Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Monday said the government is working on a solution to the Maratha quota issue, which will stand in the court of law, reported news agency PTI.
Activist Manoj Jarange, who is staging a hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, has vowed to stop drinking water from Monday, the fourth day of his agitation, over his demand for reservation to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
Vikhe Patil, who heads a cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha reservation issue, met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday night to discuss the situation.
“We are working to resolve the issue. I agree it`s taking time. But the solution should be sustainable in courts,” the minister told reporters.
He said the protesters should ensure the daily routine of Mumbai residents is not affected, as it will show their agitation in a poor light.
Fadnavis is expected to meet his deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, to discuss the government`s plan to end the stand-off.
Jarange, who has been staging the indefinite hunger strike from Friday over his demand for a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the OBC category, has demanded that the government issue a GR based on the reservation based on available records.
The state government on Sunday said it will seek a legal opinion on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer on the Kunbi status- an OBC caste- for the Maratha community.
Jarange, however, remained unimpressed and said he won`t budge from the protest venue till his demands are met, even if the Fadnavis government fires bullets at protesters.
Asserting he will not leave Mumbai till his demands are met, Jarange on Sunday said, “The government has records of 58 lakh Marathas as Kunbis.”
“From tomorrow (Monday), I will stop taking water as the government is not accepting the demands. But I am not going back till the quota demand is met. We will get the reservation for Marathas under the OBC category no matter what,” the activist told his supporters.
“The government should say that Marathas are a sub-caste of Kunbis. There are 58 lakh records that have been found, which show links of Marathas as Kunbis. Those who want a reservation will take it. Don`t generalise Marathas as Kunbis if there is a legal issue,” Jarange told a press conference on Sunday night.
No one can stop Marathas from getting reservation under the OBC category, he claimed.
(With inputs from PTI)
