Ahead of ensuing polls, Maratha outfits to intensify protest for quota

Virendra Pawar of Maratha Kranti Morcha said that they are intensifying their protest as there are only a few months left before the general elections, and they have to fight for their cause, otherwise, it will never happen. “We gheraoed deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in Kolhapur two days ago

Mumbai: Maratha outfits have announced to intensify their protest to demand the restoration of reservation in jobs and education that was quashed by the Supreme Court in May 2021. The key Maratha outfits have decided to question elected representatives over their role in restoration of the quota and boycott the elections if they do not fight for the cause.

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A subcommittee headed by the higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil has decided to hold a meeting in New Delhi with senior counsel to take the legal battle further.

The meeting was held after a few Maratha community activists tried to gherao Pawar during a meeting that was convened to discuss their demand of giving them a 50% quota in Kolhapur.

The committee will discuss filing a curative petition in the SC against its order two years ago and take up the issue of the recruitment of the Maratha community candidates who were denied joining the services under quota despite clearing the exams.

Virendra Pawar of Maratha Kranti Morcha said that they are intensifying their protest as there are only a few months left before the general elections, and they have to fight for their cause, otherwise, it will never happen. “We gheraoed deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in Kolhapur two days ago. Now we will take the protest to the doorsteps of the MLAs to question them. We want them to fight for our reservation and raise the issue in the winter session. If the reservation is not restored before the general election next year, we will not vote for the people responsible,” said Pawar.

All the key Maratha outfits will soon meet to further decide the course of action. “The government is indifferent over the reservation, and the steps being taken by them are not going to help us in restoring the reservation. We have been demanding a separate commission to collate the empirical data and give us a reservation in OBC quota,” added Pawar.

The cabinet subcommittee has assured the community to take up the issue of over 100 community youth, who were selected for government jobs from the economically weaker section (EWS). The state government had allowed them to apply from the EWS, but Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal later struck down the decision.

“The appeal is still pending in the Bombay High Court. We will follow up to recruit these candidates who have cleared the tests,” said Chandrakant Patil.

Patil said that the cabinet subcommittee members will hold a meeting in Delhi next week to take a call on the curative petition.