Manoj Jarange-Patil asks Centre to step in, increase quota limit from 50%

MUMBAI: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Thursday asked the central government to intervene in the reservation issue and increase the 50% limit of overall reservation and add 10% more for the community in the OBC tranche, taking it from 19% to 29%.

“Maratha MLAs and ministers should convince deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis that as the community has now been recognised as backward, they should be included in the OBC list,” he said.

Jarange-Patil’s demand came a day after he asked his supporters to send emails to top dignitaries in Delhi including the President and Prime Minister for the implementation of ‘Sage-Soyare’ (close relations) notification. The draft notification facilitates the issuance of Kunbi certificates to the blood relatives of Marathas with documents to prove their antecedents and to people in the same patriarchal lineage and relatives by marriage, albeit of the same caste.

The state assembly passed a bill on February 20 reserving 10% of the seats in educational institutions and government jobs for people from the Maratha community, the third attempt in the state to carve out a quota for the once-dominant agrarian community. The courts struck down similar laws enacted in 2014 and 2019.

The Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2024, was enacted following a February 16 report of the Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes (MSCBC), chaired by (retired) Justice Sunil Shukre.

Currently, the reservation in the state stands at 52% and includes 13% for Scheduled Castes, 7% for Scheduled Tribes, 19% for OBCs, 2% for Special Backward Classes, 3% for Vimukta Jati, 2.5% for Nomadic Tribe (B), 3.5% for Nomadic Tribe (C) Dhangar, and 2% for Nomadic Tribe (D) Vanjari. Additionally, there is a separate 10% EWS quota applicable to the non-reserved section of the population, regardless of caste and religion, with an annual income limit of ₹8 lakh.

With the proposed Maratha reservation, the state’s overall quota percentage rises to 62%. Coupled with the 10% economically backward section (EWS) quota introduced by the Centre in 2019, the entire reservation extends to 72%. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, addressing the assembly, said that Maharashtra was not alone with the reservation exceeding 60%, saying there were 22 such states such as Tamil Nadu with 69%, Haryana with 67%, Bihar with 69%, and Gujarat with 59%.