Chavan seeks bigger bench for Maratha quota, review of 50 pc cap

WhenAtal BihariVajpayee was prime minister, he had said RamMandir in Ayodhya was his governments priority but we theBJP dont have majority and therefore can not pursue thematter, the Congress leader said.

Seeking that a nine-member benchof the Supreme Court should hear the Maratha quota issue,Maharashtra minister AshokChavanon Friday said the existing50 per cent cap on reservations should be reconsidered.

Chavan, who heads a sub-committee of the statecabinet on the issue, said the landmark Indira Sawhney case of1993 was heard by a nine-member bench.

''Maratha quota issue should not be linked to theIndira Sawhney case in which the SC ruled that reservationsshould not exceed 50 percent. This decision should bereconsidered.

''The Maratha quota case is being heard by a five-member bench, which cannot overrule the verdict of a nine-member bench,'' the Congress leader told reporters.

Besides capping overall reservations, the SupremeCourt in Indira Sawhney vs Union of India also laid down thateconomic backwardness alone can not be a criterion for quota.

The apex court has stayed the 16 per cent quota forMarathas in education and jobs in Maharashtra. If the quotacomes into effect, the total reservation in the state willexceed 50 per cent.

Chavan, a senior Congress leader, also demanded thatas in the case of reservations in Tamil Nadu (which exceeded50 per cent), the Union government should intervene and give''constitutional protection'' to the Maratha quota.

''If the Maratha quota is upheld, the issue ofreservation in several other states will be resolved,'' Chavansaid.

He will requestChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray towrite to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue, he added.

As the hearing in the Supreme Court will begin fromJanuary 25, the cabinet sub-committee will hold a meeting withthe state's legal team in Delhi on January 11, he said.

On the issue of ally Shiv Sena's demand to renameAurangabad as Sambhajinagar, Chavan said its should bediscussed by the coordination committee of the coalition.

''All parties have different views on the issue. WhenAtal BihariVajpayee was prime minister, he had said RamMandir (in Ayodhya) was his government's priority but we (theBJP) don't have majority (and therefore can not pursue thematter),'' the Congress leader said.