Maharashtra govt approves bill to extend 10 per cent reservation to Marathas during spl session

CM Eknath Shinde with deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar/ Pic/PTI

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday approved the bill which extends reservation to Marathas above the 50 per cent mark during the special session of the state assembly. It marks the third time in a decade that such legislation has been introduced, reported ANI.

According to the ANI report, the bill for a 10 per cent Maratha quota that the Mahayuti government led by Eknath Shinde approved on February 20 is similar to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, introduced by the earlier government led by Devendra Fadnavis.

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The move comes following pressure from Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who has been on a hunger strike at Antarwali Saarati village in Jalna district, the ANI report added.

Reportedly, the reservation was extended after a report was submitted by the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission, chaired by Justice (Retired) Sunil Shukre. The commission surveyed approximately 2.5 crore households across the state within nine days to assess the social and education backwardness of the Maratha community. The report tabled by the commission said that Marathas are the biggest beneficiaries of the existing 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).

The ANI report detailed that MSBCC's findings stated that 85 per cent of beneficiaries of reservation for EWS are Marathas.

Reportedly, the committee proposed a 10 per cent reservation for Marathas in education and employment similar to that given in 2018 by the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government.

Under the direction of Justice (Retired) MG Gaikwad, the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission was constituted in June 2017 by the Fadnavis government and it had previously categorised Marathas as a socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) after it conducted a study.

Before the commission's report was presented during the special assembly session, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had stressed that the reservation for Marathas would be granted in compliance with the law.

"The survey has been conducted on nearly 2-2.5 crore people... Keeping in mind that the OBC community is not left behind in the process, the government will present the report to the cabinet committee. On February 20, we have called a special session of the assembly, after which the Maratha reservation will be given according to the terms of the law," CM Shinde said.