MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday, announced that during the all-party meeting earlier in the day, a consensus was reached to provide reservations to the Maratha community while ensuring that the existing quotas for other communities in the state remain unchanged.

Addressing the press, chief minister Shinde made an appeal to activist Manoj Jarange, who has been on a hunger strike advocating for Maratha reservation since October 25, to discontinue his fast and allow the government some time to address the issue.

During the all-party meeting, it was unanimously agreed that the state should make endeavors to secure Maratha reservation while keeping the existing quotas of other communities intact.

Shinde urged and beseeched Manoj Jarange to cease his hunger strike and collaborate with the government.
He emphasized that the state requires some time to prepare for the curative petition filed in the Supreme Court.
The government is actively engaged on two fronts: firstly, issuing Kunbi caste certificates to

Marathas from Marathwada to enable them to access OBC reservation benefits, and secondly, ensuring the submission for the curative petition filed in the Supreme Court is free from errors, as mentioned by Chief Minister Shinde.

“The all-party meeting also expressed its disappointment over the violent incidents reported in the last few days. Such violent acts would be a blot on the Maratha community’s agitation for reservation. The state government needs some time to prepare a submission that will pass the legal test,” he said.
“The state government is making honest efforts so that the Maratha community gets reservation benefits. The backward class commission is working on a war footing. The reservation given by the government when Devendra Fadnavis was chief minister was upheld by the Bombay high court but struck down by the Supreme Court on the grounds of some errors. We want to avoid a repetition of this situation,” Shinde added.
Shinde, in his plea to Jarange, urged him to have faith in the government’s initiatives.
He expressed concern that incidents of violence should not jeopardize the safety of the general public.
Shinde emphasized the importance of the entire Maratha community supporting the state government in this matter.
With agency inputs