MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday reconstituted a sub-committee for the reservation of the Maratha community in education and government jobs. The panel is headed by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil. The committee will continue to follow up on the legal and technical aspects to ensure that the community gets a quota.
Ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Girish Mahajan, Dada Bhuse, Shambhuraj Desai and Uday Samant are the other members of the committee. The sub-committee was previously headed by former minister Ashok Chavan under the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
In May 2021, the Supreme Court had struck down the Maharashtra law, terming it “unconstitutional.” The apex court said that there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdict.
Shinde had earlier said that his government is committed to the cause of reservations for the Marathas and Dhangars in Maharashtra. The state government has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court over the ruling of the top court which quashed reservation in jobs and education for the Marathas.
Sambhaji Brigade president Pravin Gaikwad said that the Maharashtra government should give the reservation to Marathas in the Other Backward Classes category. He said that it will be a futile exercise if the government tries other ways. “We have been trying to convince the government that the Maratha and Kunbi communities are the same. So, just like the Kunbis, the Marathas should also be included in the OBC reservations,” Gaikwad said.
‘Nagaland reservation review after census’
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday said that the state cabinet has decided to review the job reservation policy after the completion of the census. Rio made the statement in the assembly while replying to NDPP MLA Yitachu’s request to provide reservation in technical posts to backward tribes. Rio said the concern has been noted and it will be examined in due course of time. He informed the House that a decision was taken by the state cabinet to review the reservation policy as some areas and tribes need to be added, while some have to be removed, besides decreasing or increasing the quota.