Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje, Maratha leaders meet Prez

MUMBAI: A delegation led by Rajya Sabha member Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje on Thursday met President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking constitutional intervention for the restoration of Maratha quota.

The delegation has requested the President for intervention to tweak the definition of the ‘extraordinary and exceptional’ situation under which the Maharashtra government can accord the reservation to any community, or removal of the ceiling of 50% on reservations.

Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje – a descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – has been leading the Maratha protests, demanding the restoration of the reservation for the community, which was quashed by the Supreme Court (SC) on May 5.

The delegation also consisted of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ranjeetsingh Nimbalkar, Nationalist Congress Party’s Vandana Chavan, Shiv Sena’s Vinayak Raut and Congress’s Sangram Thopate. After the meeting, Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje said that the President heard them patiently and assured to study the entire issue.

“He said that he will inform us about the further course of action by studying the entire matter,” Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje said.

He added that they have requested the President for immediate intervention.

“While striking down the reservation given to Maratha, SC said that the community cannot be called backward as it does not reside in “far flung and remote areas” which define the extraordinary and exceptional situation to establish the backwardness. Even if the recent constitutional amendment has given powers back to the state governments to give the reservation on the basis of backwardness, it cannot be of any avail in such a situation. We have requested to either change the definition of backwardness or remove the ceiling of 50% on reservation,” he said.

In the letter given to the President, the leaders have stated that not only Maharashtra, but many other states have excluded the 50% reservation limit and are likely to face legal crisis due to the cap on quota.

“The Jats in Haryana, Patidars in Gujarat, Kapurs in Telangana and Gujjars in Rajasthan have been demanding reservation as they have been left out of the mainstream. The 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment has deprived them from their right to quota. It is the need of the hour to rethink over the 50% cap to offer them respite. SC has overlooked the 10% reservation given to the economically weaker section recently though it has crossed the limit of 50%. In this view, you are requested to intervene to give respite to not only Marathas but other peasant communities from across the country,” it reads.

SC on May 5 had quashed 12% and 13% quota given to Marathas in education and jobs under Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018. The state government is planning to file a review petition in SC as recommended by a committee of retired high court judge Dilip Bhosale to study the ruling and recommend a way forward.