Committed to provide reservation to Maratha community: CM Devendra Fadnavis

Blaming the previous Congress and NCP led governments for failing to protect the interests of the Marathas, Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a slew of measures aimed at placating the community, which along with the Kunbis is estimated to form around a third of Maharashtra's population. 

He was speaking in the state legislative assembly on Friday. The Marathas have organised a series of silent protests across Maharashtra for demands like quotas, amendments to the Atrocity Act to prevent its misuse and death sentence for the youth who raped a girl from the community. 

Fadnavis questioned former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for the decision to grant quotas (for Marathas and Muslims) only after the Congress-NCP lost 42 of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats in 2014. "While taking such an important decision, a special session should have been convened and a law must have been framed... An ordinance can enforce the law but the court gives more importance to a law," he said, referring to the high court striking down the quota decision.  

The BJP-led government will also present a strong case in the apex court to press for Maratha reservations.  

Fadnavis also praised the silent marches being organised by the Maratha community and added that the state would seek the death sentence for the accused in the Kopardi rape case, which had triggered the protests. 

Pointing fingers at the erstwhile Congress and NCP governments for neglecting the Marathas, Fadnavis said the community was removed outside the quota ambit in 1965 without sound reasoning. The state had also not contested the contention of the Mandal Commission which had ruled against classifying Marathas as 'other backwards'. 

"I do not want to blame anyone. It is a question of giving justice to the community," said Fadnavis. He pointing that while some were trying to give the issue a political twist, it was the opposition which was in power when these developments took place. He also raised questions on the erstwhile Congress- NCP government's move to include Dalit intellectual and author Raosaheb Kasbe in the backward classes commission just two months before it submitted a report ruling against classifying Marathas as backwards. Kasbe had opposed the demand in the commission. 

"I am not making an allegation against the government but an inquiry is needed into the design," said Fadnavis, adding that the Congress-NCP had also failed to present before the court, the evidence gathered by the committee under then minister Narayan Rane. 

Fadnavis pointed to the scheme launched by the government which will provide financial aid to students studying for professional courses. Noting that Maharashtra had just 6,000 seats in government engineering and polytechnic colleges, he said that the number was as high as 1.5 lakh in the private sector. Hence, even if 15% quotas were provided to Marathas, they would account for just 900 seats, far less than the demand. 

"I will not go into whom these educational institutions belong to, whether they take donations and why the fees are steep," said Fadnavis, in a reference to education barons from the Congress and NCP, adding that the state had dragged its feet on a fee regulatory authority for 15 years. The state has also announced a scheme in the name of 'Bhausaheb' Punjabrao Deshmukh to provide Rs 30,000 annually for Maratha students to finance their stay in large cities for education, and an amount of Rs 20,000 would be paid in smaller towns. 

"Hostels will be made available for the stay of youth in all districts. We are ready to help out organisations with funds and aid," he declared. He noted that since one of the reasons behind Maratha backwardness was the condition of agriculture, it was necessary to mechanise it and boost productivity and investment. 

The state will also collect information about the misuse of the Atrocity act, Fadnavis said.