Mumbai: The state government is planning to amend the maharashtra reserv-ation law in order to give 16 per cent reservation to the Maratha community. The backward commission has submitted its report to the state confirming the backward status of the Marathas. Now, the government will discuss the report on Sunday in Cabinet and inform the legislative houses in the coming week.
The winter session of state’s legislature in Mumbai will start from Monday. Sources claimed that the only option the state has to clear the demand of Maratha’s reservation is to amend the current law of Maharashtra reservation and send the proposal to Union government for inclusion of it in the 9th section of the constitution.
The chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will first present the report before state’s Cabinet on Sunday. On Monday or Wednesday, the government will see someone from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raise the demand of discussion on the reservation issue. As discussion will proceed, Mr Fadnavis will reveal the strategy for the reservation in the house. The BJP will see that the focus of clearing reservation for the strongest community in the state will remain on the party itself.
As of now, all political parties are supporting the reservation. So, if the state government comes with the amendment in the bill, it is assumed to be cleared in a day. “There could be other legal hurdles like somebody reaching out to court against it but these things are not in government’s hands. The picture of reservation issue will be favouring BJP and Mr Fadnavis particularly as his honest attempt to clear this long pending decision is in the priority list for the people of Maharashtra,” said a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader on Friday.
Maratha community covers almost 31 per cent of the state’s population. It is also the key community in state’s politics.
The demand for the reservation of community is there since 1980’s. In the last decade, this demand has become a major political issue. Mr Fadnavis taking it to the decisive point will be seen as political triumph of the BJP.
