Devendra Fadnavis says Maratha quota needs legal scrutiny, decision can't be made only based on sentiments

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said his government was working on the demand for reservations to the Maratha community, but that the legal process could not be curtailed. Speaking at a function in Mumbai to release a book on Chhatrapati Rajaram, Shivaji’s descendant, Fadnavis said the decision cannot be taken only on the basis of sentiments. He described as lamentable the incidents of violence and alleged suicides for the quota demand reported during the ongoing agitation by Maratha organisations in the last few days. [caption id=“attachment_4332961” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. PTI[/caption] “If sentiments are aroused, there will be unrest in the community. The legal process needs to be completed and our government will do that in a time-bound manner,” he added. The BJP-led government in the state enacted a law to provide reservation in jobs and education to the community within a year of coming to power, he noted. “But the high court stayed the decision and the Supreme Court upheld the high court order. There is a 1992 Supreme Court judgement that reservations should not exceed 50 percent. To increase them (beyond 50 percent) there should be extraordinary circumstances and these (circumstances) must be put forth through the State Backward Class Commission (before the court),” Fadnavis pointed out. His government formed the commission and the process of surveys and public hearings had started, he said. “But the commission chairman passed away. Now new chairman has been appointed and the process has restarted. After its report is submitted, we will call an Assembly session to take the reservation demand to its logical conclusion,” he said. People need to understand that to ensure that reservations stand legal scrutiny, the 1992 Supreme Court judgement must be followed, the chief minister said. “We have to give reservations to the Marathas without tampering with the SC-STOBC quota,” he added. “We are being asked to issue an ordinance. It can be done, but it will not stand (scrutiny) in the court… Do we want to fool people or grant reservations genuinely?” he asked.