The Maharashtra government has formed a 20-member team to assist a panel led by retired Justice Sandeep Shinde. The panel is tasked with addressing the demand for the recognition of the Maratha group as Kunbi and issuing them OBC certificates, stated the government resolution (GR) released on Monday, September 18.
The 20 members are taken from various departments of the state government. The said committee has been given a period of one month to submit the report to the government. During this, it will conduct meetings regarding the Martha reservation issue and also do other office work.
Employees are made available until the end of the work of the Service Committee. After the completion of the work of the committee, the said officers and employees will continue to work in their respective posts in their previous departments.
Office Allocation for the Committee
In another GR released by the government on the same day, it was announced that the committee has been allocated hall no. 720, 721, 721-A, 721-B, 722, 722-A, and 724 on the seventh floor of the state secretariat. That area is typically reserved for a minister of state.
The 20-member panel
The team includes deputy secretaries and undersecretaries. Notable members are Vijay Powar, deputy secretary from the home department; Rasik Khadse, undersecretary from the finance department; and Pooja Mankar, undersecretary from the civil supplies and consumer protection departments.
Dr. Shekhar Magar from the Tourism and Current Affairs Department, Ransingh Dere from the Department of School Education and Sports, and R Deshmukh from the Department of Social Justice and Special Assistance will be room officers.
Other members include assistant room officers Umesh Adkur, Tanaji Biradar, Vishnu Moholkar, Mahesh Mali, and P. L. Mane, and clerk typists Rupa Shinde, Rohit Shedge, Mayur Bhosle, and Rakesh Tandalekar.
Developments on Issue:
The GR comes in response to the recent hunger strike by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange. Jarange demanded that every member of the Maratha community be issued a Kunbi caste certificate, regardless of their place of birth.
The hunger strike turned violent when police used force to disperse a crowd on September 1. This incident led to unrest and protests across the state. Despite a resolution passed by the state government on September 7 addressing this demand, Jarange and his supporters rejected it.
Jarange's Demands
Jarange ended his 17-day hunger strike on September 14 after discussions with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other ministers. While ending the hunger strike, he presented five key demands to the state administration. These included dismissing police officers responsible for a lathi charge on demonstrators on September 1 and dropping cases against Maratha quota supporters.
In response to this incident, Jalna additional SP Rahul Khade, Ambad sub-divisional police officer Mukund Aghav, and Gondi police station in-charge assistant inspector Pradip Ekshinge were suspended. Whereas, Jalna SP Tushar Doshi was forced to take a leave.
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