Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange Patil on Wednesday said they would not allow any political campaign in villages and asked his followers to block rural roads from Saturday.
“If the state government does not pass an ordinance giving relatives of all Kunbi Marathas caste certificates by March 24th, we would begin blocking roads in villages. From 10.30pm to 1pm and from 4pm to 7pm, we would have roadblocks. We will not allow any movement of vehicles,” said Patil.
The Maratha leader said they would not allow polls if they don’t get reservation and told politicians not to visit Maratha villages. “We would impound vehicle of politicians and return them only after the Lok Sabha elections,” said Patil.
He also said senior community members will begin indefinite fasts from March 1 across the state and the government would be responsible if anything happens to them.
The Maharashtra government had acceded to Patil’s demand to give Kunbi (OBC) caste certificates to those Marathas who had historical proof. Patil, however, wants the state to give kunbi certificates to even relatives of those with Kunbi caste certificates. This is being opposed by the OBC communities. The state government on Tuesday passed a bill offering 10% reservation to those who don’t have kunbi caste certificates but Patil has rejected the bill claiming they wanted the entire Maratha community to be included in OBC reservation.
