Maratha Quota Bill Presented Amidst Calls for Muslim Reservation in Maharashtra

Eknath Shinde, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra tabled the Maratha quota bill in the state’s assembly on Tuesday. He said, “We have proposed the reservation to Marathas without disturbing the existing quota.”

Reservation demand for Muslim community

In the meantime, the Samajwadi Party today asked for a five percent Muslim reservation in Maharashtra’s government employment and educational institutions. Outside the state assembly, SP MLA Abu Azmi waved banners calling for reservations for Muslims.

The Muslim community must also get the benefits of quota, said the SP MLA Rais Shaikh.

He said, “When the Maratha community was given reservation by the previous government, on the same day a notification was brought out, and a 5 percent reservation was given to Muslims. But today, we are seeing that the Maratha community is getting justice which we welcome but at the same time, the Muslim community is being ignored. We appeal to the government to go through the notification, when you are doing justice, do justice to everybody.”

“I appeal to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who has promised that no injustice will be done to the minorities to look into this and give justice to the minorities of this state,” appealed to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar to fulfill the promise.

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Through an ordinance, Muslims were previously given reservation benefits by the Congress-led NCP government.

The Muslim population in the state is more than 10 percent. Backed by statistics and records, Justice Rajinder Sachar Commission (2006) and Justice Ranganath Mishra Committee (2004) highlighted the economic and educational backwardness of the Muslim community.

The Dr. Mehmoodur Rehman Committee was established by the Congress-led government in 2009, and it later recommended 8% reservation for Muslims in the workforce and in educational institutions.

10 percent quota to Maratha community

The bill introduced by Eknath Shinde provides a 10 percent quota to the Maratha community in Maharashtra.

With this, the reservation ceiling will climb to over 50 percent.

Against the backdrop of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s hunger strike, a special assembly session has been called for this purpose.

Patil, meanwhile, referred to the bill as a betrayal.

“This decision of the government has been taken by keeping elections and votes in mind. This is a betrayal to the Maratha community…Maratha community won’t trust you. We will benefit only from our original demands. Make a law on ‘sage-soyare’…This reservation won’t hold. The government will now lie that the reservation has been given,” Patil said.