Maharashtra: 'Need To Remove 50 Per Cent Quota Limit To Give Reservation To Marathas' Says Ajit Pawar

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the Maratha community should get reservations but it should happen without tampering with the reservation of other communities.

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New Delhi: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said there is a need to remove the 50 per cent limit on the reservation so that reservations can be given to the Maratha community. He also requested the central government to make amendments in the law for this.

The senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader said the Maratha community should get reservations but it should happen without altering the existing reservation of other communities.

He was speaking at Shivneri Fort in Junnar tehsil of Pune district on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Maratha ruler was born in 1630 in this fort. Speaking on the occasion, Pawar said, "All of us are of the same opinion regarding giving reservation to the Maratha community. We (the state government) had also formed a commission for this purpose. The Bombay High Court had ruled in our favour but the Supreme Court had dismissed it."

"Just as there is a demand for Maratha reservation here in Maharashtra, other communities in some other states are also demanding reservation for themselves. The Maratha community should get reservations but it should happen without making changes in the reservation of other communities. There is a need to remove the 50 per cent limit on the reservations and the central government should make changes in the law for this."

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About the Alphonso mango grown in the Junnar region, Pawar said, "The district planning committee has allocated Rs 27 lakh so that this variety of mango gets the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, about which the locals have been making demands for a long time."

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the state government has allowed only 500 people to participate in the event at the fort while only 200 people have been allowed to participate in the 'Shiv Jyoti Run'.

Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and other leaders also attended the event. Shivaji Maharaj's descendant and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati also paid a brief visit to the fort.