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10% special reservation for Marathas in jobs and education, not in OBC category, based on recent report of State Backward Classes Commission
Maratha reservation movement leader Manoj Jarange Patil and the opposition said the bill would not stand legally.
Mumbai: The bill giving 10 percent reservation in jobs and education to the Maratha community in Maharashtra has been unanimously approved. In order to calm down the Maratha reservation movement before the Lok Sabha elections and in line with the demands of Maratha agitators, the Maharashtra government today called a special session of the state assembly. Without any special discussion, the ruling party and the opposition unanimously passed this bill within a few minutes in both the houses of the Assembly and the Legislative Council. With the passing of this bill, the total reservation percentage in the state will increase to 62 percent. This is the third attempt to provide reservation to Marathas through a special bill in Maharashtra. Earlier, the Supreme Court had rejected the state government's bill saying that the limit of 50 percent of total reservation cannot be reversed. However, this time the state government is hopeful that if this bill is not challenged in the Supreme Court, it will be easily implemented.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde presented this bill. Chhagan Bhujbal, the only minister in the state assembly, opposed these bills. Bhujbal has been opposing reservation to Marathas since the beginning.
Movement leader Manoj Jarange, who has fasted several times in the last one year demanding Maratha reservation, is once again on a seven-day fast in his hometown. He called for a special legislative session to pass a law for Maratha reservation. However, Manoj Jarang Patil rejected the bill presented by the state government today. He said that his demand is to give reservation to Marathas only in OBC category. But, the state government has cheated by making a separate provision. Now they will intensify their movement. Maratha society no longer trusts the government. This reservation will not be able to stand in the court and then the government will be saved by arguing that we had made the provision. Other opposition groups, including the Congress, later said that the state government had doubts about the legal feasibility of the bill.
However, this time the state government took the help of the new report of the State Backward Classes Commission to ensure legal protection to the Maratha reservation. The Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024, which was first approved by the state government in the Cabinet and later tabled in the House for ratification, has cited the Backward Classes Commission report as saying that the Maratha community is 28 per cent . Population in the state. The community has a low percentage of completion of secondary education and undergraduate, postgraduate and professional education. The report also said that the Maratha community is under-represented in all areas of government employment and hence provision of adequate reservation for them has become necessary.
One argument given in favor of Maratha reservation is that 94 percent of the farmers who died by suicide are from the Maratha community. The report also said that among other castes belonging to reserved groups, about fifty-two percent already have reservations. Therefore, it is not considered appropriate to allot reservation to the Maratha community in the OBC category. It has also been argued that the backwardness of the Other Backward Classes and the backwardness of the Maratha community are quite different in scope, intensity and forms.
There is also mention of reviewing this reservation every ten years in the Maratha Reservation Bill.
CM Eknath Shinde said that the state government had promised to make the provision of Maratha reservation in such a way that the interests of the OBC community will not be endangered. It is now complete.
Earlier, the state government had introduced a draft notification that provided for providing Kunbi caste certificate to Marathas, who get a document certifying that they belong to the Kunbi caste and thus get the benefits of OBC reservation. Is. A provision was made to provide this benefit to the family members of the person whose Kunbi status is found. In this way Marathas were also included in OBC reservation. However, according to the bill presented by the state government today, Marathas will be given the benefit of ten percent special reservation.
Earlier, the Devendra Fadnavis government of the state had also made a similar arrangement to give special reservation to Marathas on the basis of the report of the Backward Classes Commission. Even then, a provision for Maratha reservation was made by passing a similar resolution in the Assembly. Fadnavis government had made a provision of 16 percent reservation. But along with maintaining the Maratha reservation, the High Court also maintained the provision of 12 percent reservation in education and 13 percent reservation in jobs. However, later the matter reached the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court rejected the provision of Maratha reservation saying that there is no need to change the decision of Indira Sawhney case that the total reservation should be limited to 50 percent.