Sharad Pawar demands Centre remove 50 percent quota cap by raising 15-16 percent to accommodate more communities

In light of the increasing focus on Maratha reservation in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar demanded on Tuesday that the Centre remove the 50 percent restriction on quota and expand it by 15–16 percent to accommodate more communities.

Addressing a news conference, the NCP chief said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for a meeting on Wednesday of all party heads of the INDIA alliance, an opposition bloc of 28 parties aiming to take on the BJP-led Centre in next year’s general elections.

The Maratha community has been protesting in the state, calling for reservations in public employment and educational settings.Some people say that making more people (communities) beneficiaries of the OBC (other backward class) quota is injustice to the poor people of the (existing) OBC quota. This cannot be ignored. The option is to make amendments by the Centre in Parliament to the existing 50 per cent cap and add 15-16 per cent to it, Pawar said in response to a question on demands being made by some leaders to accommodate Marathas in the existing OBC quota.

Regarding the drought-like conditions in many areas of Maharashtra, Pawar stated that the government must take a number of actions, including providing livestock with food and water, taking steps to salvage crops whenever possible, offering financial support to farmers, and suspending all state levies.