Ketan Tirodkar, who filed the PIL in the Bombay High Court
The former journalist who filed the Public Interest Litigation, or the PIL, challenging the Maharashtra Cabinet's decision to reserve 16 per cent seats in government jobs and educational institutions for Marathas, found himself at the receiving end of the fury of one of the community members.
Dilip Patil, later identified as a member of the Akhilesh Bharatiya Maratha Mahasangh, today hurled ink at Ketan Tirodkar, who filed the PIL in the Bombay High Court on June 27 against quota for Marathas. Patil has been detained by the police.
Mr Tirodkar, in his PIL, has argued that Marathas are not a caste and they comprised a linguistic group.
It further stated that Marathas are a dominant community, not a backward one.
The PIL also argued that the state government's decision violated a Supreme Court order that had made it clear that reservations could not cross 50 per cent.
The High Court will take up the matter for hearing on July 9. The state government had, during the last hearing on Saturday, argued that no resolution on the Cabinet decision had been issued so far.
The Maharashtra government, decimated in last month's national election, had decided on June 25 to extend reservation meant for Other Backward Classes to Marathas; a five per cent quota was also added for Muslims.
The move comes as the state gears up for assembly elections which are expected in October, leading to allegations that it's been pushed through as a vote-getter.
Sharad Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party governs the state in alliance with the Congress, had last week suggested that his party will happily leverage any benefits from a decision to reserve jobs for the politically vital community.
"It was a long-pending demand that we fulfilled, we did not consider whether we will benefit, but if we do, so be it - we are not a gang of sadhus or saints," said Mr Pawar.