Maharashtra approves Bill to give 10% reservation to Marathas

The bill was tabled by Eknath Shinde in the state legislative assembly, proposing 10 per cent reservation to the Maratha community in education and government jobs.

Mumbai: After repeated demands and protests stretching to around half a century, the politically-dominant Maratha community in Maharashtra is set to get 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs.

The Marathas comprise around 28 per cent of the state’s 13 crore population.

During a one-day special session on Tuesday, both Houses of the legislature unanimously passed the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024, paving way for the 10 per cent reservation quota.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Maha Yuti government comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, introduced the Bill separately in the Legislative Assembly and Council, and was passed unanimously.

In the Maharashtra Assembly, the proceedings were chaired by Speaker Rahul Narwekar, while in the state's Legislative Council, Deputy Chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe presided over the session.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), hoped that the law would pass the test if anyone moves the Bombay High Court or Supreme Court.

After the necessary formalities, the Bill will be sent to Governor Ramesh Bais for his assent, paving way for the new law.

Maharashtra currently has 52 per cent reservation — above the 50 per cent cap of the Supreme Court — and the Maratha reservation would take it to 62 per cent. Besides, the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in education and public employment, is also applicable in Maharashtra.

Saying that the intention is to help the Maratha community, Shinde, while tabling the Bill, said: “As many as 22 states in the country have crossed the 50 per cent reservation mark. For instance, Tamil Nadu state has 69 per cent, Haryana 67 per cent, Rajasthan 64 per cent, Bihar 69 per cent, Gujarat 59 per cent and West Bengal 55 per cent.”

“We want to give reservation to the Maratha community without touching the existing quota of the OBCs in the state. The Marathas have been struggling for the last over 40 years to get reservation benefits,” said Shinde, who himself is from the Maratha community.

Before the legislature session, Shinde presided over a Cabinet meeting in which Deputy Chief Ministers — Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and all the ministers were present — the government adopted the report of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission which was submitted last week by its Chairman Justice Sunil Shukre (Retd), which conducted massive survey-exercise covering nearly 2.5 crore families.

As per the survey between January and February, around 84 per cent of the Maratha community families do not fall under the “progressed category”, hence are eligible for reservation as per the Indra Sawhney case, the Bill states. Out of total farmers’ suicides in Maharashtra, 94 per cent are from Maratha families, the Bill points out.