Picture for representational purpose only.
New Delhi, February 20
A Bill granting 10 per cent reservation to the Marathas in government jobs and educational institutions in Maharashtra today received the nod of the state legislature as it pledged to take the overall reservation cap from the existing 52 per cent to 62 per cent.
The attempt was made even though in 2018, a similar enactment by the then BJP government through the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act for reservation to the Marathas had been struck down by the Supreme Court.
Protesting Maratha activist Manoj Jarange, however, was unhappy and insisted on a quota for the community under the OBC segment.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, while tabling the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill, 2024, in a special Assembly session called to resolve the matter pertaining to the quota, said the Marathas comprised 28% of the state’s population and would get 10% reservation. This is a second attempt in six years to push Maratha quota in Maharashtra where Jarange began an indefinite fast for the demand in August last year.
The Bill stems from the State Commission of Maharashtra for Backward Class findings that the Marathas, who are 28% of the state’s population, face “extraordinary and exceptional” backwardness, making it a fit case for the quota to breach the SC mandated limit of 50 per cent in the Indira Sawhney case.
“We want to grant reservation to the Maratha community without touching the existing quota of the OBCs in the state,” Shinde argued, insisting that the current law would pass the legal muster.
The Bill, passed unanimously with the Opposition in support, mentions that the 10 per cent quota would be reviewed after 10 years.
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