Former Rajya Sabha MP and Kolhapur royal Sambhaji Chatrapati has decided to up the ante over the demand for reservations by the Maratha community by inviting all 67 MPs from the State (48 in the Lok Sabha, 19 in the Rajya Sabha) for a meeting on the issue in Delhi on Monday.
Mr. Chatrapati — considered the 13th generation descendant of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and also that of Shahu Maharaj, the late ruler of Kolhapur who was one of the first to implement reservations in jobs for marginalised sections back in 1902 — has been very active on this issue, even before the latest round of protests headed by Manoj Jarange Patil. He is also in the process of getting his new political party, Swarajya, up and running with plans to contest at least 50 seats in the next Assembly polls in Maharashtra.
In a letter written to all MPs from Maharashtra, Mr. Chatrapati said: “For the past few months, the issue of Maratha reservation has again come to the fore. Manoj Jarange Patil is touring Maharashtra agitating for reservation. Millions are active participants of the movement of which a large faction are the youth. Which is why I would like to earnestly request that you raise your voice unanimously as elected representatives during the Winter Session.”
As of now, Mr Patil has suspended his hunger strike after the Maharashtra government assured him that his demands will be met by the third week of December. A curative petition on the Maratha reservation was also admitted in the Supreme Court. The Maratha reservation agitation has also led to an OBC backlash led by a Minister in the NDA government, Chhagan Bhujbal, making the situation in the State even more complicated.
Sources close to Mr. Chatrapati said that Maratha reservation requires a push from the Centre, and amendments to certain constitutional provisions to make it legally tenable; however, political will seems to be lacking at the moment. “The meeting is hoping to address that,” said the source.
