Maharashtra govt should raise ceiling on quota as in Bihar: Congress

Congress leaders in Maharashtra on Friday demanded that the state government take steps to increase the limit on total reservation on the lines of Bihar.

Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the assembly, said in a post on X that if the ceiling, currently at 50 per cent, is raised, all issues related to reservation will be resolved. Maharashtra earlier this month witnessed a reintensified agitation for quota by the Maratha community. The state government should take up this issue in the next legislature session, Wadettiwar demanded. Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan said in a statement that the Bihar assembly has increased the overall quota to 75 percent and "why can't it happen in Maharashtra."

The state government should take steps to waive the quota limit in the coming winter session of the assembly which will help the Maratha community get reservation, the former chief minister said. The BJP, which is part of the government in Maharashtra, supported the quota bill in the Bihar assembly, he noted.