December 13th 2023.
Manoj Jarange Patil has been articulating the stance of the Maratha community, and Ashish Shelar, city BJP president and MLA, urged people not to mock at him. He believes that the Marathas must receive just, legal, and sustainable reservation without jeopardizing the reservation of other communities.
Shelar also put stress on the need for clarity on Kunbi certificates. He said that those who have records stating that they are Kunbi must be given Kunbi certificates, but added that it might also get challenged in court. He further noted that the central government has given 10 percent reservation to the economically weaker sections, of which almost 8 to 8.5 percent benefit is taken by Maratha youth for employment and education. He suggested that the government must work towards providing permanent reservation to this community and also explore if it can give 10 percent reservation to the economically weaker sections on the lines of the central government.
Shelar also spoke about the Rohini Commission report which states that OBC beneficiaries must be bifurcated into A, B, C, and D groups. He expressed doubt about how much people taking Kunbi certificates based on old records will benefit. He also asked if both the central and state government’s 10 percent reservation is clubbed, will Maratha youth get 20 percent benefit instead of the existing 16.5 to 18 percent? He asked the government to provide clarity on this matter.
He also reviewed how the Maratha community has been struggling for reservation since 1980 and questioned why leaders of the Maratha community who became chief ministers during 1978 to 2014 could not prove the backwardness of the Maratha community. He pointed out that 93 percent of Maratha families have yellow ration cards and orange ration cards. He also mentioned that about 37.28 percent of people in the Maratha community are below the poverty line.
He also said that 49 percent of Maratha households do not own any vehicle, 47 percent own two-wheelers, and 0.53 percent own four-wheelers. He mentioned that 71 percent of households in the Maratha community are landless and marginal landholding farmers, whereas 2.7 percent of farmers own up to 10 acres of land. He also pointed out that 70.56 percent of Maratha community families live in mud houses.
Shelar urged that the Maratha community must get reservation as the proportion of marginal landholding farmers in the Maratha community is 64.74 percent. He concluded his speech by warning people against tampering with OBC quota.
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