Pune/Sambhajinagar: The only way to implement reservation for the Maratha community, which has widespread political backing in Maharashtra, is by passing an ordinance in Parliament and in the state assembly, experts and leaders said on Wednesday. The decades-old demand for Maratha reservation is back in the spotlight after activist Manoj Jarange started his second round of an indefinite hunger strike on October 25 demanding that the entire community be granted Kunbi certificates so that they can avail the reservation granted under Other Backward Class (OBC) category.Experts, community leaders and senior politicians feel that such a reservation can be granted to the entire community only after a parliamentary process. Issuing Kunbi certificates, as proposed by Jarange, could be an interim step, they added. Rajesh Karpe, former member of Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission, said amending the Constitution is the easiest way to offer reservation to the Marathas and other communities demanding it without causing friction in society.The Supreme Court upheld the 103rd Constitution Amendment providing for 10% quota for the economically weaker sections. Such an amendment proved that the 50% cap on reservation is just notional, Karpe said. A similar amendment can offer reservation not only to the Marathas but also to the Jats from north India and the Patels from Gujarat, Karpe said. A special quota could be created by granting 8% to 10% reservation, he added.Former chief minister Ashok Chavan told mediapersons on Tuesday that till the Centre decides about the 50% cap, chief minister Eknath Shinde should clarify the governments measures towards offering reservation. The government should call a special session of the legislature and decide, he said.Karpe said offering OBC certificates to the Maratha community based on past records would only help a handful of Marathas who identify themselves as Kunbis.After scrutinising 1.7 crore documents so far, only over 11,500 Marathas were found eligible for OBC certificates. The number may increase by another 5,000 to 7,000 after more claims are made. The total number of such beneficiaries is negligible considering that nearly 33% of the 12 crore population in the state is Maratha, he said. Including Marathas in the OBC category would cause friction in society, he added. The community itself is fragmented. Union minister Narayan Rane, a former chief minister and head of a state panel on Maratha reservation in 2013, said that there is no need to give Kunbi certificates to all Marathas. There is a difference between Kunbis and Marathas, he said. Purushottam Khedekar, founder of Maratha Seva Sangh, said Marathas from Marathwada and those from western Maharashtra and Vidarbha view themselves differently. Marathas in Vidarbha are entitled to Kunbi certificates. The Marathas in western Maharashtra do not like to be identified as Kunbi. However, they should understand the issues faced by the Marathas of Marathwada who require assistance to uplift themselves. If not for all, the state government should consider making some special provision to give reservation to the Marathas from Marathwada as Kunbi, Khedekar added. Rajendra Kunjir, coordinator of Maratha Kranti Morcha that held massive silent protests in 2016-17, said it is high time the government resolves long-pending demand. We have been fighting for reservation for 40 years. The government should hold meetings with Maratha and OBC leaders to accommodate former in OBC category, Kunjir told TOI, adding a Kunbi certificate can be optional. Leaders do not see legal measures that are being cited by the government fetching results. Karpe, who is a member of the academic council of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said there is not much hope from the curative petition filed by the state government in Supreme Court to restore the quota earlier granted to the Marathas in 2018. Khedekar concurred. He said, The verdict may not be in favour of the government. The court will never uphold the resolution of the state government as it goes against the constitutional provisions of the reservation quotas for different communities.(With inputs from Swatee Kher)

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