Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday signalled that the government would deliver on its promise on extending quota benefits for Maratha community in education and jobs.
“I want to assure the community that it should be ready to celebrate the reservation on December 1. There is no need to agitate anymore,” he said in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The chief minister’s statement came hours after the state’s commission for backward classes submitted its report.
The Maratha community in the state has been demanding reservations in jobs and education since 2016 with protests and silent marches.
One such protest turned violent earlier this year, forcing the chief minister asked the panel to study the community’s economic and social backwardness and gave it a November 15 deadline.
Sources had earlier told HT that the panel has endorsed the social, educational and financial backwardness of the community, the prerequisite for the government to extend quota benefits.
Maharashtra currently has 19% reserved for 346 castes in the OBC category, another 8% quota for 39 tribes under the Nomadic Tribes category. SC and ST have 13% and 7% reservations respectively.
Vimukt Jatis and Special Backward Classes have quotas of 3% and 2% respectively. Marathas first raised a demand for reservation in 1993.
The previous Congress-led government had passed a bill for 16% quota to Marathas ahead of the assembly elections in 2014 but the high court put the decision on hold.