OBC Sangharsh Samiti submits 25 demands in Solapur, warns of statewide agitation

Solapur, October 16, 2026: The OBC Samaj Sangharsh Samiti, Solapur, on October 14, 2026 submitted a detailed memorandum of 25 key demands at the Collector's office in Solapur. The memorandum was forwarded through the Collector to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, with a request that the demands be decided on quickly.

The memorandum demands a separate caste-wise census of the OBC community so that its population is made public. It also asks that bogus Kunbi-Maratha caste certificates be cancelled, the reservation backlog be filled, education and employment opportunities be provided, Mahajyoti be funded, and pending issues of Bhatke-Vimukt, shepherd and other deprived communities be resolved.

On the census and reservation, the Samiti said caste-wise population should be published in a separate column. It wants a white paper on sanctioned, filled and vacant OBC posts in government jobs, clearing the reservation backlog. It seeks an impartial inquiry into fake, illegal and irregular Kunbi caste certificates, action against the guilty persons and officials, and cancellation of illegal certificates. It also asks for a separate mechanism to stop encroachment on reservation, a special drive to fill the recruitment backlog, protection of OBC political reservation in local self-government bodies, and effective implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations.

On education, scholarships and Mahajyoti, the demands include free education for OBC students from KG to PG in government and private institutions. Scholarships should be raised in line with the cost-of-living index, and scholarships and fellowships should be paid on time. Mahajyoti should immediately get a fund of Rs 100 crore and have its head office in Pune. PhD fellowships should be increased from 200 to 1,000 and overseas scholarships from 75 to 750. The 72 hostels proposed across the state's 36 districts should be started. Eligible students who do not get hostel admission should receive a living allowance and financial aid on the lines of the Swadhar and Swayam schemes.

On employment and economic development, the demands include an unemployment allowance of Rs 20,000 a month for eligible unemployed graduates and highly educated youth until they get jobs. MPSC examinations, results and recruitment should be transparent, and candidates who lost chances because of cancelled examinations should get the necessary age relaxation. The non-creamy layer certificate process should be simple and time-bound. The OBC economic development corporation's fund should be raised by Rs 1,000 crore, with budget provisions in proportion to population. Chairpersons and office-bearers should be appointed to the corporations for Bhatke-Vimukt, Alutedar, Balutedar and other deprived communities, with separate funds and offices.

On farmers, shepherds and Bhatke-Vimukt communities, the memorandum says a special relief package should be announced for eligible drought-hit farmers, with assistance of Rs 1 lakh per hectare as per norms. Controlled grazing of sheep should be allowed in government forest areas, keeping in view forest and environment laws and local conditions. Communities such as Mariaiwale, Nandibailwale, Gosavi, Potraj, Vasudev and Gondhali should be given Aadhaar cards, ration cards, birth certificates, caste certificates and other necessary papers, and pucca houses.

Under social security and justice, the demands include stopping attacks on OBC warriors, shepherds, Bhatke-Vimukt, micro-OBC communities, social workers, experts, agitators and hunger strikers, and giving police protection as needed. Arms licence applications from eligible people should be decided according to rules and law. Families of OBC brothers who died by suicide should get Rs 20 lakh under applicable norms, government jobs for eligible relatives, and rehabilitation and counselling. Cases registered during legitimate agitations should be reviewed and eligible ones withdrawn through legal process.

The memorandum asks the government to consider the demands seriously, immediately instruct the departments concerned, decide on each demand within a time limit, and give those submitting it an action-taken report. If the demands are ignored or not implemented within the stipulated period, an intense and wide-ranging agitation will be launched across Maharashtra under the leadership of the OBC Samaj Sangharsh Samiti, Solapur. According to the memorandum, responsibility for the agitation will lie with the government's inaction.

Those who submitted the memorandum included Satyashodhak Shankarrao Linge, Adv. Rajan Dixit, Yuvraj Chumbalkar, Bapusaheb Bhagwan Bhandare, Shekhar Bangale, Dilip Patange, Prashant Ingale, Nimisha Waghmode, Ashok Indapure, Madhavi Poddar, Santosh Katkar, Solapur Labour Federation president Shankar Chaugule, Rashtriya Gurav Samaj Mahasangh national organiser Dr Nitin Dhepe, Gondhali Samaj district president Vitthal Mane, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi youth leader Suhas Sawant, district president Chandrashekhar Madisambe, city president Prashant Gunewar and city vice-president Rohit Lalsare, among others.