Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (centre) on Monday said at a press conference that his government has taken the issue of quota seriously and is looking for an amicable solution.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said his government has constituted a panel that will submit within a month its report telling how Marathas from the Marathwada region can be included in the OBC category and given the Kunbi caste certificate.
He said officials have also been told to study the Supreme Court order, which had declared the Maratha reservation unconstitutional.
The government’s move came three days after the agitation for the Maratha reservation turned violent as the authorities tried to shift activist Manoj Jarange, who was on a hunger strike over the issue in Jalna, to a hospital.
As the demand for the Maratha reservation gained momentum, Mr. Shinde told reporters, “A committee has been set up and asked to submit a report within a month on how to issue Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community from Marathwada.”
He said the State government has taken the issue seriously and was working to find an amicable solution to the issue.
“I have directed officials to study the Supreme Court verdict on the Maratha quota and recommend solutions. We need to establish that the Maratha community is backward,” the Chief Minister said referring to a 2021 apex court order that struck down the Maratha reservation.
On November 30, 2018, the Maharashtra legislature had passed a Bill proposing 16% reservation in education and government jobs for the community. However, soon a bunch of petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the decision.
In June, 2019, the High Court upheld the constitutional validity of the reservation but asked the government to reduce it from 16% as recommended by the State Backward Classes Commission.
Immediately, petitions were filed in the Supreme court challenging the verdict. In May 2021, the apex court held that Maratha reservation was unconstitutional and struck it down.
Fadnavis apologises
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologised for the use of force by the police against the protesters.
He said police should not have resorted to lathi-charge or lobbed tear gas shells. “As a CM and a Home Minister during 2014-19, I handled 2,000 protests but the police never used coercive method to suppress protesters,” he said, adding that the Jalna incident is very unfortunate and apologised to the injured.
The apology came a day after the Maratha Kranti Morcha staged demonstrations across the State while demanding Mr. Fadnavis’ resignation.