BJP National Secretary Pankaja Munde expressed the Maratha community's demand for concrete action on reservation rather than empty promises. She urged the Maharashtra government to engage in constructive dialogue with quota protesters to resolve the ongoing deadlock during her 'Shivshakti Parikrama Yatra.'
BJP National Secretary, Pankaja Munde, stressed on Saturday that the Maratha community is seeking real action, not just promises, regarding reservations. She called upon the Maharashtra government to engage in constructive discussions with quota protesters to resolve the ongoing issue. Munde shared these remarks during her ‘Shivshakti Parikrama Yatra’ in Osmanabad.
Munde pointed out that the Maharashtra government can decide on Maratha reservations and should engage in confident and courageous talks with protesters to address the Maratha community’s concerns.
She suggested that if the government doesn’t wish to exceed the 50% quota cap, a significant decision should be made at the national level. Munde acknowledged that the central government faces similar challenges in various states but will act within constitutional limits.
The BJP leader emphasized that the Maratha community no longer wants empty promises but seeks concrete reservation measures.
She urged the state government not to incite conflict between the Maratha and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities, emphasizing the need for harmony.
Munde encouraged Maratha community members to pressure the government for reservation through peaceful protests and discouraged any thoughts of self-harm, emphasizing the importance of their struggle for future generations.
The Maratha quota issue gained attention when police baton-charged protesters in Jalna district. Activist Manoj Jarange, on a hunger strike over the quota issue, warned of intensifying his protest. He called on the government to eliminate the genealogy requirement for Marathas in the Marathwada area to obtain Kunbi caste certificates and access OBC reservations.
The state government issued a Government Resolution (GR) stating that Kunbi caste certificates would only be issued to Maratha community members from Marathwada if they provide genealogical records from the Nizam era, when the region was part of the Nizam-ruled Hyderabad state. Kunbis, associated with agriculture-related occupations, fall under the OBC category and receive reservation benefits in education and government employment.
