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The Maratha reservation issue has again flared up in Maharashtra, with violence breaking out in Jalna as protesters clashed with police leaving several injured.
The ruling coalition of the Eknath Shinde Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar NCP is on the defensive over the issue in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly polls, as the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising the Sharad Pawar NCP, Uddhav Thackeray Sena and the Congress — has gone after them, holding the government responsible for the Jalna violence.
With barely any solution to the Maratha quota issue in sight, it is set to turn into a poll issue again.
The Maratha community, which accounts for 33 per cent of the state’s population, has been demanding reservation in government jobs and education for many years. The first protest in this regard was held by the Mathadi Labour Union leader Annasaheb Patil in Mumbai four decades ago. It has since been hanging fire, seeing protests and political rows periodically.
In May 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the Maharashtra’s Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018 providing quota to the Maratha community for violating the 50 per cent reservation ceiling and the 102nd Constitutional Amendment.
The then Uddhav-led MVA government then took the decision to accommodate Marathas under the Economic Weaker Section ( EWS) quota. This had been called “unacceptable” by the
Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM), an umbrella body of various Maratha groups championing the reservation right of the community.
The MKM spearheaded the community’s quota campaign from 2016 to 2018, which spread across 355 talukas in 36 districts.
It was on August 9, 2016 that the MKM took the decision to protest the rape and killing of a 15 year-old-girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district, which was the trigger for its quota stir. In its first phase, 58 silent rallies took place across the state during 2016-17, which saw people from villages coming to towns for it. After every rally, a ten-point charter of demands was presented to the district collector, which included quota for Marathas along with other demands like capital punishment for perpetrators of the Kopardi outrage, and minimum support price and loans for farmers. This phase saw mammoth consolidation of Marathas and was peaceful.
The MKM’s second phase of agitation during 2017-18 was marked with bloodshed and a spate of suicides, which sent shock waves across the state.
Faced with such a major political challenge, the then BJP-Shiv Sena (undivided) coalition led by then CM Devendra Fadnavis took the decision to extend quota to Marathas. It held a series of meetings with the MKM delegates and legal and constitutional experts.
The Fadnavis government also set up an 11-member Commission in June 2017 to examine the issue, which was headed by Justice (retired) N G Gaikwad. The panel submitted a report, stating that Marathas should be given reservation under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).
The Maharashtra SEBC Act was accordingly enacted in November 2018 by the state Legislative Assembly and the Council.
While the Bombay High Court upheld the Maratha reservation law, it asked the state government to reduce the quota from 16 per cent it stipulated. This led to the quota of 12 per cent in education and 13 per cent in jobs being approved.
Subsequently, the matter was challenged in the apex court, which stayed the reservation in September 2020, quashing it on May 4, 2021 as it breached the 50 per cent cap. The then MVA government had constituted a high-level panel headed by senior Congress leader and ex-CM Ashok Chavan and roped in legal experts to fight the case, but in vain.
In the wake of the apex court’s verdict, the MVA government drew fire from the Opposition. As the then Leader of Opposition (LoP), Fadnavis charged: “MVA failed to retain the Maratha reservation which was allocated through SEBC Act,” accusing the MVA of “complacency” and “ineptitude” in pursuing the case in the top court. Chavan dismissed the charges as baseless.
As the Maratha quota stir raging in Jalna has taken a violent turn now, the ruling coalition has come under fresh pressure, with the Opposition demanding Fadnavis’ resignation. Chavan said, “Fadnavis is Home Minister and he has to explain who ordered police lathi-charge against protesters.”
NCP president Sharad Pawar also hit out at Fadnavis, expressing concern over violence and police crackdown in Jalna. Uddhav Sena leaders, including Aaditya Thackeray, slammed the government.
While appealing for peace, CM Shinde said, “Our government is committed to Maratha reservation. We will do everything possible to restore it.”
With CM Shinde ordered an inquiry, his deputy Fadnavis defended the administration and police. “During our tenure we made special Act and got it passed in Assembly and Council. We will ensure there is no injustice done to community,” the senior BJP leader said.
Some political observers maintain that the 2016-18 Maratha agitation was the toughest
challenge faced by the Fadnavis regime, with the Brahmin CM drawing fire from different quarters.
While the ruling coalition would again face the Maratha quota issue ahead of polls — especially the BJP which is in power in both the state and at the Centre — one key difference this time is the point that both CM Shinde and his another deputy Ajit Pawar belong to Maratha community.
