Mumbai, Nov 27 (PTI) Amid the Maratha-OBC face-off over quotas, Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal has demanded a stay on Kunbi caste certificates issued to Marathas and disbanding of Justice Sandeep Shinde (retired) panel saying it has done its job of identifying records in the Marathwada region.
Bhujbal also called for a survey to check the caste-wise backwardness of all sections along with the Maratha community and a comparative study before deciding on facilities for them.
The demand made by Bhujbal, who had sided with Ajit Pawar when he joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government, has drawn a sharp reaction from his cabinet colleague Shambhuraj Desai, who belongs to Shiv Sena headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, said CM Shinde had set up the committee to find out Kunbi lineage from the Nizam regime in the pre-Independence period.
"I have no issues with this process. I am opposed to people from other regions of the state who are making fake claims to obtain Kunbi certificates so that they can enjoy the existing benefits of reservation in education and government jobs.
“The Shinde committee found a sufficient number of proofs in the Marathwada region. Eligible people from Marathwada should get the certificates. Its (committee's) work is done, now it should be discontinued,” Bhujbal said.
Bhujbal also said he was not against a separate reservation for Marathas but was opposed to the "ongoing practice of obtaining Kunbi (caste) certificates by submitting fake or forged documents."
Speaking to a regional news channel, Desai said, “Bhujbal should not make inflammatory comments when the situation is tense in the state. All the ministers should take a harmonious stand in this situation”.
Queried on Bhujbal's demand to scrap the Shinde committee, Desai said, “We cannot have a law applicable to a handful of districts in Marathwada region only. Once a law or ruling is out, it generally applies to all parts of the state”.
When pointed out that a government resolution (GR) specifically mentions that the Shinde committee's scope is restricted to Marathwada, he said, “Once you decide, you cannot restrict it to only one region".
Desai further said the state cabinet ministers have informed the chief minister and two deputy chief ministers that they can make necessary changes in the GR in the larger interest of the state. "The Maratha reservation issue cannot be discussed only on technical terms. It is beyond it.”
Amid the agitation for the Maratha reservation led by activist Manoj Jarange, the state government set up the five-member panel headed by Justice Shinde (retired) to decide the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for giving Kunbi certificates to members of the Maratha community who (or whose ancestors) were referred to as Kunbis in the Nizam-era documents.
Kunbis (the community associated with agriculture) are grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Maharashtra.
The state government on October 31 published an order asking officials concerned to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for them to avail reservation benefits under the OBC category.
Bhujbal has said the existing reservation for the OBCs should not be curtailed while giving the reservation to Marathas.
He made a similar demand to disband the Shinde committee on Sunday at a rally of OBC communities in Hingoli district. He also appealed to the communities to unite and fight for their rights.
"As Marathas will be given Kunbi caste certificates across the state, which means there will be no Maratha community left in the state.
"There should be a stay on the Kunbi caste certificates which have been issued in the past two months," he said at the rally.
Bhujbal wondered how the number of records about the Kunbi reference have been rising suddenly.
“OBC leader Prakash Shendge has shown some 7-8 documents to the chief minister where old certificates were tampered with a pen. Such fake claims should not be entertained and Kunbi certificates should not be given to people based on such forged documents," he said.
Bhujbal said Marathas should be given the reservation separately.
"The caste-wise backwardness should be checked through a survey of all communities along with the Maratha community and then the facilities should be given. A comparative study should be done of all communities," he added.
Asked about his being portrayed as a strong opponent of the Maratha quota demand, Bhujbal said the Supreme Court has already stated that Marathas cannot be categorised as OBC.
"When the first list of OBCs came out after the Mandal Commission's report was accepted by the Union government, some 200 backward communities were identified. Later more communities were identified as OBCs and the number increased to more than 350. I never opposed such a change,” he said.
On quota activist Manoj Jarange's recent remark that Marathas had to work under undeserving people, Bhujbal said, "But these were the people who worked with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Many saints were also from the (OBC) community and now the new leader (Jarange) says that we are undeserving."
Bhujbal also said that facilities and funds given to SARTHI should also be given to Mahajyoti, the autonomous Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research & Training Institute of the Other Backward Class Bahujan Welfare Department.
Meanwhile, Desai also expressed disapproval over Bhujbal's purported remarks blaming the state Home department over the violence in Beed district wherein houses of two MLAs were torched when the Maratha quota agitation was at its peak.
“The police have not yet completed their investigation into the Beed violence. The home minister (Devendra Fadnavis) will receive the report, which, if he finds it dissatisfactory, can be discussed in the Cabinet meeting. Without the report, it is unfair to level such serious allegations against the government and the police force,” he said. PTI ND AW GK