The Maharashtra government will seek legal advice on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer to grant Kunbi status to Marathas, minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said on Sunday.
Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation issues, said the panel met to review the demand made by activist Manoj Jarange, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike in Mumbai since Friday.
Jarange is demanding that Marathas be identified as Kunbis, an OBC agrarian caste which would make them eligible for a 10% quota in jobs and education under the OBC category.
Vikhe Patil said Advocate General Biren Saraf and retired High Court judge Sandeep Shinde have been asked to study whether the Hyderabad and Satara gazetteers can legally support such a move.
“There is a Supreme Court observation that Marathas and Kunbis are not the same. We cannot override that. But we are open to discussions to find a workable solution,” he added.
The sub-committee is expected to brief Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on its deliberations.
