Maharashtra government may table bill giving 10% quota to Marathas today

MUMBAI: The bill for 10% Maratha quota that the Mahayuti govt of Eknath Shinde will introduce on Tuesday would be similar to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, introduced by the Fadnavis government, albeit more compact, said people with knowledge of the matter on Monday.

The state faces both Lok Sabha and assembly polls this year amid a sustained agitation by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange.

The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) concluded that the Maratha community is socially and educationally backward. Its report, though, does not suggest any quota. The quantum of quota is purely a govt decision, said insiders.

The state already has a 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in which the politically influential Marathas are the biggest beneficiaries, claiming 85% of the reservation. “Marathas will not be able to claim both quotas. A Maratha candidate opting for EWS will not be able to claim the Maratha quota,” an official said.

This is the third time in a decade that the state is introducing legislation for the Maratha quota. Each time such legislation has been introduced, it has been before an election and based on a survey which concluded that the community is backward.

Each legislation granting Maratha quota was struck down in court, mainly because the SC has upheld that reservations cannot cross the 50% limit. In the state, reservations are already 52%. With a 10% Maratha quota, the reservations will reach 62% and face a legal challenge.

Officials say the current survey conducted by the Gokhale Institute for Politics and Economics has tried to address the gaps in the Gaikwad Commission survey, which was rejected by the apex court. “The survey covered 1.6 crore families and did a detailed analysis of 60 lakh families,” an official said.

Statisticians, though, have criticised the survey, which was conducted over just 11 days, and said that the result is bound to be unreliable.

The Maratha agitation has pitted the community against the more populous OBC community, which fears the dilution of its quota. OBC groups like the Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh have already said they will challenge the Maratha quota legislation in court. The OBC Jan Morcha has said it will go to court against the “bogus” survey.

Even with the Maratha quota now round the corner, activist Manoj Jarange is sticking to his demand that the govt should grant Kunbi (OBC) certificates to blood relatives of those with Kunbi records. Food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal has claimed that fake Kunbi records have been created, on the basis of which certificates are being doled out. He has demanded that once the Maratha quota is enacted, the community should not be given Kunbi (OBC) certificates.

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