OBCs To Hold Protest March In Nagpur On Oct 10, Demand Rollback Of Maratha Quota GR

Members of the Other Backward Classes will demonstrate a protest in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on October 10 to demand withdrawal of the Government Resolution (GR) on Hyderabad gazetteers for Maratha quota. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the 'Sakal OBC Samaj' will take out the 'Maha Morcha', PTI reported. 

"The OBC community is very angry 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.

The GR was issued after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil staged a hunger strike in Mumbai for five days from August 29. The decision will allow eligible members of the Maratha community to apply for Kunbi caste certificates, which will enable them to claim OBC category.

Several OBC leaders including ministers Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP), Pankaja Munde (BJP), former minister Dhananjay Munde (NCP) and Wadettiwar (Congress) have disapproved of the government’s decision to include Maratha community in OBC reservation. 

The Bombay High Court had earlier dismissed the PILs filed against the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members for reservation, noting the petitioners were not aggrieved persons. 

The court noted that if the petitioners wanted, they can file applications in the petitions filed by the aggrieved persons. The plea had claimed that the government's decision was arbitrary, unconstitutional and bad in law, and deserves to be quashed. 

With PTI inputs