Amid the reservation row, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar has claimed that "Nizami Marathas" are trying to snatch the quota designated for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
The OBCs should thwart such plans in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls, Mr Ambedkar said at a public meeting on Tuesday in Jalna as part of his 'Aaraskshan Bachao Yatra'.
He also hit out at activist Manoj Jarange, who has been demanding reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and education under the OBC category.
The state government enacted a law in February to provide them a 10 per cent quota under a separate category.
OBC leaders, including cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal, have opposed any dilution of the existing quota for backward communities.
The VBA chief started the yatra on July 25 from Mumbai's Chaityabhoomi, the memorial of his grandfather Dr B R Ambedkar, and it will conclude in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Wednesday.
"Nizami Marathas are trying to snatch the OBC reservation," Prakash Ambedkar said, highlighting the historical context of Nizam's rule over the erstwhile Hyderabad state which included the Marathwada region.
The last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, lost power after Hyderabad's annexation in 1948.
The VBA head claimed Maratha leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties were planning to undermine the OBC reservation system after the upcoming assembly elections.
The OBCs should thwart their plan in the assembly polls, due in October, he said.
Prakash Ambedkar said the OBC reservation is at stake.
He asked people to send 100 members from the OBC and VBA to the Maharashtra assembly to foil the "plan" of diluting the OBC reservation.
OBC activist Navnath Waghmare, who had staged a 10-day hunger strike along with Laxman Hake for the protection of the OBC quota, was also present at the rally.
He hit out at Jarange for disrespecting senior leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal.
Waghmare also accused Maratha leaders in power of supporting Jarange's "unreasonable demands" which undermine the legitimate rights of the OBC community.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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