The increasing agitations by the Marathas for reservation will continue unless the community is included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC), Maratha Seva Sangh founder-president Purushottam Khedekar said on Friday.
Speaking exclusively to The Hindu , Mr. Khedekar, who is one of the driving forces behind the mammoth silent rallies by Marathas, said instead of taking concrete steps to find solutions to the community’s demands, the State government wants to wait and let the protest die a natural death.
He said, “If the government thinks that this strategy of wait-and-watch will work, I must say they are daydreaming. The only logical conclusion towards which these rallies are proceeding is the inclusion of Marathas in the OBC category. There have been numerous reports which certify the stand, and this is something the State government can do.”
According to Mr. Khedekar, the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission has recommend this. “The State commission is defunct since a year, which the government must look in to,” he said. Making light of fears of backlash from the existing OBC as including Marathas will cut into their share of reservation benefits, he said, “Why should they feel hurt anyway? At a time when Lingayats from outside the State can come and be a part of the OBCs here, why can’t the Marathas, who are originally Kunbis, be added in the list?”
Criticising the State government’s approach to the Maratha protests, he said, “It is being done purposely to concentrate only on two demands: reservation and amendment to the Atrocities Act. The government is purposely neglecting our demands in the agriculture sector, including on the prices for agricultural produce and the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission [recommendations]. Can’t they do this at least?”
The Maratha leader said the BJP-led State government’s tactic of bringing up the neglect of Marathas by the previous government is nothing but an attempt to divert the issue. “We have ensured that it won’t become a political battle. The government, on one hand, is trying to bring in political factors while on the other, it is hoping that the agitation will die its own death by not taking any positive step,” he alleged, hinting that the series of silent protests across the State are not unsettling the government as much as was required.
Mr. Khedekar called the State government’s decision to send its ministers to face the rallies and accept memorandums a futile exercise. “We are addressing the Chief Minister in our letters and those have already been submitted to various District Collectors. What will be gained by ministers facing protesters? I don’t think protesters will appreciate this gesture any more,” he said.
If the govt. thinks this strategy of wait-and-watch will work, I must say they are daydreamingPurushottam KhedekarPresident, Maratha Seva Sangh
