A committee headed by Justice Sandeep Shinde was constituted for the Maratha reservation in Maharashtra. This committee submitted the report of Kunbi records to the state government, in which 1 crore 72 lakh documents were scrutinised. After the full report is received, it will then be accepted.
A curative petition will be filed in the Supreme Court. How backward the Maratha society is will be decided based on documents, which will be presented in the court.
Three retired justices will provide full assistance to the state government, complete facts and data will be presented in the Supreme Court, and its experts will be helping the government.
The issue of the Maratha reservation dates back to 1980. When Devendra Fadnavis was the Chief Minister during 2014-19, there was talk of giving reservations. However, the documents were not presented in the Supreme Court so it was cancelled. Now the government is trying to pave the way for permanent reservation for them.
“Representatives of Manoj Jarange Patil will also come tomorrow for discussion with the CM. There were 58 fronts in the state, peaceful agitations were held,, but now some people are still trying to spoil the law and order…Now I appeal for peace.” said CM Eknath Shinde. “We are working with authenticity, we are looking at a curative petition and Kunbi note, we are trying to provide a reservation that will stand at the legal level.”
He added, “Give some time to the government. The government is also worried about Manoj Jarange’s health. The government seriously wants to resolve this issue…its work is going on a war footing.”
Justice Shinde’s report will be approved in the cabinet tomorrow. All the documents that have been approved will be accepted when presented in the cabinet.
Meanwhile, to show solidarity with the Maratha community, two MPs – Hemant Patil from Hingoli and Hemant Godse from Nasik – have resigned. While Patil sent his resignation to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Godse submitted his resignation to CM Eknath Shinde. Both the MPs are considered to be close to the CM. They both are strongly in support of the reservation to Marathas. With an eye on the 2024 elections, the Maharashtra government does want to rock the boat by upsetting the Marathas who have repeatedly asked for reservations for backward sections among them. In the current political climate when the opposition is raising the bogey of caste census it becomes imperative to handle any discontent that may give rise to problems in the state. With the NCP divided into two factions and the Shiv Sena (UBT) in disarray, it remains to be seen if the BJP will gain in the upcoming 2024 polls.
