Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday said that the committee formed regarding the demand for Maratha reservation should be closed as its work is over. According to PTI, Bhujbal also said that he is not against separate reservation for Marathas but he is opposing the ongoing practice of obtaining Kunbi caste certificates by submitting fake or forged documents.
The state government has set up a committee headed by Justice Sandeep Shinde to decide the standard operating procedure (SOP) for granting Kunbi certificates to those members of the Maratha community (or whose ancestors were referred to as Kunbi in the Nizam-era). A five-member panel was formed. Kunbi is classified under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category in Maharashtra.
The Maratha community, led by activist Manoj Jarange, is demanding the issuance of Kunbi certificates to Marathas, allowing them to be included in the OBC category for reservation in government jobs and education. Bhujbal has said that while giving reservation to Marathas, the existing reservation for OBCs should not be cut.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Bhujbal said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had formed the committee to trace the Kunbi lineage from the Nizam rule in the pre-independence period. Bhujbal said that "Shinde Committee found sufficient evidence in Marathwada region, eligible people of Marathwada should get certificates, its work has been completed, now it should be closed".
Bhujbal said that the Supreme Court has already said that Marathas cannot be classified as OBC.
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