MUMBAI: In a development that might have a nationwide impact, the Maharashtra state cabinet on Sunday decided to create a special category to grant quota for Maratha community. The special underlines the social and economic backwardness of the community, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said while announcing the decision.
The development followed the report of the state backward class commission which was submitted to the state government earlier this week.
"The commission has very clearly stated three things. One is the social and economic backwardness of the Maratha community. Secondly, they have recommended that reservation in government jobs and education be granted to the community and thirdly the commission has very clearly described how this amounts to an exceptional and extraordinary situation," Fadnavis said after the cabinet meeting.
Winter session of the state assembly is set to begin tomorrow and the state government is expected to table a legislation in the house regarding Maratha quota. When asked about it, Fadnavis said that a cabinet sub-committee has been formed to study the report of the backward class commission and decide the course of further action.
When asked about the procedure, a senior minister confided that a new Maratha quota bill is likely to be tabled in the first week of the assembly session itself. On queries regarding whether the quota will be granted under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, Fadnavis said that it would be placed under a new category and when asked whether the bill has to be referred to the National Backward Class Commission (NCBC) he made it clear that the state government had sought Advocate Genera's opinion on this and he has opined that once the bill is tabled in the assembly that reference won't be needed.
Maharashtra currently has 52 per cent quota allotted to various categories. Though the government is still tight-lipped on how much quota would be granted to Maratha community, senior ministers in the government have indicated that the politicians they won't be able to grant anything less than the previous government - which was 16 per cent.
The Population of the Maratha community in the state is believed to be between 28 to 33 per cent. Hence, if the government decides to grant 16 per cent quota for Marathas the total reservation will reach 68 per cent. This is close to the Tamilnadu Model of reservations where 69 per cent quota has been granted to various castes.
Speaking about legal hurdles in implementation of such a decision Fadnavis said that the constitution doesn't speak about 50 per cent limit on quota, while the SC judgment demands precondition of the exceptional and extraordinary situation which the community fulfils as per the report of the statutory commission.
The development is expected to have a ripple effect in other BJP ruled states like Gujarat and Haryana where dominant castes like Patel and Jat have been demanding quota.