Maharashtra signs Maratha quota Ordinance for medical admissions

Mumbai, May 21: In an important decision, Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao on Monday signed an ordinance to provide quota under the Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) Reservation Act, 2018, to candidates from the Maratha community seeking admission to post-graduate medical and dental courses.

 

The ordinance was issued by the Governor on the recommendation of the state government to protect the admissions of students in the PG courses.

The ordinance is aimed to further explain the intent of the state government to provide quota for the Maratha community.

Last year, in the wake of statewide protests by Maratha community members, the state government had cleared a 16 per cent quota for the community in education and government jobs, identifying them as SEBC.

The Maharashtra Cabinet on Friday had given its approval to promulgate an ordinance to bypass a Supreme Court judgment that barred the state from implementing the quota for admissions to the post-graduate medical courses this year.

The Cabinet meeting was held after the state received permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to promulgate the ordinance even as the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections was in place.