Last Updated:
A day after BJP MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati sat on a fast until death in protest for the Maratha quota, Maharashtra HM Dilip Walse Patil urged him to end his fast.
Image: Twitter
A day after BJP MP and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s descendant Sambhaji Chhatrapati started an indefinite hunger strike in protest for the Maratha quota, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil urged him to end his fast. Meeting Chhatrapati at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Sunday, Patil apprised him of the decisions taken during the meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation. While acknowledging that the state government is positive about restoring the Maratha reservation as soon as possible, he stressed that the health of the BJP MP is also important.
Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil remarked, “The state government is positive about Maratha reservation and is working hard to resolve this issue. The state government is providing help through various government schemes so that injustice will not be done to the youth and students of the Maratha community. The questions posed by Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje must be answered soon.”
मराठा आरक्षणाच्या मागणीसाठी खासदार छत्रपती श्री. संभाजीराजे भोसले यांनी मुंबईत आझाद मैदानावर कालपासून उपोषण सुरू केले आहे. गृहमंत्री दिलीप वळसे पाटील यांनी आज त्यांची आझाद मैदान येथे भेट घेऊन सविस्तर चर्चा केली व संभाजीराजेंना उपोषण मागे घेण्यासंदर्भात विनंती केली. pic.twitter.com/lklivctHwE
— HMO Maharashtra (@maharashtra_hmo) February 27, 2022
Supreme Court quashes Maratha quota law
On November 30, 2018, the Maratha community was declared as a ‘Socially and Educational Backward Class’ and was given 16% reservation in educational institutions and public employment. While the Bombay High Court reduced the quantum of quota to 12% in educational institutions and 13% in public employment, the SC stayed the reservation altogether on September 9, 2020. On May 5, 2021, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that neither the Gaikwad Commission nor the Bombay High Court made out any grounds for exceeding the ceiling of 50% reservation for Marathas.
Moreover, it observed that there was no question of revisiting the verdict in the 1992 Indra Sawhney vs Union of India case. To assuage the hurt feelings of the community, the MVA government issued an order on May 31, 2021, extending the benefits of the Economically Weaker Sections quota to eligible Marathas. Thus, Maratha youths whose annual family income is less than Rs.8 lakh will be able to avail EWS quota providing 10% reservation in jobs and educational institutions. Thereafter, Uddhav Thackeray met PM Modi on June 8, 2021, and raised various issues concerning the state including the Maratha quota setback.