Man attempts suicide over Maratha quota issue

A 28-year-old man allegedly tried to kill himself over the Maratha reservation issue in Aurangabad, police said.

At around 8 pm on Wednesday, the man consumed poison at Kranti Chowk.

Before the act, the man blamed the government for the Maratha community not being able to get a reservation in education and jobs in a Facebook Live, a news agency reported.

The police official said they received a call from a member of the Maratha Kranti Morcha about the incident and they immediately rushed to the spot.

The man was admitted to a government hospital where he is currently undergoing treatment. He is out of danger, an official from the hospital said.

The Supreme Court on September 9, 2020, stayed the implementation of the 2018 Maharashtra law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs.

The court had then made it clear that the status of those who have availed of the benefits would not be disturbed.

Earlier this week, the Apex court said it would decide on February 5 the schedule of hearing on the pleas about the law, after the Maharashtra government said a case of this nature be heard once the physical hearing commences.

The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018 was enacted to grant reservation to people of the Maratha community in Maharashtra in jobs and admissions.

The Bombay High Court, while upholding the law in June 2019, had held that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable, and said the quota should not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admissions.