A delegation of Maharashtra ministers on Thursday met the OBC activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare and urged them to end their fast. However, both activists refused to halt their protests till the government gave in writing that the existing OBC reservation will not be disturbed. Meanwhile, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange reiterated that the state government was deliberately creating Maratha-OBC rift and vowed to continue his agitation for Maratha reservation from the OBC category.
The government delegation comprising ministers Atul Save, Uday Samant, Girish Mahajan and MLC Gopichand Padalkar met the OBC activists at the protest site at Wadigodri village in Jalna district. Newly-elected Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre was also present. After meeting the activists, Mahajan also called up chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and made them tal k to the protesting activists.
However, Hake and Waghmare, who have been fasting since June 13, refused to halt their agitation and instead, demanded a written assurance from the government that the OBC quota won't be diluted. The two are opposed to Jarange’s demand over implementation of the draft notification that recognises Maratha community members as “Kunbis”, which is part of the OBC category. “The government should make its stand clear and cancel the “back-door entry to reservation through 54 lakh Kunbi-Maratha records,” Hake said.
The OBC activist also accused Jarange of arm twisting the .
