As the BJP-led MahaYuti Government grapples with the vexed Marathas vs Other Backward Classes (OBCs) quota issue, the Banjara and Dhangar community members have rooted for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, complicating the controversy over the reservations further ahead of the local body polls in Maharashtra.
A demand by the Banjaras and Dhangars communities has come after the MahaYuti Government — comprising BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) — agreed to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s demand and issued a Government Resolution (GR) on September 2 to implement the Hyderabad Gazetteer to facilitate Kunabis in Marathwada to seek Kunbi status and reservation under OBC category Kunbis, a sub-caste of the Marathas, a predominantly agrarian community, are listed as OBCs, who totally get a 27 per cent quota. As things stand in Maharashtra, the reservations under categories have touched 62 per cent, which is much above the Supreme Court’s cap of 50 per cent.
The break-up of reservations in Maharashtra — Scheduled Castes — (13 per cent), Scheduled Tubes (7 per cent), Other Backward Classes (19 per cent), Special Backward Classes (two per cent), Denotified Tribes (A) Vimukta Jati (three per cent), Nomadic Tribes (B) —(2.5 per cent), Nomadic Tribes (C) Dhangar — (3.5 per cent), Nomadic Tribes (D) Vanjari — (two per cent) and Socially and Economically Backward Classes (Maratha) — (10 per cent)
In addition to the above reservations, there is the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota which is applicable to the non-reserved section of the population, regardless of caste and religion, with an annual income limit cap of `8 lakh. The GR issued by the Maharashtra Government to accord reservations to Kunbis under the OBC category has run into rough weather, with senior NCP leader and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal and Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar opposing the Government order. So much so that Bhujbal has threatened to move the Bombay High Court if the state Government did not withdraw the latest GR on reservations.
While Bhujbal has said that the GR was notified “in haste, under the tremendous pressure of one powerful community, without it being put before the Cabinet, not considering any objections and suggestions”, Wadet-tiwar has said that the OBCs had decided to file a bunch of petitions against the GR in all four benches of the (Bombay) high court—Mumbai, Nagpur, Chhatra-pati Sambhajinagar and Kolhapur”.
“The state Government has opened a Pandora’s box by accepting Jarange’s demand. OBCs have no objection to caste certificates for those having Kunbi records in the gazetteer after they furnish their documents,” Bhujbal said.
“In the earlier state Government’s decision on Maratha reservation, the word “eligible” was used. However, while issuing the latest GR, the word “eligible” was omitted. This implies that the Maratha community could be granted blanket reservation under the OBC category,” Wadettiwar said
On their part, the Banjara community members are demanding that their community be included in the ST category on the ground that the Hyderabad Gazette identifies them as STs against the Vimukt Jati (A) category they are currently in. If their demand is accepted their reservation quota will increase from 3% to 7%.
The Dhangar community has also renewed its long-pending demand for inclusion of their community in the ST category. Currently, they are getting reservations under the OBC quota.
