Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh says protest to oppose Kunbi certificates to Maratha community will continue

The Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh on Monday held a rally in Nagpur for various demands, including not giving Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community for the sake of reservations, and asserted its stir would continue.

Participants in the rally from Samvidhan Square to the collectorate said the outfit would protest till the state Maharashtra government calls it for talks and gives written assurance on the demands.

Among those who took part were Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, former ministers Anil Deshmukh, Sunil Kedar, Nitin Raut, and BJP's Ashish Deshmukh.

The outfit, which claims to represent Other Backward Classes, is agitating here since September 10 and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had met them on Saturday urging them to call off the stir.

''A memorandum of 15 demands addressed to the governor has been given at the collectorate. We will continue our protest till we are called for talks and a written assurance is given on these demands,'' Baban Taywade, president of the OBC Mahasangh Baban Taywade told PTI.

The state government is mulling giving Kunbi certificates to Marathas with certain conditions, including documents from the time when the Nizam ruled Hyderabad (till 1948), so that reservations can be provided in jobs and education.

The Kunbis have quota under the OBC category.

A protest by OBCs also took place in Gondia, with participants blocking the road at Jaistambha Chowk for an hour.

A memorandum submitted to the collector warned of a stir if plans to give reservations to Marathas under the OBC category were not dropped by Wednesday.

Outfits from all eight tehsils of Gondia took part in the protests, a functionary said.