Maharashtra Water Resources Minister and Cabinet Subcommittee Chairman, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil on Friday said that the state government has received a memorandum of demands on behalf of the Maratha community submitted by the pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and a discussion is taking place. In his reaction shortly after Jarange-Patil launched his indefinite fast in Mumbai demanding reservation to the Maratha community from the OBC quota, Vikhe-Patil said, “The government is sympathetic to the demands of Jarange-Patil. The government has never made this issue a matter of prestige. Jarange-Patil’s demands are under the government’s consideration. "The process of issuing Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community as per the Hyderabad Gazette is still going on. If anyone is still deprived of certificates, appropriate action will be taken by the Justice Sandeep Shinde committee.”
He assured that the government was open to discussion and would consider new demands, if any, from Jarange-Patil. “A solution can be found only through discussion. Everyone feels that a solution should be found on the reservation issue. Action is also being taken at the administrative level regarding reservation. Information about the process going on regarding the Hyderabad Gazette and Satara Gazette has not yet come to light,” he said.
Earlier, Vikhe-Patil said, “The reservation issue will not be resolved by just criticising Chief Minister Fadnavis personally. The Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders should atone for not providing reservation to the Maratha community instead of simply advising the government. The government is ready to talk to Jarange-Patil at any time. Our position is to hold discussions with him. We will take a decision in this regard after discussing with the members of the subcommittee. If there is positivity from both sides, it will help to take the discussion to a logical conclusion.” Meanwhile, Jarange-Patil has received support from both ruling and Opposition parties for his indefinite fast to press his demands. The NCP, which is the BJP’s ally in the MahaYuti government, has been at the forefront to extend its support. Party legislators Prakash Solanke, Vijaysinh Pandit, Rajesh Vitekar and Raju Navghare, have been actively present during his march to Mumbai and also at Azad Maidan.
Incidentally, though BJP and Shiv Sena have been sympathetic to Jarange-Patil’s demands, so far their legislators and MPs have refrained from showing their presence at Azad Maidan. NCP(SP) legislators Rohit Pawar, Prakash Solanke, Uttamrao Jankar, Narayan Patil and Sandeep Kshirsagar and party MP Bajarang Sonawane have supported Jarange-Patil’s indefinite fast. On the part of Shiv Sena (UBT), party MPs Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Jadhav and legislator Kailas Patil have extended their support. The Peasants and Workers Party legislator Babasaheb Deshmukh also announced his support.