Nagpur: Maratha leaders are divided over the decision of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to include the community in economically weaker sections (EWS) category for reservation in jobs and admissions. While some think it is a good stopgap arrangement, others fear it may weaken the Maratha reservation case in the Supreme Court.
Rajiv Jagtap, general secretary of social organization Jan Manch and a Maratha himself, said the state government should give a guarantee that Maratha reservation under socially and economically backward castes (SEBC) should not be weakened due to EWS quota. “If this move backfires in the Supreme Court, then government should not say it did not anticipate the outcome. The government should take the decision after giving a deep thought to the consequences. There is an unease in the Maratha community,” he added.
Raje Mudhoji Bhonsale, scion of the Nagpur’s royal family, condemned the decision and said it was nothing but a ploy to fool the Marathas. “The decision will hurt our chances in court. We don’t want reservation under EWS, but under SEBC,” he added.
Maratha leader Datta Shirke condemned the decision saying, “The last government had given 13% reservation exclusively for Marathas. Now, we have 10% reservation in which we have to compete with several other communities. The norms for availing EWS reservation are very stringent and not many Marathas will fulfil it. The government failed to protect SEBC reservation and hence it included Marathas under EWS just to pacify them.”
BJP corporator Pragati Patil, a Maratha herself, said it was nothing but a ploy to fool Maratha community. “The reservation for EWS is 10% against 13% for SEBC. Secondly, Marathas will have to compete with others for this 10% quota. BJP government had successfully defended Maratha reservation in the high court and Supreme Court, but the MVA government has undone all the good work,” she claimed.
Some Maratha leaders are, however, happy with the decision. Prashant Mohite said the SEBC reservation case was pending in the court and so the government thought of giving some relief to the Marathas. “I appreciate the move, but the state government should do its best to get the stay lifted on SEBC Act,” he said.
Another community leader Rajesh Nimbalkar said SEBC reservation is likely to be a prolonged battle and hence the government took the decision to bring the Marathas in comfort zone. “Had this decision not been taken, there would have been tremendous discontent in the community. I thank chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for it,” he added.