Marathas call off protest; say govt accepted their demands
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Mumbai: Maratha quota demanders who were planning demonstrations on Saturday called it off, stating that the Shinde government in Maharashtra accepted their demands, PTI reported.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, leader of the protesters who were demanding reservations, expressed satisfaction that the government has issued a notification to issue Kunbi caste certificates to all relatives of the Marathas whose records (linked to Kunbi caste) have been found.
He made the announcement at Vashi in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, where he camped overnight with thousands of supporters after reaching the place on Friday morning.
“Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has done a good job. Our protest is now over. Our request has been accepted. We will accept the letter from him. I will drink juice from the hands of the Chief Minister,” Jarange was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
On Friday night, CM Shinde brought out a draft ordinance on the demands made by Maratha activist Jarange. The CM held meetings with officials to discuss Marathas' demands and sent a delegation with the draft ordinance to meet Jarange, a Shinde’s office statement stated.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is set to meet Jarange. Both of them are likely to address the people present there.
Earlier on Friday, Jarange made a fresh demand that the government amend its free education policy to include all Marathas until the benefit of reservation becomes available for the entire community.
He has sought data on the 37 lakh Kunbi certificates issued by the state government. Kunbi, an agrarian community, falls in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, and Jarange has been demanding Kunbi certificates for all Marathas.