Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Thursday, 6 August accused the Maharashtra government of orchestrating a deliberate conspiracy against the Maratha community, following the cancellation of Kunbi caste certificates of four women Maratha public representatives in the Marathwada region by the Caste Scrutiny Committee. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis swiftly denied any political or administrative interference, asserting the committee functions as a fully autonomous body under Supreme Court directives.

Jarange's Allegations

Addressing a press conference, Jarange Patil claimed the government had deliberately issued Kunbi records only to revoke them later — a calculated move, he alleged, to isolate him politically and betray the very community that voted the ruling alliance into power. 'A major, deliberate conspiracy has been hatched right from within the Maharashtra government,' he stated.

Presenting documents to journalists, he pointed to specific cases, alleging that the certificate of Jyoti Shinde was revoked out of political malice. He further cited a historical Urdu record for Yashwanta Dahihande, registered at the Gram Panchayat level, and claimed that Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule personally called officials to order cancellations. 'No government official possesses as much proof as we are presenting,' he remarked, questioning why legitimate certificates were being labelled as fake. He also warned of electoral consequences: 'The government gets elected by the Marathas and then betrays them. We will take the biggest revenge in 2029.'

What the Chief Minister Said

CM Fadnavis distanced his administration from the controversy, clarifying that the Caste Scrutiny Committee is governed exclusively by rules laid down by the Supreme Court. 'I have not heard Manoj Jarange Patil's full remarks, but I want to clarify that when certificates go to the Caste Scrutiny Committee, they function under the rules laid down by the Supreme Court,' he told reporters. 'The state government does not interfere in its functioning in any way,' he added.

Fadnavis noted that while he did not have the exact figures on cancelled Kunbi certificates, the committee routinely records a 10% to 12% rejection rate across various categories — a figure that sometimes rises to between 10% and 25% for non-Kunbi OBC certificates. He pointed out that certificates of several Zilla Parishad members and municipal councillors belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had also been cancelled, arguing this demonstrated the absence of political targeting.

The Kunbi Certificate Dispute in Context

The Kunbi sub-classification has been at the heart of the Maratha reservation debate for years. Maratha activists, including Jarange Patil, have argued that many Marathas are historically linked to the Kunbi community and should receive OBC status on that basis. The Caste Scrutiny Committee is the statutory body empowered to verify and, where necessary, cancel caste certificates found to be deficient or fraudulent — a process that has periodically triggered political flashpoints.

Notably, this is not the first time the cancellation of Kunbi certificates has sparked a public standoff between Maratha activists and the state government. The dispute reflects the broader tension between the community's demand for reservation and the procedural requirements of the caste verification framework.

What Happens Next

CM Fadnavis indicated that an appeal mechanism exists for those whose certificates have been cancelled, and that senior officials would examine whether proper procedure was followed in each case. Deficiencies identified by the committee can be rectified through this process. Jarange Patil, however, showed no signs of backing down, signalling that the issue could intensify ahead of the 2029 electoral cycle.