Why Maratha Quota Activist Refuses To End Hunger Strike Despite Quota Bill

Manoj Jarange Patil is the face of the Maratha quota agitation

New Delhi/ Mumbai:

Manoj Jarange Patil, the face of the Maratha quota agitation, has refused to call off his hunger strike even after the Maratha Reservation Bill was passed in the assembly yesterday.

The Maratha community’s demand for reservation has been a focal point of discussions between the community leaders and the state government.

Mr Jarange said it does not matter if the Maharashtra government grants 10 or 20 per cent reservation as long as the quota comes under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and is not separate.

He said that a separate reservation might pose legal challenges as it would exceed the 50 per cent reservation cap.

Manoj Jarange Patil On Assembly Move

The Maharashtra Assembly yesterday unanimously passed the Maratha Reservation Bill, a legislation that will grant a 10 per cent reservation for the Maratha community in both education and government jobs.

Manoj Jarange Patil said the bill passed in the assembly will not stand the test of law. “We have been demanding that we should be given a quota in the OBC category. But the government has given us separate reservation which crosses the 50 per cent ceiling. This will not stand the legal scrutiny,” Mr Patil said.

“We are Kunbis. We are already in the OBC category. Why do we need separate reservation? If one brother gets reservation, then why not another? It is our right,” he said.

Legal Scrutiny

This is the third time in a decade that Maharashtra government has put forward such legislation The first two attempts were struck down by the court for breaching the 50 per cent quota.

Just ahead of elections in 2014, the then Congress government under Prithviraj Chavan issued an ordinance implementing a 16 per cent reservation for Marathas. The Bombay High Court struck it down, citing the 50 per cent limit imposed by the Supreme Court.

In 2018, the Devendra Fadnavis government announced a 16 per cent reservation for Marathas, which was struck down by the top court in 2021 as it breached the 50 per cent quota ceiling, and that there was no ‘extraordinary circumstance’ for justification.