3-member panel to advise Maharashtra govt on approaching SC over Maratha quota issue: CM Shinde

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said a three-member committee of experts will be set up to advise the state government on submission of a proposed curative petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the Maratha quota issue.

Members of the Maratha community have been staging protests seeking reservation in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The agitation intensified after quota activist Manoj Jarange sat on an indefinite fast from October 25 at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district as part of the second phase of the protest.

Speaking to reporters here, Shinde said, “An expert committee will be formed which will advise the state government for a proposed curative petition, which the state will file before the Supreme Court. The expert committee will have three retired judges.”

“I do not want to go into the details of why the previous government failed to retain the Maratha reservation in the state. The Supreme Court has struck down the reservation upheld by the Bombay High Court,” he said.

The state government has already formed a committee, headed by retired judge Sandeep Shinde, to submit a report on how to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community.

“The committee will submit its report tomorrow and it will be discussed in the cabinet meeting,” CM Shinde said.

Activist Jarange has announced that fast-unto-death protests will begin in villages across Maharashtra if the state government fails to act on the pending demand of the Maratha community.

The Maharashtra government's stated position is that it is committed to granting reservation to the Maratha community which stands legal scrutiny.