Quota verdict: Open category parents upset, Maratha leader wants 16% quota

Aurangabad: The Bombay high court judgement in favour of Maratha reservation has evoked mixed reactions with those supporting the demand celebrated the occasion, while parents from the ‘open’ categories rued the verdict terming it as a permanent loss of opportunities for their children.
The judiciary has upheld the decision of the state government to provide reservation under Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act to the Maratha community.The court, however, did not uphold the 16% reservation, and said it should not exceed the state’s backward commission recommendation of 12% in employment and 13% in education.
Abhijit Deshmukh, one of the conveners of Maratha Kranti Morcha that waged a sustained fight in support of the demand for reservation, complemented the state government for putting up a strong case for the desired quota before the court.
“We, however, will continue our agitation until the demand for 16% reservation is accepted. Families of those who sacrificed their lives during the court of agitation are yet to get compensation as promised by the government. Also, the government has not dropped criminal cases against many youths who were part of our agitation. We will fight for these two causes also in the future,” he said.
NCP MLC Satish Chavan said the unity shown by Maratha community has resulted into desired quotas coming into place. “We are grateful towards the judiciary for putting a legal stamp on the demand for. The real credit goes to those who sacrificed their lives for the cause,” he said.
Reacting on the court verdict, the parents from open categories said the SEBC quota together with the 10% reservation for Economically Backward Section (EWS) would permanently snatch opportunities of education and employment for their children.
“The state should have set a precedent by phasing out the reservation, but the ruling party leaders chose to increase the quota percentage. It was a regressive step which needs to be challenged in the apex court. We are not against any community, but only worried about the future of our children due to excess reservation,” said Deepak Relgaonkar, a parent.