Maratha Reservation Bill: Opposition Benches Not Allowed to Debate, Raises Doubts, Says Amit Deshmukh

Maharashtra Congress leader Amit Deshmukh commented on the Maratha reservation bill, stating that it has been presented for the third time and unanimously passed. However, he expressed concern over the lack of opportunity for opposition benches to debate the bill.

"I think this Maratha reservation bill has been brought again today and this is not the first time, this is not the second, but the third time that this bill has been brought and tabled in the House. This has been unanimously passed. But, unfortunately, the opposition benches were not allowed a chance to debate over this bill and it raises a lot of doubt as to how the government is going to give a tenable reservation,” Amit Deshmukh, a minister in the previous MVA government and son of former chief minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh told ANI.

#WATCH | On Maratha Reservation, Maharashtra minister Amit V. Deshmukh says, "I think this Maratha reservation bill has been brought again today and this is not the first time, this is not the second, but the third time that this bill has been brought and tabled in the House.… pic.twitter.com/NsiqNdQ3if

— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2024

“I wish the government luck that this bill is tenable and Manoj Jaranga Patil or his activists, are not satisfied. They have raised their doubts. They are speaking through the media and actually, they've opposed this bill. So it's a situation that the government needs to address and we thought today the government would address this situation in detail but that didn't happen. I don't know what reasons the government has to sort of pass this bill in such a rush," he further added.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Maratha Reservation Bill, seeking to grant 10% reservation to Marathas beyond the 50% cap, was unanimously approved by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (lower house. The Chief Minister is set to present the bill in the Legislative Council for approval, after which it will become law.