The Maharashtra government on Tuesday passed the Bill extending reservation to Marathas above the 50 per cent mark in a special session of the state legislature. The bill proposing a 10 per cent quota for Marathas in education and jobs was tabled in the state legislature today.
Manoj Jarange Patil, the activist who led the movement to provide caste-based reservations to Marathas and is on a hunger strike, welcomed the reservation bill introduced and passed in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, but contended that the reservation which has been proposed was not as per the community's demand.
The bill for 10 per cent Maratha quota that the Maharashtra assembly passed on Tuesday is similar to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, introduced by the then Devendra Fadnavis-led government.
This is the third time in a decade that the state has introduced legislation for the Maratha quota.
An ultimatum by Maratha reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is undertaking a fast-unto-death, led to the Maharashtra government's decision to convene a special session.
Manoj Jarange-Patil Refuses To End Hunger Strike
Manoj Jarange-Patil indicated on Monday, his 10th day of hunger strike, that what the Maratha community wants is actual reservation and not mere assurances.
The reservation has been extended based on a report submitted to the state government by the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission (MBCC) headed by chairman Justice (Retired) Sunil Shukre.
The state already has a 10 per cent quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in which the Marathas are the biggest beneficiaries, occupying 85 per cent of the reservation.
The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on Friday submitted a report on the social and educational backwardness of the Maratha community for which it had undertaken a survey of around 2.5 crore homes within nine days.
The committee proposed a 10 per cent reservation for Marathas in education and jobs, similar to that given in 2018 by the then-state government which was led by Devendra Fadnavis of BJP.
After the Bill was passed by Maharashtra assembly on Tuesday, Manoj Jarange Patil contended that the reservation which has been proposed was not as per the community's demand.
"We need reservation which we deserve, give us reservation under OBC to those who's proof of being kunbi has been found and those who don't have proof of kunbi, for them pass a law of "Sage Soyare"," Patil said minutes after the Bill was passed unanimously by the Legislative Assembly.
Manoj Jarange-Patil has called for a meeting of the Maratha community at 12 noon on Wednesday. Jarange-Patil's demand is that one's blood relations should also be allowed to have Kunbi registration. Kunbi is a caste in Maharashtra under the OBC bloc.
Jarange Patil demanded that all people of the Maratha community be considered as Kunbi and be given reservations accordingly (under OBC Quota) but the government decided that only people having Nizam era documents of Kunbi certificates will get benefits under this.
