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Maratha quota bill passed in Maharashtra Assembly amid Muslim reservation demand
SP MLA Abu Azmi waved banners demanding reservation to Muslims, outside the state assembly.
Mumbai:A bill that guarantees 10 percent reservation in jobs and educational institutions to the Maratha community was passed in the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday.
Earlier, chief minister Eknath Shinde tabled the Maratha quota bill in the state's assembly. "We have proposed the reservation to Marathas without disturbing the existing quota," he said in the House.
Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party today demanded a 5 percent reservation for Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions in Maharashtra. SP MLA Abu Azmi waved banners demanding reservation to Muslims, outside the state assembly.
SP MLA Rais Shaikh said the Muslim community must also get quota benefits.
"When the Maratha community was given reservation by the previous government, on the same day a notification was brought out and a 5 per cent reservation was given to Muslims. But today, we are seeing that the Maratha community is getting justice which we welcome but at the same time, the Muslim community is being ignored. We appeal to the government to go through the notification, when you are doing justice, do justice to everybody," he said.
He appealed to deputy CM Ajit Pawar to fulfil his promise.
"I appeal to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who has promised that no injustice will be done to the minorities to look into this and give justice to the minorities of this state," he said.
The Congress-NCP government had previously given reservation to Muslims through an ordinance.
Notably, the population of the Muslim community in the state is more than 10 per cent. The Justice Rajinder Sachar Commission (2006) and Justice Ranganath Mishra Committee (2004) proved the economic and educational backwardness of the Muslim community with statistics.
In 2009, the Congress-led government formed the Dr Mehmoodur Rehman Committee, which later recommended 8 per cent reservation for the Muslim community in education and jobs.
The Eknath Shinde government has brought the bill that gives a 10 percent quota to the Maratha community in Maharashtra.
With this, the reservation ceiling will climb to over 50 percent.
A special assembly session has been convened for this purpose amid a hunger strike by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil.
Meanwhile, Patil called the bill a betrayal.
"This decision of the government has been taken by keeping elections and votes in mind. This is a betrayal to the Maratha community...Maratha community won't trust you. We will benefit only from our original demands. Make a law on ‘sage-soyare’...This reservation won't hold. The government will now lie that the reservation has been given," he said.
With inputs from PTI, ANI
