Marathas protest stay on reservations by top court

Mumbai: Members of the Maratha community held protests Monday over the Supreme Court’s stay on reservations for the community in postgraduate medical courses this year.

Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) leaders indicated that the NCP was supporting their protests. A delegation of the MKM was due to meet NCP leader Ajit Pawar to prepare a strategy for agitation in the state.

“We have decided to support the cause of Maratha students whose admissions have been cancelled by the Maharashtra government,” Virendra Pawar, a leader of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, told reporters at Azad Maidan.

According to Virendra, the MKM decided to hold protests late Sunday night, and members of the community were arriving from different parts of the state to Mumbai. He added that the protests would intensify in the coming days.

Meanwhile, leaders of the MKM indicated that the Nationalist Congress Party was supporting their protests. A delegation of the MKM was due to meet NCP leader Ajit Pawar to prepare a strategy for agitation in the state, leaders of the organisation said.

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court, which struck down quotas under the SEBC. Judges L. Nageshwar Rao and Mukesh Kumar Shah of the Supreme Court agreed with the Bombay high court ruling that reservation under the SEBC was introduced after the admission process for post-graduate medical and dental courses was initiated.