Congress govt had proposed reservation for Maratha community: Ashok Chavan

Maharashtra Congress Chief and former chief minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday said that it was the erstwhile Congress government who had proposed the reservation for Maratha community.

Speaking to ANI, Chavan said: "We are extremely happy that finally the Maratha Reservation issue has been resolved. It was the then Congress government which had initiated it. Somehow, due to some legal hurdles, the issue could not surpass the High Court scrutiny."

He said that with the reservation to the Maratha community, the reservation for two other communities -- Dhangar (shepherd) and Muslim communities, which is kept before the present government, would be resolved. "I think there will be communal harmony in the state," Chavan added.

Earlier in the day, the Bombay High Court upheld the reservation given to the Maratha community in educational institutions and government jobs.

A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharti Dangre, however, did not approve the quota of 16 per cent extended to the community.

The Court has directed to cap the reservation at 12 per cent for admission to educational institutions and 13 per cent in the government jobs.

The Maharashtra Assembly had, on November 30, in 2018, passed the Maratha Reservation Bill, which extended 16 per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to the Maratha community.

Following the decision of the state legislature, several petitions were filed contending that the reservation to the community will raise the reservation in the state from 52 per cent to 68 per cent, which is 18 per cent higher than the ceiling set by the Supreme Court.

On this, the High Court said that 50 per cent cap on the reservation can be "extended in exceptional situations."

The court also upheld the recommendations made by the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission about the "backwardness" of the community, which the government had considered while extending the quota.

The Maratha community, which has been declared as a socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) by the state government, makes up a total of 33 per cent of the total population in the state.

The Legislative Council of the state had, on June 21, passed an amendment in the SEBC Act, providing 16 per cent reservation to the students of Maratha community in admissions to the post-graduate (PG) courses in medical colleges.