Save Merit and Save Nation, and Youth For Equality, which represent open category students, have organised a sit-in on August 25 against excess reservation in Maharashtra. The trigger is increase in the total reservation to 74% in the current academic year 2019-20 from 52% in 2018-19 following the government's decision to provide 12% quota to the Maratha community under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category and 10% to Economically Weaker Section by the Centre. Both organisations have said that this extraordinary situation created huge disturbance in the admission process of various professional courses which led to mobilization by unreserved and general category students. The policy deprives meritorious students from their rightful claims to seats which deserve to be filled on merit by candidates who have worked hard to deserve it. Save Merit Save Nation committee member Sudha Shenoy said the proposed agitation against illegal and unconstitutional addition to existing 50% quota is not political and not targeted against any caste, community or religion. ''It is our concern that the reservation policy carried out too far would result in mediocre people filling important posts and getting professional education for which they are not capable and thus deteriorating quality of professionals,'' said Shenoy. Another member Girish Kulkarni said the reservation policy should be based only on economic criteria irrespective of the caste and religion and there should be revamp of caste based reservation policy by setting up a neutral panel for its review. Background

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