Gadchiroli Sept. 21 (District Correspondent) Gadchiroli District Mali Samaj Sanagathana staged protest demonstrations in front of the collector’s office here on Wednesday. After the agitation, a memorandum was submitted to the Mr. Chief Minister through the District Collector.
Marathas should not be given reservation from OBC reservation. The caste wise census of OBCs should also be conducted, the posts of class one to four should not be filled on contractual basis, reservation should be filled through government system, Zilla Parishad and Government schools should not be handed over to the corporate sector were the main demands.
A lathi charge by the police was on the crowd present during the Maratha hunger strike for the demand of reservation in the village Antarwali in Jalna District was also condemned during the agitation.
Maratha community has been demanding reservation since 1993. But because the community does not fulfil the backwardness criteria, the Khatri and Bapat Commission was denied them reservation. The Narayan Rane Committee (2012) report was also stayed by the High Court as unconstitutional. The 12% (education) and 13% (jobs) reservation recommended by the Gaikwad Commission for the Maratha community did not hold up in the Supreme Court, pointed out the memorandum.
It has been proved that the Maratha society is not socially and educationally backward. Still, if the state government gives Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas under the pressure of the agitation and tries to give reservation from the OBCs, it will be injustice to the OBCs. If the state government is going to extend reservation like EWS to Maratha community, there is no reason for OBCs to oppose it.
OBCs have been demanding a caste-wise census for many years. If there is a caste-wise census at the national level or at the state level, accurate data of the population and social, educational and economic status of all castes will be available. The backwardness of all the OBC castes will be determined. In proportion to their population, all the backward communities can be given the benefit of reservation. The caste wise census of OBCs should therefore be conducted, it was demanded.
The state government should not rush unconstitutionally to give reservation to the Maratha community from OBC under the pressure of Maratha leaders. The district wise separate government hostels for boys and girls should be started at the earliest for the OBC students, it was also demanded.
Mr. Bhimraj Patrikar, District President of All India Mali Samaj Federation, Fulchand Gurnule, President of Zilla Mali Samaj Sangathana, Sukhdev Jengathe, Sagar Wadhai, Ranjit Bankar, Ishwar Chaudhari, Bhujangrao Patrikar, Yogesh Sonule, Purushottam Lengure, Sudha Chaudhary, Jyoti Jengathe, Sandhya Bhendare, Chaitali Chaudhary, Mangla Mandade, Manisha Nikade, Prabha Sonule, Shubhangi Sonule, Prabhakar Kotarange, Ashok Shende, Kiran Shende, Purushottam Deshkar, Gurudas Borule, Milind Wadhai and many other activists participated in the agitation.
