Maratha reservation: Opposition to move privilege motion against CM Fadnavis, Commission

 Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra state assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Saturday said that he will be moving a privilege motion against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for saying there will soon be reservations for the Marathas.

“We will move a privilege motion against the Chief Minister who announced celebrations on December 1, without any legislative consideration on state Backward Commission’s report on Maratha reservation. We will also bring a privilege motion against the member of state Backward Commission who made public the report on Maratha reservation before it being tabled in the Cabinet or in the legislative assembly,” Patil said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday had said that Maratha community would get the reservation in the government jobs and in admissions in academic institutions from December 1.

Addressing a rally in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, he said, “We will complete all legal formalities in the month of November itself and the Maratha reservation will be announced soon. I request everyone to stop protesting and celebrate on December 1.”

The Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission has suggested a 16 percent reservation for the Maratha community, stating that the community is socially and economically backward.

In September, the state government had apprised the Bombay High Court that the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission was likely to submit its report on social and economic conditions of the Maratha community by 15 November.

On August 9, as many as 194 people were detained by the Pune Police for rioting and arson after a protest, seeking the reservation for the Maratha community, turned violent.

The Maratha community, which accounts for 33 percent of the state’s total population, has been agitating since 2017 demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. The community members also sought a waiver of farmer loans, justice in the Kopardi rape case of 2016, and a permanent solution to the growing unemployment in the state.

In 2014, the then Congress-NCP government had announced 16 percent reservation for Marathas and five percent reservation for the Muslims. However, the Bombay High Court stayed the decision after a PIL was filed against the announcement.