The Maharashtra government will back the Maratha community’s demand for reservation when the matter comes up before the Bombay High Court on Friday, reported Mumbai Mirror.
Members of the Maratha community in the state have been staging massive ‘silent protests’ on the issue of reservation, something that got the Devendra Fadnavis government rattled over the past few months. They have also been demanding that the two absconding rapists in the Kopardi gangrape case be given death sentences.
The report quotes the state Social Welfare Minister Rajkumar Badole as saying that Fadnavis has given consent to support the demand.
“We have no problem whatsoever in the community being granted reservation, but that is for the court to decide. On our part, we will tell the High Court that the Maratha community deserves reservation as it has been left behind economically and socially,” Badole said.
On Wednesday, a protest took place in Baramati, former Chief Minister Sharad Pawar’s hometown. The protest happened in the wake of the rape and murder of a Maratha girl in Ahmednagar in July. Apart from demanding action against the perpetrators, the protesters demanded that the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act be scrapped.
Reacting to the protests on Sunday, Fadnavis had said:
“Our government is committed to solve the issue. I assure you that amicable solution will be found out with the help of all. The Government’s view is that the Maratha community should get reservation. Hence, even when there is a stay by the court, our government has passed an Act regarding it. Now, even when the matter is subjudice, evidence are being placed before the courts,” he said.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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