Oppn questions govt on Maratha quota

A day after the Maharashtra government decided to carve a new category of Socially & Economically Backward Class (SEBC) to provide reservation to the Maratha community, multiple issues cropped up on Monday with the Opposition demanding more clarity.

On Sunday, based on the recommendations of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Community (MSBCC), the BJP-Shiv Sena government decided to create SEBC and give reservations to Marathas, a long-pending demand.

However, on the opening day of the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (Congress) and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar (NCP) sought to know the details from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

"They have decided to create a new category, but where are the details...how many per cent?...is going to be over and above the current reservation?...several details are missing," said Vikhe-Patil.

Pawar said that no details are known about the MSBCC recommendations. "What is there is the report? What are the recommendations," he wanted to know.

A delegation of Opposition leaders also called on Maharashtra Governor CH Vidayasagar Rao, seeking his intervention to extend the duration of the session. The government had fixed November 19-30 for the session.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court is likely to take up for hearing a bunch of petitions on the issue of Maratha reservation in Maharashtra on Wednesday.

It may be recalled that several petitions were filed in 2014 and 2015 after the erstwhile Congress-NCP government granted 16 per cent reservations to Marathas.

One of the petitioners Vinod Patil, mentioned the matter before a division bench headed by Justice BP Dharmadhikari, seeking an urgent hearing. The court is expected to hear the petition on Wednesday.

In a related development, several OBC organisations has questioned the recommendations of the MSBCC and made it clear that it would like the present OBC reservation to be altered. "It is just jugglary of words....what is the difference between SEBC and OBC," a senior OBC leader wanted to know.