Maratha quota protests have intensified in Maharashtra. Here’s why

The Maratha quota protests have intensified yet again. On Monday, the home of NCP MLA Prakash Solanke in Maharashtra’s Beed was torched and his car set ablaze. The incident occurred after an audio clip of Solanke went viral in which he purportedly took aim at a Martha quota activist who is on an indefinite fast. But why have the Maratha quota protests intensified? Let’s take a closer look: Why have protests intensified? The demand for Maratha reservations, which have been ongoing for decades, hit the headlines again in late August after activist Manoj Jarange-Patil went on an indefinite hunger strike. As per The Wire, Patil a farmer from the village of Jalna, had, among things, demanded Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas. Kunbis in Maharashtra come under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

As per The Wire, Patil’s renewed agitation resulted in bandhs being announced off and on across Maharashtra.

As per Indian Express, the issue then turned violent on 1 September after police lathi-charged protesters in Jalna and even used tear gas. The Eknath Shinde government then faced a torrent of criticism from the Opposition. An under-pressure government in September began talks with Patil. The state government on 7 September announced that such certificates would be given to all Marathas from the Marathwarda region with ‘Nizam-era’ documents and Kunbi cited in their lineage, as per The Wire. However, Patil and his supporters remained unsatisfied. The Maharashtra government then called an all-party meet on 11 September to arrive at a consensus on the issue. The outlet quoted Shinde, a Maratha leader himself, as saying, “We requested him [Jarange-Patil] to give time to the Justice Shinde committee to set up (a proposal on the viability of giving Kunbi certificates to Marathas). We have also agreed to include him or his representative in the committee. We have also agreed to suspend three officials responsible for the lathicharge, expressing apology over the lathi-charge incident.” [caption id=“attachment_12828352” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday announced the formation of a three-member committee to assist the government, PTI[/caption] As per Indian Express, Patil eventually broke his fast on 14 September in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other politicians after receiving assurances about reservation. Patil, however, gave the government a 40-day deadline to announce reservations for Marathas. That deadline ended on 24 October. After the deadline lapsed, Patil on Wednesday began his second hunger strike. “We had given 40 days to the government to announce the reservation and that expired on Tuesday (October 24)… but the government has not announced the reservation hence I am sitting on hunger strike again,” Patil was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “What is the problem in announcing the reservation? The government had asked for 15 days initially. Then they asked for 30 days. But we gave them 40 days… still nothing has been done,” Patil told BJP leader Girish Mahajan, as per Indian Express. Mahajan had attempted to dissuade him from going on hunger strike again. The renewed agitation also comes as the Maharashtra Assembly polls and 2024 Lok Sabha polls draw nearer. The Maharashtra government’s stated position is that it is committed to granting reservation to the Maratha community which stands legal scrutiny. What happened on Monday? On Monday, the home of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Prakash Solanke in Maharashtra’s Beed district was set on fire and stones were hurled at it. A group of people also set ablaze a car parked at the residence of Solanke located in Majalgaon after an audio clip of the MLA in which he purportedly spoke about the Maratha quota agitation and made a veiled comment on the fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange went viral. It is not clear whether the Majalgaon MLA, who belongs to the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, was present inside the residence at the time of the incident which occurred at around 11 am. [caption id=“attachment_13111362” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Maratha Kranti Morcha stage ‘Rasta Roko’ agitation in Solapur on 6 September to protest against lathi-charge on protesters demanding Maratha quota in Jalna. PTI[/caption] “The incident occurred after an audio clip of MLA Solanke about the Maratha reservation issue went viral. A bandh was called locally. The house of the MLA and a car were torched by some people and stones were also hurled,” the official told PTI. In the audio clip, Solanke was purportedly heard saying that “the issue (the demand for reservation and the ultimatum of 40 days given to the government for its implementation by October 24) has become a child’s game.

“The person, who has not even contested a gram panchayat election, has become a smart person today,” he said in an apparent dig at Jarange.

Members of the Maratha community have been staging protests seeking reservation in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Solanke told a news channel that he was in Majalgaon when the incident occurred. “Agitators surrounded my residence from all sides and nobody was in the mood to listen. Stones were thrown at my house and vehicles were also set on fire. I stand with the demand for the Maratha reservation. I have won the elections four times with the help of the Maratha community and I am a Maratha MLA,” he said. Shinde announces panel, Patil remains unmoved Shinde on Monday said a three-member committee of experts will be set up to advise the state government on submission of a proposed curative petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the Maratha quota issue. “An expert committee will be formed which will advise the state government for a proposed curative petition, which the state will file before the Supreme Court. The expert committee will have three retired judges.” “Along with this, we will also collect empirical data with the help of the Backward Classes Commission… so that we can tell the Supreme Court how backward the Maratha community is,” Shinde was quoted as saying by The Print. “I do not want to go into the details of why the previous government failed to retain the Maratha reservation in the state. The Supreme Court has struck down the reservation upheld by the Bombay High Court,” he said. The state government has already formed a committee, headed by retired judge Sandeep Shinde, to submit a report on how to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community.

“The committee will submit its report tomorrow and it will be discussed in the cabinet meeting,” CM Shinde said.

As per The Print, Shinde said the Maharashtra community would be granted reservation under the Kunbi cast certificate scheme and also on the basis of economic backwardness. Shinde said the government would accord reservation to the Maratha community under two schemes – one, via Kunbi caste certificates and the second on the basis of economic backwardness that will undergo legal scrutiny. But Patil has vowed to continue the protests. “They (the government) have accepted the first report of the (Shinde) committee. But they must give reservation to all Marathas. Till then I will not stop the protest,” Patil was quoted as saying by the outlet. Patil has also warned that fast-unto-death protests will begin in villages across Maharashtra if the state government fails to act on the pending demand of the Maratha community. “We are not going back at any cost… We don’t want any half-hearted reservations. From 1 November, the third and the most difficult part of the agitation will be launched,” Patil was quoted as saying by FPJ. With inputs from agencies