Maratha quota row: OBCs oppose reservation for Marathas from their quota
The Supreme Court on September 9 stayed the implementation of Maratha reservation in jobs and education from SEBC category
Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in Maharashtra may find itself on a sticky wicket over the calls to provide reservation to Maratha community from the OBC quota. To oppose the demand, the OBC as well as VJNT communities have called for a statewide 'OBC Aarakshan Bachav Aandolan' on November 3.
The Supreme Court on September 9 stayed the implementation of Maratha reservation in jobs and education from the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) category. Following this, the Maratha outfits are demanding reservation from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota.
The issue has caught the MVA government in a catch-22 situation as the OBC and Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) communities have vehemently opposed the demand. If the state government decides to give in to the Marathas’ demand, it is likely to incur the wrath of these sizeable communities.
While the Maratha organisations are up in arms against the government and want immediate steps to lift the stay of the Supreme Court on the reservation and other welfare schemes, the OBC’s have also started raising their issues, stating that the OBC quota should not be reduced to accommodate any community.
“Some of the Maratha community leaders have suggested that Marathas be given reservation from the OBC quota. But we will not accept it. We have no objection to the state government giving a separate 13 percent reservation to the Maratha community. But if the OBC’s reservation quota is affected, then we will not allow any ministers to move in the state,” said Prakash Shendge, the chief of OBC-VJNT Sangharsh Samiti.
When the state government provided reservation to the Maratha community from the SEBC category, we knew that it will not be sustained. Hence, we had asked the government what will be their next move if the Marathas are denied reservation. But the government has not clarified anything, he added.
According to Shendge, the OBC and VJNT communities will hold protests at tehsil offices across the state on November 3. Their major demand will be not to provide reservation to Marathas from the OBC quota.