Speaking to reporters after a meeting of OBC leaders, Bhujbal warned that hundreds of thousands of people from the OBC community would stage protests if the reservation meant for them was removed.
Activist Manoj Jarange has been on hunger strike since August 29 at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai to demand Kunbi status for Marathas, which would allow them to benefit from quotas as Kunbis are part of the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
“The court has already termed as senseless the demand to classify Marathas and Kunbis under one community. Of the 27 per cent reservation meant for OBCs, 6 per cent is for the nomadic tribes, 2 per cent for the Gowari community and other small portions are reserved for different groups. Only 17 per cent remains and that too is shared among 374 communities,” Bhujbal said.
“Marathas should not be included in OBCs, I request it with folded hands,” he said.
Bhujbal, who always opposed Jarange’s demand, reiterated that such a move would be unfair to the existing backward communities.
He claimed that OBCs are already struggling to get limited opportunities in government jobs and educational institutions, and any further dilution on their part would harm them.
The minister further said that he had met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis earlier today to convey the concerns of OBC groups.
“I informed the chief minister about the stand taken by various OBC organisations, and they made it clear that they would not allow their rights to be compromised,” he said.
He further warned that thousands of OBCs would stage protests if the reservation meant for them was removed.
“We have no problem if Marathas get reservation without changing the OBC quota,” he said.
In recent months, Bhujbal has emerged as one of the loudest voices opposing the Jarange agitation, which has focused on the demand to recognize Marathas as Kunbis through documentary evidence and historical gazetteers, thereby bringing them under the OBC fold.
He argued that such reclassification is neither legally tenable nor socially just.
