Maharashtra OBC community to march against Maratha quota on October 10

OBC members in Nagpur will stage a protest march on October 10 against the Maratha quota Government Resolution. Leaders across parties, including Congress, NCP, and BJP, oppose Marathas’ inclusion in the OBC category for reservation, citing community concerns

Nagpur: Members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) will take out a protest march in Maharashtra’s Nagpur city on October 10 to demand withdrawal of the Government Resolution (GR) on the Hyderabad gazetteer for the Maratha quota.

Speaking to reporters here, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar announced that the ‘Sakal OBC Samaj’ will conduct the ‘Maha Morcha’ in Nagpur on Friday. The community wants the government to withdraw the GR on the Maratha quota, the Congress Legislature Party leader said. “The OBC community is outraged over the GR, and lakhs of people will participate in the protest march. Several OBC organisations and leaders from the community from across Maharashtra will take part in the morcha that will begin around 11.30 am,” he said. “It will be a historic march,” the OBC leader said.

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On September 2, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government issued the GR on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer, which will allow eligible members of the Maratha community to apply for Kunbi caste certificates. This will enable the Marathas to claim a quota under the OBC category after certificates are issued.

The GR was issued after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange staged a hunger strike in Mumbai for five days from August 29. However, the decision triggered unease among the OBC community members, who are opposing the possible inclusion of Marathas in the OBC category for reservation.

Several OBC leaders cutting across party lines, including Ministers Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP), Pankaja Munde (BJP), former Minister Dhananjay Munde (NCP), and Wadettiwar (Congress), have strongly opposed the idea of including the Maratha community in the OBC category for reservation.