Amid OBC unrest, Bhujbal tells Fadnavis to revisit Maratha quota GR

8-page letter to CM focuses on ambiguity of certain terms that may lead to more Marathas get reservation

MUMBAI: The Other Backward Classes (OBC) community has been ill at ease since the state issued a government resolution (GR) on September 2 facilitating the inclusion of Marathas in the OBC category so that they can benefit from reservation. On the back of such a disquiet, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal submitted an eight-page letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday on behalf of his organisation, the Akhil Bhartiya Mahatma Phule Samta Parishad, urging him to withdraw or amend the GR.

Amid OBC unrest, Bhujbal tells Fadnavis to revisit Maratha quota GR

The letter harped on purported ambiguous terms in the GR, which the veteran leader feels may be misconstrued leading to more people getting the benefit of reservation than intended.

Bhujbal also pointed out legal and procedural loopholes in the GR and stated that it was issued under “pressure” from the Maratha community (referring to the indefinite hunger strike of Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil at Azad Maidan, following which the state government decided to accept the Hyderabad Gazette as a valid document to establish Kunbi credentials for the Maratha community). He underlined that the decision was taken without seeking approval from the state cabinet.

The OBC leader had earlier announced that he would challenge the GR in court.

He submitted the letter to Fadnavis after attending the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. In the letter, the word ‘relation’ mentioned in the GR to grant Kunbi certificates to eligible Marathas was put in focus, with the argument that it should have been ‘relative’ instead, to establish lineage to issue caste certificates to hundreds of people on the basis of an affidavit.

Incidentally, Bhujbal had skipped the cabinet meeting last week to express his displeasure over the GR.

“The term ‘relation’ is completely vague and may include any kind of relationship -- paternal, maternal or even adopted. The GR therefore clearly transcends the boundaries of the rules framed after following the procedure under the Act,” he wrote. “The remote relation of a person may possibly extend to 100s of persons in Maharashtra, whose affidavit will form the basis of issuance of caste certificate.”

The Act, Bhujbal was referring to, is Maharashtra Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes, Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance & Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000.

He also objected to the use of the term ‘Maratha community’ in the GR saying that the Kunbis and Marathas are two different castes which are also recognized by the state. Moreover, the Marathas were granted 10% independent reservation under the Socially and Educationally Backward (SEBC) Act last year. “Therefore, using the term ‘Maratha community’ in the legislation of OBC, SC and ST to facilitate more persons from that community to obtain OBC certificates is unlawful as it permits members of the community to benefit from two types of reservations,” Bhujbal wrote.

The letter also pointed out that there is an established procedure for issuing caste certificates under the Caste Certificate Rules, 2012. The fresh GR has created one more procedure which is based on affidavits. “Two different procedures for issuing caste certificates cannot be adopted by the state government as it leads to discrimination,” it added.

Meanwhile, the state government is continuing with its efforts to convince the OBC community that the GR is not against their interest. On Tuesday, OBC welfare minister Atul Save held a meeting with community leaders. When asked about the impact of the GR on the OBC reservation, Save said, “People may have different interpretations of the GR, which has led to various concerns within the community. We answered all the questions posed by the leaders in today’s meeting,” Save told the media. “They were all convinced; I am sure that their concerns have been addressed.”

The state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who heads the cabinet sub-committee of OBCs (constituted earlier to look into demands and issues being faced by the community which includes reservation, among others), called its first meeting to discuss issues related to the community on Wednesday.