Fix the loopholes in quota GR, says Bhujbal

The OBC sub-committee meeting in Mumbai turned contentious as Chhagan Bhujbal opposed a GR allowing Marathas to obtain OBC reservations via Kunbi certificates.

MUMBAI: The first meeting of the cabinet sub-committee for Other Backward Classes (OBC), held in Mantralaya on Wednesday, turned out to be stormy one with veteran NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal expressing strong objection to the September 2 government resolution (GR) which, among other things, focuses on issuing Kunbi certificates to Marathas so that they can avail of reservation from the OBC quota. He was supported by other OBC leaders, who are also members of the sub-committee, headed by revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

Fix the loopholes in quota GR, says Bhujbal

Through the course of the meeting Bawankule agreed to the concerns raised by Bhujbal, which he said must be addressed so that fake records are not used to issue Kunbi certificates.

The meeting was held a day after Bhujbal shot off a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, objecting to the state’s decision to accept the Hyderabad Gazette as a valid document to establish Kunbi credentials of Marathas. Bhujbal alleged that it was an attempt to include those Marathas in the OBC quota who have no proof of their Kunbi antecedents, and demanded a mechanism to ensure that bogus records were not used to facilitate issuance of Kunbi certificates to Marathas as it would bring injustice to the OBCs.

Minister of environment Pankaja Munde demanded a white paper on Kunbi certificates issued to the members from the Maratha community so far. “The certificates also need to be re-examined to clear all doubts,” she said.

A minister who was present at the meeting said, “Bhujbal questioned the state’s right to a GR without taking legal opinion and approval from the state cabinet. He also questioned the powers of the cabinet sub-committee on Marathas for issuing a GR.”

To that end, Bhujbal is believed to have argued that “as a cabinet sub-committee, should we also issue a GR saying the Marathas should also not be given reservation under OBC quota”? He also took the government to task for removing the word ‘eligible’ from the final GR after showing a draft to Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who was on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan, “forcing the state government to accept his demands”.

The OBC leader also said that he will move court if anomalies from the GR were not removed, adding that since the state government had earlier accepted the report of Justice Sandeep Shinde Committee, formed to decide the modalities of issuing Kunbi certificates to Marathas, “why then were fresh rules approved for issuing Kunbi certificates to the Marathas”.

Attempting to address the concerns of the members, Bawankule, who heads the sub-committee, stressed that the Hyderabad Gazette is not the only premise to gain Kunbi certificates. “The applicants will also have to give proof of Kunbi family line, which will have to be accepted by the village and the lineage committees subsequently,” Bawankule said, adding, “committees formed to examine documents should be wary of fake records”.

The conflict between the two communities is likely to blow up as several OBC leaders have declared to start agitations against the GR for Maratha quota.

The Hyderabad Gazette

Meanwhile, the state government has started the process of implementing the Hyderabad Gazette, adhering to the conditions of the GR. Minister of water resources, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha reservation, on Wednesday reiterated that the rights of OBC communities will be protected. “The process of the implementation of the Hyderabad Gazette has started. We will study emerging facts,” he told reporters.

When asked about Bhujbal’s opposition to certain ambiguities in the GR, Vikhe Patil said it will not compromise the rights of OBCs. “I will meet Chhagan Bhujbal and clear his confusion regarding the Hyderabad Gazette and the GR,” he said.

He added that he will also hold discussions with Bawankule to discuss the implementation of the GR and issuance of Kunbi certificates.

(With agency inputs)