In a major move ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Maharashtra legislative assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the Maratha Reservation Bill, which proposes to extend reservations to the community above the 50 per cent mark.
The Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024 proposed a 10 per cent reservation to the Maratha community in education and government jobs. The Bill, once enacted, could be reviewed after 10 years of implementation.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde tabled a bill in the day-long special session state legislative assembly today.
Notably, the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on Friday submitted a comprehensive report on its survey on the social, economic, and educational backwardness of the Maratha community. The massive exercise covered nearly 2.5 crore families.
Maratha Reservation Bill
One of the key findings in the bill tabled by CM Shinde underscores that the population of the Maratha community in the state is 28 per cent.
Out of the total Maratha families that are below the poverty line, 21.22 per cent hold yellow ration cards. It is higher than the state’s average of 17.4 per cent.
The state government’s survey undertaken between January and February this year also found that 84 per cent of the Maratha community families do not fall under the progressed category, hence they are eligible for reservation as per the Indra Sawhney case, as per the bill Out of total farmers’ suicides in Maharashtra, 94 per cent are from Maratha families, the bill noted.
Marathas’ Demand For Quota
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who has been sitting on a hunger strike since February 10, had demanded that a special session be called over the issue.
In his first reaction after the bill was passed, Jarange said, “This decision of the government has been taken by keeping election and votes in mind. This is a betrayal to the Maratha community…Maratha community won’t trust you. We will benefit only from our original demands. Make a law on ‘sage-soyare’…This reservation won’t hold. The Government will now lie that the reservation has been given.”
The government recently issued a draft notification which said if a Maratha person has documentary proof to show that he or she belongs to the agrarian Kunbi community, the person’s ‘sage soyre’ or blood relatives too would get Kunbi caste certificates.
The Kunbi community falls in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category, and Jarange has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas.
Maharashtra cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal has been opposing the “backdoor entry” of Marathas into the OBC quota, but is in favour of a separate reservation for the community.
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