Jarange holds firm on Kunbi certificates, sets September 12 deadline
Manoj Jarange's indefinite fast enters day two; he demands Kunbi certificates for all Marathas and warns of a march to Mumbai.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange remained resolute on the second day of his indefinite hunger strike on Sunday, reiterating his demand that all Marathas be recognised as Kunbi. Speaking to reporters at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, he warned that if the Maharashtra government does not act, he will lead a march to Mumbai and escalate the agitation.
The protest, which began on Saturday, is Jarange's 11th indefinite fast over reservation-related demands. Thousands of community members have gathered in the village to support him. The core demand is the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas, a classification that would make them eligible for reservation benefits under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category in education and government jobs.
Jarange has set a deadline of September 12, when a core committee meeting is scheduled in Antarwali Sarati. He said the proposed hunger strike in Mumbai would be unnecessary if the government accepts the demands by that date. He is pressing for the immediate issuance of certificates based on 58 lakh historical records and has called for a suspension of caste certificate verification for cases covered by these records.
His other demands include the withdrawal of all police cases against quota protesters, reservation based on the Satara Gazette, and government jobs and compensation for families of those who died in previous agitations. He has also urged the state to cancel a farmer and youth programme scheduled in Parbhani, where Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is expected to be present. Jarange warned that he would attend the event if it is not called off.
The programme has been organised by Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav, who recently joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Jarange said he spoke to Jadhav over the phone and asked him to cancel the event. He alleged that certificates of Maratha community members had been cancelled, and he would not remain silent. He cautioned that the situation could become tense if the programme goes ahead.
Separately, Maratha Kranti Morcha state coordinator Dr. Sanjay Lakhe Patil criticised a reported suggestion by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil that caste verification committees were unnecessary. Dr. Lakhe Patil called the suggestion "shocking, unconstitutional and illegal," noting that such committees exist to prevent misuse of reservation through false certificates. He warned that any attempt to abolish them could face legal challenges.
The state government recently extended the tenure of the committee tasked with scrutinising Kunbi records of the Maratha community. The panel, headed by retired Bombay High Court Judge Sandeep Shinde, will now function till June 30, 2027. The government resolution cited incomplete work in tracing Maratha-Kunbi genealogy in some districts as the reason for the extension.