Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil has been granted a one-day extension by Mumbai Police to continue his indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan, as pressure mounts on the Maharashtra government to act on his demand for a 10 percent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
Patil, who has been fasting for three days, insists the state must issue a formal government resolution (GR) recognising Marathas’ historical linkage to the agrarian Kunbi caste, which already benefits from OBC reservations.
Addressing supporters at the protest site, Patil declared that the agitation would not end without a written commitment from the government.
“We won’t budge from Azad Maidan till demands are met, even if the Fadnavis government fires bullets at us,” he warned.
The activist further claimed there are 58 lakh official documents proving the Maratha-Kunbi connection. However, he stressed that “those who want reservation will take it” and urged against generalising all Marathas as Kunbis without legal clarity.
In response, the ruling Mahayuti government has constituted a 10-member ministerial sub-committee headed by Maharashtra Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.
The panel has been tasked with examining whether historical records, particularly the Hyderabad and Satara gazetteers that describe Marathas as Kunbis, can be legally invoked to justify OBC quota inclusion.
After a review meeting, Vikhe Patil said: “The Advocate General Biren Saraf and retired High Court judge Sandeep Shinde will study the gazetteers. We must also consider the Supreme Court’s observations that Marathas and Kunbis are not the same. A solution has to be found through dialogue.”
The quota agitation has triggered a fresh political storm in Maharashtra.
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the government was working on a “war footing” to resolve the issue.
Sharad Pawar, chief of NCP (SP), called for a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 percent reservation cap, a demand echoed by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.
Ajit Pawar, however, countered that those suggesting amendments today had been in power for years but took no such steps.
Meanwhile, Raut urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to meet Jarange Patil directly at Azad Maidan, criticising the Centre and the state for mishandling the situation.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde defended the government’s approach, accusing the opposition of politicising the agitation instead of seeking solutions.
The panel’s findings are expected to shape the government’s next move, though legal hurdles, including Supreme Court rulings and the 50 percent reservation ceiling, complicate the matter.
