BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the Supreme Court's decision to stay the implementation of the Maratha reservation act "shocked" him.
On September 9, the Supreme Court directed that no quota will be granted to people of the Maratha community in education and jobs in the state this year and referred the hearing on a batch of plea challenging the constitutional validity of a Maharashtra law granting Maratha reservation in education and jobs to a larger bench.
The Maharashtra government two years ago enacted the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018, to provide reservation to Maratha community.
Last year in June, the Bombay High Court upheld the law stating that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable and it should not breach 12 per cent in jobs and 13 per cent in education."I was shocked when I learnt about the Supreme Court's stay order," Fadnavis told a news channel.
"The Supreme Court's decision is rare because the act had been upheld by the the state high court," he said.
"Other states such as Rajasthan tried passing similar laws (to provide reservation) for some communities but those laws were struck down by high courts," Fadnavis said.
"The high court in Maharashtra had upheld the act," he said.
"Instead of making logical arguments, some leaders are pointing fingers at the Centre for not cooperating over the matter. It is a lame excuse to divert attention from its (the state government's) own poor performance," he said.