Maratha quota: Ordinance route will be checked, says Thorat

"Our prayer was for referring the case to a larger bench, how come such an order was passed? Hence, we are a bit concerned," he added.

Bringing an ordinance to give quota relief to the Maratha community is a legal issue and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will take a look into it, said Maharashtra minister and state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat on Monday.

His comments come in the wake of NCP chief Sharad Pawar last week suggesting the ordinance route after the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, stayed the implementation of a 2018 law granting reservation to the Maratha community in education and jobs in the state.

“It is a legal issue. We will check it,” Thorat told reporters here, adding the state government had approached the apex court “well-prepared”.

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The Supreme Court’s interim order of staying the implementation of the law is “incomprehensible”, he added.

“Our prayer was for referring the case to a larger bench, how come such an order was passed? Hence, we are a bit concerned,” he added.

He asked opposition parties not to play politics on the issue and said “we have to win and give justice to the community”.

He sidestepped a query on remarks made by actor Kangana Ranaut, only stating “it is not good to speak much about it”.