Pune: OBC activist Laxman Hake on Friday took on NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on his home turf in Baramati and said that it was the veteran politician who backed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange. Hake said his community will continue to fight in the court as well as on the streets to safeguard its reservation.The OBC activist said, “When Jarange carried out his agitation (in Antarwali Sarati in 2023), Sharad Pawar was among the first to meet him. He fuelled his agitation. It is Pawar who raised the ghost of Jarange, which is now haunting the entire state.” Opposing the GR issued by the state govt on the basis of the Hyderabad Gazette that will make eligible Maratha community members for Kunbi certificate and reservation through the OBC quota, Hake and other OBC activists held a public rally in Baramati on Friday. They accused both Sharad Pawar and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar of injustice to the OBC community.Hake said, “All backward commissions and various courts rejected the social backwardness of the Maratha community, but Jarange has been demanding reservation for the community through the OBC quota. Despite the central govt introducing the 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Jarange wants to grab a share from the OBC quota. He is supported by Sharad Pawar.”The OBC activist also criticised Ajit Pawar who is also the finance minister. “Be it govt of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), Eknath Shinde, or Devendra Fadnavis, the finance minister has always been Ajit Pawar. His supporters claim that Ajit Pawar is not casteist, but in reality, anybody will notice that he has given more funds for the schemes meant for the Maratha community, and very little for OBCs. We challenge the Pawar family on their home turf and warn them that the OBCs will continue to fight for their rights,” Hake added.
