"Manoj Jarange Patil Took Back Movement": Eknath Shinde On Maratha Quota

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said today that quota was a long-standing demand of the Marathas and was there even when he was the Chief Minister. He also thanked activist Manoj Jarange Patil and the other protesters, who steered the ship to port with his five-day fast. 

"All these things that Manoj Jarange Patil did for the Maratha society -- it was a movement, today he has taken back his movement... without harming any other society, without harming the Maratha society," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.  

Underscoring that the government has always been "positive about the Maratha society," he said, "When I was the Chief Minister, Sir, one of the main demands of the movement was that the Maratha community be given the status of Kunbhi".

That allotment was done earlier today, and Mr Patil ended his fast with lemon juice.

The Kunbis are a peasant caste from Marathwada and the Marathas have long demanded that Maharashtra recognises them as part of the community. 

Marathas in the Marathwada region are officially recorded as Kunbis, but not in Maharashtra. The Kunbi community, however, enjoys reservation under the OBC category. 

The document helped him position the reservation not as a political move, but as a restoration of a historical identity. 

About how the legal puzzle could handled, he said Marathas who want quota in jobs and reservation would have to produce evidence that they are connected to the Kunbhi community. Once that is investigated and approved, the caste certificate will be issued by the village authorities or the local government officials.

"Whoever will give an affidavit stating that 'I am Kunbi', and their grandfathers, great-grandfathers, whoever is in any relation of the village, if they have a Kunbi certificate, then definitely, on their basis, it will be checked and issued a certificate. So they can get its benefits," he said.