'Marathas from Marathwada with Nizam records to get Kunbi caste certificates'

The Maharashtra government has decided to issue Kunbi caste certificates to those Marathas belonging to the Marathwada region However the beneficiaries should possess documents from the Nizam era that certify them as Kunbis Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Wednesday reported news agency ANIKunbis the community associated with agriculture are grouped under the Other Backward Classes OBC category in MaharashtraPeople from the Maratha community in Marathwada who are recognised as Kunbis in documents from the Nizam era will get Kunbi certificates Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said speaking to reporters following a cabinet meeting reported ANIThe Marathwada region which was earlier part of the erstwhile Hyderabad kingdom became part of Maharashtra The region falls under the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra bordering the states of Karnataka and TelanganaShinde said a fivemember panel headed by judge Sandeep Shinde retired will determine the Standard Operating Procedure SOP including legal and administrative framework for giving caste certificates to members of the Maratha community referred to as Kunbis in the Nizamera documentsThe panel will submit its report in a monthAdditional Chief Secretary revenue Principal Secretary law and justice and collectors of concerned districts in Marathwada will be members of this committee The divisional commissioner Aurangabad will be the member secretary of the panelEknath Shinde further said that a committee of five people consisting of a retired judge has been formed to that effect This committee will investigate everything It will work to give reservations to these people he saidMaratha protester Manoj Jarange has been on hunger strike in Jalna district Jarange has been demanding for Marathas in Marathwada to be recognised as KunbisManoj Jarange Patil has been fighting for the Maratha reservation for many years Devendra Fadnavis had given it during his tenure then the matter went to the Supreme Court we will try our best to work on the Maratha reservation Whatever process has to be done we will do it Shinde addedThe chief ministers announcement came after protests by members of the Maratha community across the stateHe reiterated that the state government is committed to giving the reservation to MarathasThe erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government had worked sincerely to give reservation to the Maratha community The decision was challenged in the Bombay High Court but it upheld the governments decision However the quota was struck down by the Supreme Court Shinde addedWithout naming the previous Uddhav Thackerayled Maha Vikas Aghadi government Shinde said the Maratha reservation was struck down when those people criticising us now were in powerEarlier on Monday the Maharashtra government tendered an apology for the lathi charge during a protest over the Maratha reservation in Jalna and appealed for peaceA clash had broken out between police and protesters in Jalna demanding reservation for the Marathas on Friday Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protestersWith inputs from ANI and PTI