MUMBAI: The state government shall complete all the legalities to be able to grant the reservation quota to the Maratha community by the end of this month, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday even as sources within the government have indicated that the Maharashtra State Backward Caste Commission is likely to submit its report on Maratha community to the state government on Thursday.
The report will be submitted to the Chief Secretary of the state D K Jain in a sealed cover on Thursday, the sources said adding that, as per indications the report is likely to give favourable recommendations to granting reservation quota in government jobs and educational institutions to the Maratha community, without infringing on the reservation quota granted to the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
With this the government is likely to be able to keep its promise on quota for the community, sources within the government said.
Fadnavis, who was at Akola to review drought condition, told the reporters that the government will complete all legal formalities by the end of November to grant Maratha community their due reservation quota.
"We are committed to give reservation quota to the Maratha community that will withstand the scrutiny by the court," Fadnavis had said earlier this year. The government had also granted 16 per cent reservation in 72,000 government jobs which was later stayed following protests.
Meanwhile, speaking to newspersons on conditions of anonymity a senior BJP minister clarified that the government will not be submitting the commission's report before the Bombay High Court as is the general perception. The government would prepare its own report based on the Maharashtra State Backward Caste Commission, as per the court directives, the minister said. The court was concerned over the time period required for the process to be completed and we had accordingly urged the commission to submit their report by November 15, which they are likely to do, the minister said.
Submission of the report by the commission will be the defining moment for the government, the minister added.
Submission of the report comes just days before the two-week winter session of the state legislature that begins on November 19. This will help the government to move a legislation granting quota to the Marathas before the month end.
To prepare the report, the Commission went through 2 lakh memorandums submitted to it, surveys of about 45,000 families and the empirical data on the social, financial and educational backwardness of the Maratha community. The commission went through old historical records, old verdicts, studied constitutional provision, writings by noted anthropologist, sociologist Irawati Karve and several organizations like Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and others, sources have said.
The demand for Maratha quota dates back to the 1980s. The UPA government in the state had on June 25, 2014 announced 16 per cent quota in government jobs and in educational institutions for Marathas and five per cent quotas for Muslims. However, on November 14, 2014, the Bombay High Court stayed the government decision. On November 18, 2014, the Supreme Court of India had declined to vacate the stay imposed by the Bombay High Court. The ordinance eventually lapsed and the Fadnavis government decided to complete all the requisite processes like formation of Backward Caste Commission and getting recommendations from them.
Meanwhile, a statewide Maratha community agitation was triggered after rape and murder of a girl from the community at Kopardi in Ahmednagar on July 13, 2016. Thereafter the community under the banner of Sakal Maratha Kranti Morcha, Maratha Kranti Thok Morcha held around 58 peaceful mammoth rallies across the state while stirring the atmosphere in favour of the community. The Maratha Kranti Thok Morcha agitation earlier this year had gone violent at several places. The agitation was withdrawn after setting November 15 as the deadline for launching guerrilla-style attacks to press for the demands.