Maratha Reservation: City BJP President Ashish Shelar Backs Jarange-Patil; Stresses Need For Clarity On Kunbi Certificates

"Manoj Jarange Patil is articulating the stance of the Maratha community, and he must not be mocked at," said city BJP president and MLA Ashish Shelar on Wednesday while speaking on the Maratha reservation issue in the assembly.

Shelar emphasized that without jeopardizing the reservation of other communities, the Marathas must receive a reservation that is just, legal, and sustainable. He also supported the stance taken by Jarange Patil.

Stresses Need for Clarity on Kunbi Certificates

"Those whose records state that they are Kunbi must be given Kunbi certificates. However, it might also get challenged in court, and hence, the government must be prepared for it," Shelar added. "The central government has given 10 percent reservation to the economically weaker sections, of which almost 8 to 8.5 percent benefit is taken by Maratha youth for employment and education. Therefore, the government must work towards providing permanent reservation to this community and also explore if it can give 10 percent reservation to the economically weaker sections on the lines of the central government," Shelar stated.

"The Rohini Commission report is out, stating that OBC beneficiaries must be bifurcated into A, B, C, and D groups. Hence, there is doubt as to how much people taking Kunbi certificates based on old records will benefit. Also, if they seek other backward reservation, they will not be able to benefit from the economically weaker sections. Therefore, looking at the statistics, if both the central and state government’s 10 percent reservation is clubbed, will Maratha youth get 20 percent benefit instead of the existing 16.5 to 18 percent? The government needs to provide clarity on this matter," noted Shelar.

In his speech, he also gave a detailed review of how the Maratha community has been struggling for reservation since 1980, questioning why leaders of the Maratha community who became chief ministers during 1978 to 2014 could not prove the backwardness of the Maratha community.

"93 percent of Maratha families have yellow ration cards"

Shelar pointed out that 93 percent of Maratha families have yellow ration cards (income limit of Rs.15,000) and orange ration cards (income limit of Rs.15,000 to Rs.1 lakh per annum). About 37.28 percent of people in the Maratha community are below the poverty line.

According to vehicle ownership, it is said that 49 percent of Maratha households do not own any vehicle, 47 percent own two-wheelers, and 0.53 percent own four-wheelers. In the Maratha community, 71 percent of households are landless and marginal landholding farmers, whereas 2.7 percent of farmers own up to 10 acres of land.

About 70.56 percent of Maratha community families live in mud houses. In the category of marginal landholding farmers, the proportion of marginal landholding farmers in the Maratha community is 64.74 percent. "Hence, we insist that our Maratha community must get reservation," stressed Shelar.