'Need to remove 50 per cent quota limit to facilitate reservation to Marathas'

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said there is a need to remove the Supreme Courtmandated 50 per cent cap on quota so that the Maratha community can be granted reservation and urged the central government to make changes in law to facilitate itThe Maratha community should get reservation but it should be done without disturbing the existing quota of other communities the senior NCP leader saidHe was speaking at the Shivneri fort in Junnar tehsil of Pune district on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj The Maratha warrior king was born on this fort in 1630Addressing a gathering on the occasion Pawar said We all are on the same page for the reservation to the Maratha community We state government had also formed a commission for that purpose The Bombay High Court had given a favourable decision but it was rejected by the Supreme CourtJust as there is a demand for the Maratha reservation in Maharashtra other communities are seeking quota for themselves in some other states The Maratha community should get reservation but it should be done without disturbing the quota of other communities There is a need to remove the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation and the central government should make changes in the law to facilitate it he saidIn May last year the Supreme Court had struck down the Maharashtra law granting quota to Marathas in admissions and government jobs terming it as unconstitutional and held there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdictTalking about the Alphonso mangoes grown in Junnar region Pawar said Rs 27 lakh have been allotted by the district planning committee DPC so that this variety of mango which is cultivated in and around Shivneri gets the geographical indication GI tag a longpending demand of the local peoplePawar arrived at the Shivneri fort in the morning and paid floral tributes to Shivaji Maharaj and his mother Jijabai He also attended several programmes held to celebrate the birth anniversary of the 17th century king including the cradle ceremony and palanquin ceremonyIn view of the coronavirus pandemic the state government allowed only 500 people to attend the events on the fort while only 200 people were allowed to take part in the Shiv Jyoti RunMaharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat among others also attended the programmes BJP MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati a descendant of Shivaji Maharaj also paid a brief visit to the fortPawar said Due to COVID19 restrictions many people couldnt attend todays ceremony But soon when the country will be free from the pandemic there will be a great celebration For restoration work at Shivneri forest archeological and other departments are working together Many works are also planned at the area where Rajyabhishek took place at RaigadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever