Thackeray announced the decision after meeting with the Maratha teams and the cabinet subcommittee on the Maratha quota.
This is the third time the government has postponed the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) review since the outbreak.
The prime minister said there was a demand from the candidates that they needed more time to prepare for the exam, as libraries in the state are still closed due to COVID-19.
“After discussing with all interested parties, we have decided to postpone the MPSC exam scheduled for October 11,” he said.
“There was a demand (from the candidates) for more time to study, as educational institutes and libraries are still closed due to the pandemic. We are coming out of the lockdown now, but the number of cases continues to rise,” Thackeray said, adding . that this exam for 200 posts had been postponed twice before.
“All students who were eligible to take the exam on October 11 will be able to do so when it is taken in the future,” he said.
Maratha teams, protesting against the Supreme Court’s suspension of the implementation of the community quota, had been demanding that these exams be postponed.
However, PWD state minister and head of the cabinet subcommittee on the Maratha quota, Ashok Chavan, said the decision to change the date was due to the coronavirus outbreak and not “any pressure”, adding that the CM had made it clear that this postponement would be final.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati welcomed the decision of the state government to postpone the examination.
“We hope that by the time the exams are done, SC will make a decision on the implementation of the (Maratha) quota,” he said.
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