Mumbai : The State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) will begin hearing more than one lakh memorandums, received from various organisations and individuals across the state on the inclusion of the Maratha community in Other Backward Classes (OBCs), from the first week of September. Five different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its parent organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), submitted their reports to the commission last month.
The SBCC will complete its hearing in three days, from September 5 to 7. The commission has also received memorandums against including Marathas in the OBC quota. Justice (retired) M G Gaikwad, chairman of SBCC, has met several people across the state to listen them and has accepted memorandums.
The SBCC has informed the state government and the Bombay High Court it will submit the final report by the end of November. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had, on August 6, informed the people of the state through Doordarshan’s Sahyadri channel that the state will complete all legal and constitutional procedures by the end of November.
The report of the sample survey conducted by the five NGOs has already been submitted to the commission.
Chain protest by Marathas from August 20 in Pune
Mumbai : The Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) and Sakal Maratha Samaj (SMS) have called for their members to hold an indefinite chain hunger fast from August 20. This ‘sakhli uposhan’ will take place outside the office of Pune Divisional Commissioner. In a meeting held in Pune on Saturday, the organisers said that the hunger fast will be held to demand the withdrawal of cases registered against the Marathas who participated in various protests from July 23 to August 9, the day of the Maharashtra bandh.
“We have also demanded that the government should give jobs to the family members of protestors who have committed suicides for the Maratha reservations,” said the organisers. Members who addressed the media were Shantaram Kunjir, Balasaheb Amrale, Tushar Kakde, Rekha Konde and Sushil Pawar in Pune. The organisers have prepared a code of conduct to hold the chain protest.
