Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 29 (ANI): Ahead of the Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s protest on Friday, a large number of people from the Maratha community have gathered outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Azad Maidan in Maharashtra’s Mumbai.
Manoj Jarange Patil, who led the Maratha reservation movement last year, will hold a protest at Azad Maidan from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm today, as per the permission granted by the Mumbai Police.
Police forces have been deployed in strength near the CSMT and surrounding localities to maintain law and order in anticipation of a significant crowd.
Jarange Patil, known for his advocacy on Marathi reservation issues, has urged supporters to rally peacefully and called on authorities to address community concerns regarding reservation policies.
Manoj Jarange Patil held multiple protest rallies and hunger strikes demanding reservation for the Maratha community ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2024.
He had begun his hunger strikes in the Marathwada region, and the movement was later extended to cities including Pune and Mumbai.
He had demanded Kunbi caste certificates for all Marathas, free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level, and reservation of seats for Marathas in government job recruitments.
On February 20, 2024, amid the tussle between the Marathas and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Eknath Shinde-led government in the state brought a Bill to extend 10 per cent reservation to Marathas above the 50 per cent mark cap.
This was the third time in a decade that the state introduced legislation for the Maratha quota.
The Bill was based on a report submitted to the state government by the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission (MBCC) headed by Chairman Justice (Retired) Sunil Shukre.
The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on Friday submitted a report on the social and educational backwardness of the Maratha community, for which it had undertaken a survey of around 2.5 crore homes within only nine days.
The committee proposed a 10 per cent reservation for Marathas in education and jobs, similar to that of the previous bill brought in 2018 by the then-state government.
Earlier, in June 2017, the then Devendra Fadnavis government constituted the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) headed by Justice (retired) MG Gaikwad to study the social, financial and educational status of the Maratha community.
The Commission submitted its report in November 2018, classifying Marathas as a socially and educationally backward class (SEBC).
However, on May 5, 2021, the Supreme Court struck down reservations for the Maratha community in colleges, higher educational institutions, and jobs, after noting that there was no valid ground to breach the 50 per cent reservation while granting Maratha reservation. (ANI)
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