Maharashtra okays 16% quotas for Marathas, 5% for Muslims

 

Mumbai, 25 Jun 2014: In the wake of NCP president Sharad Pawar’s ultimatum to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, the state cabinet on Wednesday approved a populist proposal with an eye on the ensuing assembly elections to provide 16% reservation for backward Marathas and 5 per cent for Muslims in education and government jobs. As a result, the total reservation will be 73 per cent. In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, reservation has crossed the mark of 83 per cent, while in Tamil Nadu, it is 69 per cent.

 

Chavan said the cabinet has given a green signal to provide for 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and five per cent reservation for Muslims.

 

"The reservation for Marathas and Muslims will be besides the existing 52 per cent reservation for reserved communities. With the reservation for Marathas and Muslims, total reservation in the state will be 73 per cent,’’ Chavan said.

 

When it was pointed out that the Cabinet approval was against the norms prescribed by the apex court, Chavan said, it’s fact that the Supreme Court had observed that the reservation should not be more than 50 per cent, however, if someone knocks the doors of the court, his government is prepared to fight the litigation.

 

"It’s a welfare measure for the backward communities. Under such circumstances, we don’t that any person will approach the court. If someone moves the apex court, we will fight it out and justify the reservation," Chavan said.

 

Embattled Chavan said the decision to provide for reservation to Marathas and Muslims was not taken over night, but was arrived at after a decade long deliberations and in depth study. The issue of providing reservation for backward Muslims was first raised in 2004 when Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister, while the issue of Maratha reservation was older.

 

"We have independent reports on reservation for Marathas and Muslims. After careful study and on the basis of population, the cabinet decided to provide 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and five reservation for Muslims," Chavan said.

 

After the humiliating defeat of the Congress-NCP in the Lok Sabha polls, when Pawar and Chavan were drafting a strategy for the assembly polls, it was felt that the Congress-NCP front will be able to woo the Marathas and Muslims if reservation is provided to these communities in education and government jobs. Then specific reservation policy was brought to the notice of Chavan, since it was his responsibility to move the proposal before the cabinet.

 

A month ago, Ajit Pawar had a marathon meeting with Chavan on providing reservation, then it was agreed to approve the proposal as early as possible.

 

However, as there was prolonged delay in the decision making process, a week ago, Pawar stepped in and asked the Congress high command to take a decision on Maratha and Muslim reservation on top priority.