns over a government resolution on the Maratha quota. Chief Minister Fadnavis cautions against divisive politics, while Sharad Pawar accuses the government of weakening the social fabric.
The government is thrusting new leaders to the fore and moving others aside to create a rift between the Maratha and OBC communities, he said, stressing that those protesting over their demand for non-dilution of the OBC quota are not at fault.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday said the final number of seats from where he will field his candidates in the Maharashtra assembly elections will be declared on the last day of the filing of nominations next week.
The Bombay high court on Thursday said it was not inclined to hear PILs against the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members for reservation, noting the petitioners were not aggrieved persons.
Thousands of Maratha community members have turned the area surrounding Azad Maidan in Mumbai into a camp during their agitation for quota, disrupting traffic and daily life.
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday launched a fresh indefinite fast, his sixth in a span of over a year, to press for the demand for reservation to his community under the OBC category.
Jarange is a strident critic of the senior BJP leader and has routinely accused him of being the main obstacle in the Maratha community's quest for reservations.
He also sought framing of a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas, and warned of fielding candidates from all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming state polls if his demands were not approved.
Activist Manoj Jarange, whose indefinite fast over Maratha reservation entered the fifth day on Wednesday, started taking intravenous fluids after a Maharashtra minister assured to resolve the issue.
The activist said leaders opposing Maratha interests would face consequences in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday suspended his indefinite fast, which he began five days ago over the quota issue, stating that his community members say they want him alive to fight for the cause.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday launched a fresh indefinite hunger strike in Maharashtra's Jalna district, demanding implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as blood relatives of the Maratha community members.
Jarange on Tuesday launched a fresh indefinite fast, sixth in a span of over a year, to press the demand of reservations for the Marathas under the Other Backward Classes category.
The assembly also witnessed a brief adjournment after the ruling alliance members pointed to remarks of Jarange and alleged there was a conspiracy to create unrest in the state.
He made the announcement after Maharashtra minister and member of Maratha quota sub-committee Shambhuraj Desai, Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre met him at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district and discussed the issue.
Jarange had also claimed that a poisoning attempt was made against him through saline, though he did not elaborate on it.
The free education policy should be amended so that boys also get free education besides girls, and all Marathas should get free education "from KG to PG" (kindergarten to post-graduation) until the entire community gets reservation, he said.
The health condition of Maratha quota agitation spearhead Manoj Jarange, whose indefinite fast continued on the fifth day on Wednesday, deteriorated and he was given intravenous (IV) fluids when he was asleep during the protest, an activist close to him said.
'Life in India is better only for those who have reservations.'
The announcement, made at the end of a speech of more than one hour in Antarwali Sarati in Jalna in which Jarange made several allegations against Fadnavis, took his supporters by surprise.
Shinde also took a swipe at the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray while responding to Jarange.
Activist Manoj Jarange, who has been sitting on an indefinite fast in Maharashtra's Jalna district over the demand for reservation to the Maratha community, has refused to get a health check-up done.
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