Sule Backs Reservation Only for People Who Need It

Mumbai: Amidst the reservation row in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule has said reservations should be only for people who ‘need it.’ She has also urged people to hold discussions on reservations.

“Reservation has to be for people who really need it. I cannot ask for a reservation because my parents are educated, I’m educated and my children are educated. Shame on me if I apply for it. It’s for somebody who probably did not have an education and needed it. If my child is studying in Mumbai and is going to one of the good schools, there could also be a child brighter than mine in maybe Chandrapur who does not have access to this kind of education,” Sule said at an event.

The Baramati MP called for a debate on the reservation issue. “Let us all have a discussion. Let us ask every stakeholder of this country what he or she thinks about it and let’s have an open debate on it. We need to have a debate in colleges, in society, on every platform. I would even like to take our quick poll here to find out what they are thinking,” she said, directing at the audience.

When the audience was asked if there should be an economic-background-based reservation or a caste-based reservation, the majority of them voted for the former.

Reacting to this, Sule said, “Thank God, I feel so connected to Gen Z. I’m going to sleep half an hour more tonight because I feel so connected with my every stakeholder.”

Sule’s statement has been seen as her veiled support to the economic-background-based reservation even as Maharashtra is witnessing widespread protests and demonstrations on the issue.

Following Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s agitations across the state seeking OBC status for his community, the state government decided to implement Hyderabad Gazette and grant eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates, which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Following this, several other OBC castes such as Banjara and Dhangar are seeking Scheduled Tribes status.