"Stop Issuing Kunbi Certificates," Says OBC Leader Chhagan Bhujbal As Maratha Agitation Intensifies

The Maratha agitation for reservation has intensified once again with reports of road-blocks on several state and national highways in Maharashtra. This comes after the agitation’s leader, Manoj Jarange, has resumed his fast unto death in Antarwali-Sarati village in Jalna.

Jarange has been demanding that the state government immediately promulgate a law to enforce the recently issued government resolution (GR) guaranteeing Other Backward Class (OBC) Kunbi certificates to all Marathas.

In order to pacify the protesters, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on 16 February 2024 held a press conference announcing that the government will be convening a special session on 20 February for ensuring reservation to Marathas. This was swiftly countered by a separate press conference held by Chhagan Bhujbal, the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies.

Bhujbal, who is a prominent OBC leader has consistently opposed blanket inclusion of Marathas, a socio-politically and numerically dominant caste, into the OBC category.

In his recent public interaction, he has come down heavily against his own government for allegedly having "bowed to the unjust demands of the agitators".

Also Read Explained: The Maratha-Kunbi Conundrum And Cracks In Maharashtra's All-Party OBC Camp

Regardless of the recently issued GR, he has demanded that the government must immediately stop issuing Kunbi certificates to applicants.

Here are some of the major arguments made by Bhujbal against the state government as well as the Maratha agitators:

1) According to Bhujbal, the due process that must be followed for issuing any caste certificates is not being followed by the administration working under the pressure of the state government. “Moreover, there have been instances of forged Kunbi entries against the name of forefathers in revenue records,” he said.

2) The state government has claimed that more than one crore individuals have been covered through the socio-economic survey being conducted to prove Marathas as socially backward that too in just 15 days. “Considering the length of the questionnaire, to complete an interview of one individual, it takes one hour. Then, how is it possible that surveyors covered more than a crore people in such a short span?”

3) Bhujbal claimed that nearly 88 members of a family in Nashik district had received Kunbi certificates as a result of the GR and pressure on administration

4) He further claimed that retired justice Chandralal Meshram, member of the State Backward Classes Commission, was removed from the body because he had raised objections to the arbitrary mode of its functioning in case of Maratha reservation

5) “How can a historically ruling caste be socially backward?” Bhujbal asked with reference to Marathas. “There is certainly economic backwardness prevalent among Marathas but to overcome this, there are already many provisions in place, including the 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections,” he added.

6) Commenting on the disparity between the existing OBCs and Marathas, Bhujbal said, “If you place a Maratha Patil, who has always commanded respect owing to his stature in a village, with a Dhangar (shepherd) who have transitioned from being nomadic to sedentary just a few generations back, isn’t it obvious who is socially backward?”

“I fear, if the Supreme Court overlooks this Kunbi certificate route taken by Marathas to seek reservation, it might then also say that the OBC reservation must not exceed the one at present. This will then set a precedent. And then it is us, the smaller castes within the OBC grouping, who will pay the price,” Bhujbal added.