Will Fadnavis govt follow Telangana model and grant 42 pc quota to OBCs, asks Sapkal

Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Thursday made a pitch for a caste-based census, calling it the “only permanent solution” to the reservation issue, and sought to know if the Devendra Fadnavis government would follow Telangana’s example of giving 42 per cent quota to OBCs.

He also accused the state government of triggering tension between the Maratha and the Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities over the reservation issue.

His statements come two days after the activist Manoj Jarange called off his hunger strike over the Maratha quota issue as the government agreed to implement most of his demands. The government announced the formation of a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members with historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a social group classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in the state.

The Hyderabad gazetteer or gazette refers to an order issued in 1918 by the then-Nizam government of Hyderabad. The gazetteer classifies certain communities, including some Maratha community groups, in the erstwhile Hyderabad State as Kunbis, an OBC community in Maharashtra.

In a statement, Sapkal said, “The government has issued a GR accepting provisions of the Hyderabad Gazette to extend reservation to Marathas. If it accepts the Gazette, will it also emulate Telangana, which conducted a caste census and granted 42 per cent quota to OBCs?”

The ruling Mahayuti was deliberately fuelling conflict between Marathas and OBC communities over the issue of reservation, he said.

“The government claims Marathas will get quota without affecting the OBC reservation. Both cannot be true. This confusion is pushing the two communities into confrontation,” he said.

CM Fadnavis’ assurances could not be trusted, he alleged, citing earlier “jumlas” (empty promises).

Reiterating Congress’ support for the Maratha reservation, Sapkal said a caste-based census was the only permanent solution to the quota issue.

“Merely announcing caste census is not enough; it must be implemented,” he added.