Reservations over inclusion of Marathas in OBC quota

Maratha leaders want reservation in existing 27% quota; OBC members say CM assured quota won’t be touched

After the Parliament passed the 127th Constitutional Amendment, the demand for the inclusion of the Marathas in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category may gather momentum. However, OBC outfits are apprehensive about it and have conveyed their apprehension to the government.

An OBC rally at Azad Maidan , in 2019. In Maharashtra, 346 castes get 19% OBC reservation, while another 8% reservation has been notified for 30-plus castes under three sub-categories of OBCs. (HT File)

The Supreme Court had quashed the Maratha reservation on three grounds. It had crossed the 50%- limit meant for reservations and the report of the Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes (MSCBC), led by retired judge MG Gaikwad, did not substantiate the backwardness of the community.

The Apex court also considered that the 102nd Constitutional Amendment had done away with the states’ power to give reservation on backwardness. With the 127th Amendment, the Centre has given this power back to the states, but the other two hurdles in the way of reservation to Marathas remain.

In such a scenario, some Maratha community leaders are demanding that the community should be given the reservation on the basis of the backwardness in the existing OBC quota of 27%.

“That is the only option left with and we have been pushing for it. When a few castes were given dedicated reservations without having substantiated their backwardness or conducting survey, why should we not be incorporated in the quota? Our backwardness has been established by the Gaikwad commission,” said Virendra Pawar, one of the leaders of Maratha Kranti Morcha.

Pawar said that the state government does not have the will to incorporate the community in the OBC quota and hence, it had passed a resolution in the state legislature, clarifying that until the ceiling on the reservation was not removed by the Centre, the state cannot do anything.

Balasaheb Sarate, one of the Maratha leaders, said that inclusion of the Maratha community in OBC category was the only constitutional and legal option.

“We had been pressing for it even during the [Devendra] Fadnavis government and had asked for dedicated reservation within the OBC category. But neither the Fadnavis government agreed, nor will any other government agree to it. After the 127th Constitutional Amendment by the Parliament, the state has the right to accord reservation. But I doubt that even if the MSCBC generates empirical data to prove backwardness, it would not stand the legal scrutiny,” he said.

Prakash Shendge, former legislator and president of OBC Jan Morcha, an umbrella body of the community’s organisations, said that their apprehension was raised during the meeting with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray earlier this week.

“A section of the Maratha community has been demanding for their inclusion in OBC quota. Though it is now difficult to prove the backwardness of the community, we fear that using political might, the community can do anything. The Gaikwad commission, which endorsed the backwardness of the community, consisted of a majority of the Marathas as members. The survey conducted on behalf of commission was by the agencies led by Maratha leaders. We have clarified to the government such attempts will not be tolerated. We have also demanded with the CM for the verification of the certificates of the government employees who have been recruited as OBCs,” he said.

Shedge said that the CM has assured them that the OBC quota will not be touched.

In Maharashtra, 346 castes get 19% OBC reservation, while another 8% reservation has been notified for 30-plus castes under three sub-categories of OBCs.

Chandrakant Bavkar of Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti, an OBC outfit, said that the community will oppose inclusion of the Marathas under reservation for OBCs.

“Thanks to the uprising within the Maratha community for their reservation, even OBC community have become aware about their rights. We would not tolerate any move to include the Maratha community in OBC category. There had been attempts in the past to prove that Kunbis, which are a part of the OBC category, are Marathas, but we successfully rubbished the claim. The OBCs, that form 52% of the population, gets 27% reservation, which is insufficient for us,” he said.

Bavkar said that the three successive backward classes’ commissions – Khatri, Bapat and Saraf – had turned down the claim of backwardness of the Maratha community.

“Even the Apex court in its verdict on May 5 questioned the validity of the Gaikwad Commission. Five out of the 11 members of the Gaikwad Commission dissented on the Maratha reservation recommendation. I don’t think it’s that easy for the government to include the community in OBC quota,” he said.

Food and civil supplies minister and Nationalist Congress Party’s OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, “No such demand for the inclusion of the Marathas in OBC quota came up. Not only are the three ruling parties, but even the opposition BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is against any such inclusion.”