"Has To Be For People Who Need It": Supriya Sule To NDTV On Reservation

Days after the Maratha quota agitation in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule on Saturday said reservations should be only for people who "need it".

"Reservation has to be for people who really need it. I cannot ask for a reservation because my parents are educated, I'm educated, and my children are educated. Shame on me if I apply for it. It's for somebody who probably did not have an education and needed it. If my child is studying in Mumbai and is going to one of the good schools, there could also be a child brighter than mine in maybe Chandrapur who does not have access to this kind of education," Ms Sule said at the NDTV Yuva event.

She also urged people to hold discussions on reservations.

"Let us all have a discussion. Let us ask every stakeholder of this country what he or she thinks about it, and let's have an open debate on it. We need to have a debate in colleges, in society, on every platform. I would even like to take our quick poll here to find out what they are thinking," she said.

When the audience was asked if there should be an economic-background-based reservation or a caste-based reservation, the majority of them voted for the former.

Reacting to this, Ms Sule said, "Thank God, I feel so connected to the Gen Z. I'm going to sleep half an hour more tonight because I feel so connected with my every stakeholder."

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) speaks on reservation, what the youth wants, and more on #NDTVYuva @PadmajaJoshi pic.twitter.com/PS08WQmPCW

— NDTV (@ndtv) September 21, 2025

Ms Sule's comments came days after activist Manoj Jarange held massive protests across Maharashtra to demand reservation in jobs and education for Marathas belonging to Marathwada and western Maharashtra region. He called off the agitation earlier this month after the Maharashtra government accepted most of his demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates, which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).