Maharashtra: Meeting on Maratha reservation underway in Mumbai 

Mumbai (Maharshtra) [India], September 4 (ANI): A cabinet sub-committee meeting on Maratha reservation under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is underway at Sahyadri Guest House in Maharashtra Mumbai. 

Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis are also at the meeting. 

Besides them, Cabinet Sub-Committee and Special Advisory Committee members, Dadaji Bhuse, Chandrakant Patil, Praveen Darekar, Shambhuraj Desai, Vinod Tavde Atul Save, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Girish Mahajan, Uday Samath, Tanaji Samnath, Ravindra Chavan, Yogesh Kadam, Bharat Gogawale and Narendra Patil are also present at the meeting. 

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday called Maratha agitation leader Manoj Jarange Patil for discussion on the matter, the Deputy Chief Minister’s office informed.

The Rajya Sabha MP and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s descendent, Udayanraje Bhosale, also requested CM Eknath Shinde for a discussion on the issue.

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis talking to Jarange Patil over a call assured him that those who are responsible for the unfortunate incident of Jalna will be brought to justice, informed Deputy CMO.

Fadnavis also told Jarange Patil that discussions on the issue will surely find a way out of the situation and the government is hopeful that the meeting with Maratha agitation leaders will happen soon, added Deputy CMO.

Earlier on Saturday, Shinde said that the state government was committed to providing reservations to the Maratha community.

Speaking on the Jalna incident where a clash broke out between police and protesters demanding reservation for the Maratha community earlier in August, Shinde said, “In November 2014, when the coalition government was in power under the leadership of then CM Devendra Fadnavis, the government announced the Maratha reservation. The High Court also upheld the Maratha Reservation decision taken by the government. But the Supreme Court took a different decision. Everyone knows that this is due to someone’s negligence…The issue of the Maratha Reservation is currently in the court. The state government is fully prepared to fight this case in court…There are some difficulties, and the state government is trying to resolve them.”

The Chief Minister appealed to people to be careful of those who wanted to take political mileage from the situation.

The Supreme Court, on May 5, struck down the reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Maratha community brought in by the Maharashtra government in 2018, saying it exceeded the 50 per cent cap imposed earlier.