Overview

• Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has scheduled a protest at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan from August 29 seeking OBC-category status for the community.
• Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil called for face-to-face discussions with Jarange and warned that unlawful demonstrations would draw action.
• The government has reconstituted its cabinet sub-committee on the issue, appointing Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil as chair and including Chandrakant Patil as a member.
• Officials said the panel will coordinate legal and administrative steps, consult protestors, liaise with state advocates, streamline caste-certificate issuance, and review welfare schemes for Marathas.
• A 10% Maratha reservation announced last year is being implemented but is under challenge in the Bombay High Court, OBC groups oppose Jarange’s OBC demand, and the state continues tracing Kunbi records to issue eligible certificates.