MUMBAI: Rattled by the Supreme Court order staying the Maratha quota, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi partners in Maharashtra are exploring various options before the government.
While Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday asked the Uddhav Thackeray government to consider the possibility of bringing in an ordinance, the Congress said the state could also take the legal route.
The CM also discussed the issue with senior ministers, legal experts and social activists. Pawar said that there was no point doing politics over this important and sensitive issue and that the government should bring an ordinance that will help to pacify the disgruntled Maratha community.
“The state government should seek legal opinion whether it can bring an ordinance so that the reservation to the Maratha community remains intact. The government had engaged renowned lawyers but the court did not see merit in its plea and rejected the reservation plea.”
The Maharashtra government had introduced 16% reservation for the Maratha community under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act in November 2018.
The SC on Thursday stayed the Maratha quota saying the community comprises 30% of the state’s population and can in no way be called marginalised.
Also, the top court said, there was no “extraordinary situation” that could justify exceeding the 50% quota ceiling to provide reservations to the Marathas.
The court has referred the petitions challenging the law to a larger bench.
State minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan said the government was exploring the option of moving an application in the Supreme Court to get its interim order vacated.
Chavan, who heads the cabinet subcommittee on the Maratha quota, said a final decision would be taken after consulting all stakeholders.
Appealing to the community not to get agitated and to exercise restraint, he said “this is a legal battle which needs to be fought legally and there is no point taking to the streets in protest”.