CM Shinde-led Maharashtra govt iterates commitment to grant Maratha quota; 'Checking legal aspects'

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis on Monday, October 23 responded over the Maratha reservation issue and assured that the state government is committed to granting quota to the Maratha community. However, he mentioned that the government at present is scrutinising the legal and constitutional aspects of the provision to provide reservation.

Fadnavis asserted that a decision taken in a hurry and moreover on the issue of granting reservation may not stand the legal and constitutional aspects and may get struck down in the Supreme Court, if challenged. The latest statement from Fadnavis has come up as the ultimatum given to the Maharashtra government by the Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange is nearing the deadline.

Maharashtra CM Shinde gives full assurance on Maratha Reservation

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde gave assurance to the Maratha community and said, "I pledge before the Goddess (Devi) , I want to tell everyone that we will ensure that Maratha community gets reservation. Our government had previously given the reservation. We are still standing by the Maratha community. We don't want to mislead anyone, I assure that we will give the reservation to the Maratha Community."

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said, "We are in favour of giving reservation. Be it Dhangar or Marathas, but our stand is very clear that we don't want to hamper the 52% reservation plus 10 % reservation for Economically Weaker Sections. We will give reservation that will stand firmly before the High Court and Supreme Court."

Manoj Jarange warned to launch a fast-unto-death protest from October 25

Earlier, activist Manoj Jarange had clearly stated that a quota for Marathas under the OBC category is the only way the protest will end. He has given an ultimatum to the government till October 24 to come up with a decision on providing quota, failing which, he warned that he would launch a fast-unto-death protest from October 25.

"We won't allow any political figures to visit our villages until the Maratha community's problem is handled. Please make a reservation if you intend to visit our communities. We won't even allow you to leave the village bounds if that happens. We provided the government 40 days instead of the requested 30 days. I shall resume my hunger strike on October 25 if justice is not served on October 24. I won't even take water or medical assistance,'' Patil said.

“Every village will witness our chain hunger strike and agitation. So far, the neighbourhood has been peacefully agitating. However, don't test their patience or emotions. With hands folded, we make a plea of the administration, but patience is running out. Thus, a choice must be made in the following two days. Government shouldn't squander time. Without a doubt, we won't back down,” Patil further asserted.

Maharashtra Dy CM Fadnavis says decision to award reservation can't be taken hurriedly

Fadnavis, while talking to media personnel in Nagpur, said, “Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has stressed that the government wants to give reservation to the Maratha community which will pass the legal and constitutional tests. Suppose a decision to award reservation in education and government jobs is taken hurriedly, in that case, the court will strike it down, and the state will face the criticism of cheating the community.”

He even added that the chief minister will take a call on the demand of the Maratha Kranti Morcha for restructuring the state Backward Classes Commission. The Deputy CM assured that the government will fill up some vacancies if needed to restructure the commission.

Former Maharashtra CM Fadnavis said, "In the past, our government had given the reservation to Marathas that was upheld by the Bombay High Court. Maharashtra was the only state after Tamil Nadu where the High Court had upheld the reservation granted by the state."

Stating that the Supreme Court never issued a stay order on the reservation, which was earlier provided to the Maratha community by the earlier BJP-led government, the senior BJP leader said that he didn’t know what happened later when Uddhav Thackeray-led government came to power in the state. "I do not want to indulge in politics over what happened later. Our government is committed to issuing the reservation to the Maratha community. We will get it done.”

Recently, in Maharashtra, the demand for reservations in educational institutions and government jobs by the Maratha community once again took center stage, after the police resorted to lathi charge on people supporting Maratha activist Manoj Jarange during his 17-day hunger strike protest at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district. The incident sparked a massive political row in the state.

(Sandip Singh has contributed to this report.)