Maharashtra OBC leaders announce ‘save reservation’ march amid face-off with Marathas

Members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Maharashtra have announced a protest march to express their anger over the reported decision to carve out the Maratha reservation from the existing OBC quota. This announcement comes as Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange Patil began an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday.

While Patil demands that the Maratha quota be included under the OBC category, OBC leaders oppose the reduction of their reservation share. The issue has already caused significant tension between Marathas and OBCs in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

The Reservation Bachao Jan Akrosh Yatra, led by OBC leaders Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, along with others, will start from the Jalna district, where Patil is currently holding his hunger strike.

Commenting on the purpose of the protest march, Waghmare stated that there is widespread anger among the OBC community in the state, and “we need to convey this anger to the government.” He called on community members to join the OBC Reservation Bachao Jan Akrosh Yatra in large numbers.

The Yatra will begin on July 22 and will end in Paithan taluka of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, after passing through Ramgawan, Wadigodri, Beed, Ahmednagar, Parbhani, Hingoli, Washim, and Buldhana districts of Jalna.

Meanwhile, Jarange Patil, who launched a fresh indefinite hunger strike in Jalna district on Saturday, alleged that OBC leaders were trying to create discord between Marathas and OBCs. Patil demands the implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as blood relatives of Maratha community members. He alleged that the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has failed to fulfill its promises regarding the reservation issue.

Patil had suspended his previous indefinite fast on June 13, six days after starting it, and had set a deadline of one month for the government to address the community’s demands. During this indefinite fast, he plans to undertake a state-wide tour from August 7 to 13.