Winter Session may be extended to pass Maratha quota bill

Mumbai: The Winter Session might be extended to pass the Maratha reservation bill, said revenue minister and leader of the Upper House Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday in the Legislative Council.

Mr Patil said that the government would first table the action-taken report (ATR) on the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission’s report, which concluded that the Maratha community is backward, before tabling the reservation bill. “Sufficient time will be given to discuss the ATR and the (Maratha quota) bill as well,” the minister said.

He also claimed that when the bill is tabled, everyone — including the Opposition —would praise the government. “I am assuring the House that adequate time will be given for discussion over the ATR and bill. If needed, the session may be extended,” he said

Mr Patil was replying to the Opposition’s demand that the commission’s report be tabled in the legislature.

Leader of Opposition in Upper House Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday asked the government why it had not tabled the commission’s report as well as a report of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on the Dhangar community.

Mr Munde also said that if the government didn’t want to table the report, it should at least inform the people when the ATR would be tabled.