Maharashtra Government Calls Special Assembly Session for Maratha Quota

Mumbai:The Maharashtra government will hold a special Vidhan Sabha session on February 20 (Tuesday next week) to discuss the Maratha reservation issue. The decision to hold the session was taken at the weekly Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. 

“The cabinet meeting has given its nod to convene a one-day special session of the legislature on Tuesday, February 20, to discuss the various demands of the Maratha community,” a note issued by the Chief Minister’s office stated.

During the session, the recommendations and suggestions proposed by the State Commission of Maharashtra for Backward Class (SCMBC) will be discussed. The government is likely to enact a law based on the commission’s report. The SCMBC on Friday submitted a report on its survey on the social, economic, and educational backwardness of the Maratha community to CM Shinde. "The survey (findings) will be discussed in the state cabinet meeting,"



Shinde said.

The MSCBC was asked to correctly ascertain the Maratha backwardness and therefore eligibility for reservation in jobs and education. It widened the parameters and scrutinised changes in the living conditions of the community. The decision to hold a session comes after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil started his hunger strike at Antarwali Saarati village in Jalna district, demanding a special session of the state legislature be convened to discuss the issues related to the Maratha reservation. 

Patil has demanded the inclusion of all Marathas under the OBC category by giving them Kunbi sub-caste certificates. Kunbis have a quota under the OBC category. However, the OBCs are opposing the inclusion of Marathas in their category. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde has insisted that his government would provide reservation to Marathas without disturbing the OBC quota.