The Maharashtra government will table in the State Assembly the ‘action taken report’ (ATR) on the State Backward Class Commission’s (SBCC) recommendations for Maratha quota, before introducing a Bill to make a provision for the reservation, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday.
The government is committed to providing quota to the Maratha community in jobs and education, he asserted while speaking in the Assembly.
As per the rules under which the SBCC has been set up, only the ATR on its recommendations is tabled in the House, he said.
This is the 52nd report of the commission and the earlier 51 reports were not tabled in the legislature, he added.
“My government is committed to providing reservation to the Maratha community under the Socially and Educationally Backward Community (SEBC) category over and above the existing 52 per cent reservation in the State,” Fadnavis said.
He alleged that the Opposition’s intention in seeking the commission’s report to be made public was to create a “division” among communities in the society.
Dhangar reservation
He said the report of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on reservation to the Dhangar (shepherd) community was being studied.
“We will table the ATR on this also [on the TISS report]. The reservations of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) will be protected. The recommendations of the TISS report will be sent to the Centre and the reservation will be given without hurting the existing quota for STs,” he said.
Criticising the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over the issue of quota for Muslims, Fadnavis accused them of trying to mislead the minority community.
“Fifty-two Backward Castes among Muslims were given reservation by the previous Shiv Sena-BJP State government (in the 1990s). To enable reservation, the castes should be declared as backward first. Those demanding quota should first approach the State Backward Class Commission, and the commission’s report will be binding on the government,” he said.
“Our government is providing educational benefits to the backward communities among Muslims. For the Congress and the NCP, Muslims are just a vote bank and they never cared for their well-being,” he charged.
Accusing the opposition of indulging in politics, Fadnavis said he can give a political response to such acts.
The Opposition members objected to the Chief Minister’s reply and the House had to be adjourned for 10 minutes amid uproarious scenes.