Overview

• The state’s GR allows eligible Marathas to secure Kunbi (OBC) certificates using Hyderabad Gazette records, with the chief minister promising strict verification and no acceptance of bogus claims.
• Banjara activists launched an indefinite hunger strike in Jalna on September 11 and called large morchas in Jalna and Beed for September 15 after a 32-year-old community member reportedly died by suicide urging ST recognition.
• ST and Adivasi leaders objected to Banjara inclusion in the ST list, warning of quota encroachment and noting the community already receives a 3% VJNT reservation.
• OBC outfits escalated opposition to the GR and scheduled a mass morcha in Nagpur on October 10, as leaders warned the move could affect the rights of 374 listed OBC castes and political reservations in local bodies.
• Sharad Pawar accused the Mahayuti government of weakening social cohesion and denied ties to Manoj Jarange’s agitation, drawing a sharp retort from Devendra Fadnavis and highlighting rifts with OBC minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s hard line.