Amid raging Maratha quota stir, OBC leader Wadettiwar seeks increase in security

Maharashtra Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding an increase in his security after he allegedly received threat messages

Maharashtra Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on November 13 wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding an increase in his security after he allegedly received threat messages.

Mr. Wadettiwar’s request comes in the wake of his sharp criticism of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s demand for Marathas to be given Kunbi Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates.

An influential OBC leader from Vidarbha and the Congress’ OBC face, Mr. Wadettiwar had recently censured Mr. Jarange-Patil by accusing the activist of seeking political mileage in demanding the Eknath Shinde government give Kunbi OBC certificates to all Marathas by December 24.

Like OBC leader and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Ajit Pawar faction) Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Mr. Wadettiwar said Maratha youths would not really benefit from being included in the OBC Kunbi category, and that granting Kunbi certificates to Marathas would also be unjust to the 372 sub-castes under the OBC category.

The Congress leader had further claimed that Mr. Jarange-Patil did not really care for the interests of the Maratha community’s youth and urged them to study the problem for themselves.

Mr. Wadettiwar criticised the Shinde government for failing to address the problems of the OBCs. “It has been the policy of all State governments, particularly the current Shinde government, to take OBC votes for granted and then slight our community once its use is over. Just because the OBC community is scattered into 370 different castes does not mean we cannot come together if needed,” he said.

In response, Mr. Jarange-Patil said OBC leaders ought to stop talking against Maratha reservation and about the Maratha community in general.