Thousands of protesters from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) took to the streets of Nagpur on Friday, October 10, 2025, to voice their opposition to the State government’s controversial September 2 Government Resolution (GR). The GR allows members of the Maratha community to obtain caste certificates under the Kunbi category, an agrarian community recognised as OBC, sparking widespread dissent among OBC groups.
The OBC leaders claimed the GR is an injustice to the entire group and compromises their “rightful share” in the reservation. Demonstrators from several districts of Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region joined the rally under the banner of the “Sakal OBC Maha Morcha,” organised by Sakal OBC Sanghatana, the umbrella body.
The rally began at Nagpur’s Yeshwant Stadium and proceeded to Samvidhan Square, where protesters raised slogans such as “Ek mission, OBC arakshan”. The Sanghatana (organisation) has warned the government to withdraw the GR or face consequences.
The leaders also demanded higher reservations based on the Telangana model. During the rally, Congress legislative party senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Increase the OBC quota to 42% similar to the Telangana model. If that happens, we are with you.”
He called out the State government and slammed quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil for creating a divide between the two communities.
Calling the protest “historic”, Mr. Wadettiwar said, “The 384 OBC communities, who are 56% of the population, receive 27% reservation. The OBC combined with Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) consist of 85% of the population, which receives only 52% reservation, while 15% of the people receive 48% reservation, this is Chanakya Niti.”
Mahayuti government’s Maratha GR received backlash from several OBC communities, including Kunbi, Dhangar, and others, as the GR allows providing Kunbi certificates to members of the Maratha community, who can prove their OBC ancestry and give access to the reservation in government jobs and education, and has created fear among OBCs of reducing their existing share in reservations.
The GR was issued in response to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s Azad Maidan protest in Mumbai. Since last month, the State has witnessed several OBC protests, including the recent one in Mumbai held on Thursday (October 9), where thousands joined, demanding the cancellation of GR.
Along with Mr. Wadettiwar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Deshmukh, OBC activists Laxman Hake and Mahadev Jankar, among others, were also present at the protest. At the protest, Mr. Wadettiwar slammed the government for creating “rift” between the communities to “finish” the reservation in future, asking, “How Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar can do injustice to people who brought him to power?”
In response to the massive rally in Nagpur, Mr. Jarange Patil called the protest “Congress’s rally” and not OBCs. “This is a gimmick to rebuild and expand the party and a way to get OBC on their side. This has been done on the instructions of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.”
Meanwhile, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule labelled the rally as “misleading’ and “conspiracy” as the GR is just for Marathwada and concerns the Nizam era. “In the meeting on Maratha reservation attended by 30-40 representatives, including Mr. Wadettiwar, we clarified all the apprehensions, cleared the misunderstandings, and also ensured no misuse of the GR.”
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