NAGPUR: Thousands of people from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community participated in a rally in Nagpur on Friday, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the September 2 Government Resolution (GR) granting Kunbi status to eligible Marathas. The protesters warned that if the GR is not scrapped soon, the OBC community would choke the roads of cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane.
The protest march, organised under the banner of the Sakal OBC Maha Morcha, began at Yeshwant Stadium and culminated in a large gathering three kilometres away at Samvidhan Square in Nagpur’s busy Civil Lines area. Thousands of participants, holding placards and chanting slogans, opposed the GR, which allows Marathas who can prove their Kunbi lineage to claim OBC status. They argued that issuing Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas would unfairly dilute the existing OBC reservation benefits.
Addressing the gathering, Congress MLA and former leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, accused the Devendra Fadnavis government of succumbing to pressure from Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.
“The government issued this GR to finish the OBCs in Maharashtra,” he alleged, warning that if the decision is not revoked, OBCs across the state would paralyse Mumbai, Pune, and Thane through their agitation. “When Jarange-Patil could choke the traffic of Mumbai demanding inclusion of Marathas into Kunbis, we will jam the whole of Mumbai, along with Pune and Thane, to show our strength,” he said.
Calling the September 2 notification a “black GR”, Wadettiwar said, “This is a calculated move to weaken OBC rights, and we will uproot it completely through unity and determination.” He added that the state government was “putting a hammer on the necks of OBCs” and must either protect their rights or face the consequences.
The protest march, led by the Sakal OBC Sanghatana, an umbrella group representing various OBC castes, saw participation from prominent community leaders, including Wadettiwar, former home minister Anil Deshmukh, ex-minister Sunil Kedar, Chandrapur MP Pratibha Dhanorkar, and activists Laxman Hake and Mahadev Jankar.
Protesters raised slogans such as “Ek Mission – OBC arakshan (One mission – OBC reservation),” asserting that the state government’s decision violates the constitutional safeguards of their reservation quota. Organisers reiterated that they are not opposed to the Maratha community, but will continue state-wide protests until the GR is withdrawn. “We are not against our Maratha brothers,” one speaker said, “but inclusion under the OBC category cannot come at the cost of existing communities’ share.”
The Maharashtra government had issued the September 2 GR following persistent protests by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who had held a five-day sit-in agitation at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. The order allows Marathas who can prove their Kunbi ancestry through historical records to receive Kunbi caste certificates. To establish eligibility, the GR provides for the use of the 1918 Hyderabad gazetteer, which documented Marathas as Kunbis during the Nizam’s rule. OBC organisations have strongly opposed this move, fearing it will erode their quota share and intensify competition for limited opportunities.
Interestingly, not a single legislator or representative from the ruling parties—Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party—attended the rally. The absence of prominent pro-OBC leaders such as Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde, and OBC Mahasangh president Babanrao Tayawade was also noted.
Despite an appeal from revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who urged organisers to cancel the event, citing the distress of farmers due to incessant rains, the Sakal OBC Sanghatna decided to proceed with the rally. A large number of people from the OBC community, especially from the Vidarbha region and various districts across the state, participated in the rally.
Reacting to the protest match, Jarange-Patil said it was politically motivated. “Wadettiwar is trying to finish the Congress by organising such anti-people protests. There is no need to give importance to him,” he said.
Bawankule, who himself belongs to the OBC community, termed the rally a planned conspiracy against the state government and a ploy to mislead the OBCs. “The September 2 Government Resolution applies solely to the Marathwada region,” he clarified.
Bawankule also said that during a recent meeting between OBC representatives led by Wadettiwar and Fadnavis, the chief minister assured the delegation that the GR would not be misused and that Kunbi certificates would be issued only to genuinely eligible individuals.
“If anyone seeks clarification about the GR, we are ready to explain everything. This government has launched several development initiatives for OBCs and remains committed to the welfare of the community,” Bawankule added.