The Maharashtra cabinet, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday passed a draft of the bill granting 10% quota to Marathas in education and government services, news agency ANI reported. On Tuesday, the Maharashtra government held a one-day special Vidhan Sabha session with the key agenda item being "Maratha reservation."
Earlier last week, CM Shinde stated that his administration will provide the quota to the Maratha community while making no changes to the reservations of other communities.
The Maratha community, led by Jarange Patil, sought reservations in education and employment under the OBC category. However, the assurance of quota under the Kumbi category is rejected by Maharashtra's prominent politician, Chhagan Bhujbal.
In a special session of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, the Shinde government increased reservations for Marathas to more than 50%.
The Maratha Reservation Bill is comparable to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act of 2018, which was sponsored by then-CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Maharashtra already has a 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), with the Marathas taking up 85% of the reservations.
The quota was expanded based on a recommendation made to the state government by the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission (MBCC), chaired by Justice (Retired) Sunil Shukre.
Shukhre submitted a report on the Maratha community's social and educational backwardness on Friday, following a nine-day study of around 2.5 crore houses.
The committee advocated a ten percent quota for Marathas in education and employment.
Notably, in 2021, the Supreme Court of India overturned reservations for Marathas in college enrollment and employment in Maharashtra. The Supreme Court ruled that there were no special circumstances to warrant the breach of the 50% on overall reservations. The state filed a review petition, which was also denied. It then submitted a curative petition.