Wadettiwar demands special session of Maharashtra legislature over Maratha quota issue

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Saturday demanded that a special session of the state legislature be called and a resolution should be passed requesting the Union government to take steps to provide reservation to the Maratha community.

The Congress leader held a press conference here a day after several persons including police personnel were injured in violence at the site of an agitation for Maratha quota in Latur district.

The Union government should provide reservation to the Maratha community on the lines of the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) reservation or raise the ceiling on total reservations above the existing 50 percent, he said.

If the Union government can provide the 10 percent EWS reservation even without any demand, why the Marathas who took to the street in large numbers to press their demand could not get reservation, Wadettiwar said.

The demand for Maratha reservation should be placed before Parliament during its special session this month and the Centre can introduce a necessary bill, he added.

The reservation provided to the politically dominant Maratha community by the Maharashtra government was set aside by the Supreme Court in May 2021.