Maratha Reservation Likely to be Announced Outside the OBC Category, All Eyes on Vidhan Sabha Special Session

Mumbai: For the past several months, the Maratha community has been taking to the streets demanding reservations. Manoj Jarange Patil has demanded reservation for the Maratha community within the OBC category.  The government is likely to accept the report by the State Backward Classes Commission in the upcoming special session, along with giving separate reservations to the Maratha community and not from the OBC category. 

The Backward Classes Commission has conducted a survey in the state and the work on the report is in the final stages. The report will be tabled in a special session. However, according to Manoj Jarange's demand, the Maratha community will not get reservations from OBC. A separate reservation is likely to be announced in this session. However, in the past too, the Maratha community was given separate reservations, a provision which was struck down in the Supreme Court. So the question is how will the government resolve the Maratha reservation issue.

For the last 15 days, the Backward Classes Commission has been carrying out survey work in the state. It examines the social and educational backwardness of the Maratha community. OBC leader Haribhau Rathod said "The government has no right to give any separate reservation. The Backward Classes Commission has the right to include and exclude communities from the OBC category. There is also no right to recommend separate reservations. The reservation limit can be increased if empirical data is available. It is the prerogative of the state government," he said. He further added that "the government is cheating the Maratha community by wasting time. In 2017-18 too, the community was given reservation as SEBC." 

Meanwhile, the terms OBC and SEBC are the same. It remains to be seen whether the report of the State Backward Classes Commission is favorable or unfavorable. The government will have to take further action keeping in mind the observations of the Supreme Court verdict. If the Maratha community wants to get the reservation from OBC, it will have to be given from 19 percent. There are 537 castes in the OBC. So, we have to find a way out in consultation with OBC leaders. Rajendra Kondhare of the Maratha Mahasangh said that if reservation is given to such a large population, then that reservation will not be enough.