Maratha quota: Maharashtra backward class panel submits survey report

The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on Friday submitted a report on its survey on the social economic and educational backwardness of the Maratha community the Chief Ministers Office CMO said reported the PTIAccording to the PTI CM Eknath Shinde has urged Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange to end his indefinite hunger strike stressing that the state government is positive about giving reservation to the community it saidManoj Jarange is on an indefinite fast at his native place in Jalna district of Maharashtra since February 10 over the Maratha quotaThe survey report will enable the government to introduce a law ensuring reservation for the Maratha community with the backing of necessary data the CMO saidThe massive exercise covered nearly 25 crore families as per the PTIThe report was submitted by chairperson of the commission Justice retd Sunil Shukre to CM Shinde in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis the CMO saidThe survey findings will be discussed in the state cabinet meeting it said quoting CM Eknath ShindeThe government has also announced a special session on February 20 to discuss the communitys demands for quota in education and government jobsCM Shinde has stressed that Marathas will be given reservation without disturbing the existing quota of other communities He urged the government Jarange to end his fast asserting that the state government is positive about giving reservation to the communityWhen the government is fully committed to giving reservation to the Maratha community there should be no reason to protest CM Shinde saidThe survey by the backward class panel began on January 23 across Maharashtra involving 35 to 4 lakh state government personnel and it covered 25 crore familiesThe government in a parallel exercise had also begun looking for Kunbi recordsKunbi an agrarian community falls in the Other Backward Classes OBC category and Jarange has been demanding Kunbi certificates for all MarathasThe government got the survey on the backwardness of Marathas to support its curative petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the quota for the communityThe Supreme Court in 2021 struck down reservations for Marathas in college admissions and jobs in Maharashtra saying that there were no exceptional circumstances to justify the breach of the 50 per cent ceiling on overall reservations The state filed a review plea which was also rejected It then filed a curative petitionMeanwhile members of some Maratha organisations staged a road blockade on PuneSolapur highway near Pune on Friday to express solidarity with JarangeMayur Dorge a member of Maratha organisation Sakal Maratha Samaj said that even as Jaranges hunger strike has entered the seventh day the government is indifferent towards his demandsTo condemn the state governments attitude and to support Jarange we staged a rasta roko protest for 45 minutes he said A similar protest was also held near Kiwale Road in Pimpri Chinchwad area the news agency reported on Fridaywith PTI inputs