The BJP government in Maharashtra has decided to use the Ordinance route to reverse a Supreme Court judgment, barring the state from implementing the Maratha quota for admissions to postgraduate medical courses this year.
On Thursday, the state government received the Election Commission of India’s (EC) permission for promulgating the Ordinance while the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections is still in place. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has called a special meeting of his Cabinet on Friday when this Ordinance is expected to be approved, said sources.
Following statewide protests by Marathas, the Fadnavis government had on November 30, 2018, cleared a 16 per cent quota for the community in education and government jobs, identifying them as Socially and Economically Backward Class. On March 8, 2019, the government had issued a notification for the implementation of the reservation in educational institutions.