26 February,2024 12:33 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Vijay Wadettiwar/ Screengrab
In the midst of ongoing agitation for the Maratha quota led by activist Manoj Jarange Patil, Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar urged the demonstrators to peacefully protest. He also appealed to quota activist Jarange Patil to ensure that protests remain non-violent, reported ANI.
According to the report, Wadettiwar also made pointed remarks and suggested that those previously associated with Jarange Patil are now facing the consequences of their actions hinting at the involvement of government officials and ministers in backing those of the likes of the Maratha quota activist.
"Everyone knows who groomed Manoj Jarange Patil, whose people used to go to Manoj Patil, whose OSD used to meet Manoj Patil. Maharashtra government ministers used to meet the activists. What they have sown, they are reaping," Wadettiwar said.
The call for peaceful protest follows previous acts of violence, including the torching of a state transport bus by Maratha protestors in Tirthpuri city, Ambad taluka, which prompted the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to stop bus operations in Jalna, reported ANI.
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"Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has stopped ferrying its buses in Jalna till further notice. A police complaint has been filed by MSRTC's Ambad Depot Manager in a local police station after a bus was allegedly torched by Maratha Agitators," MSRTC said, per ANI report.
Reportedly, the community has been advocating for Maratha quota in government jobs and education for several years. Recently, the Maharashtra Assembly passed the Maratha Reservation Bill which guarantees 10 per cent reservation for Marathas. The Bill was passed after the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission conducted a survey and submitted a report.
However, Manoj Jarange Patil is determined and continues to demonstrate. He insists that the Bill does not fully address the community's demands and calls for the conversion of the GR on issuance of Kunbi certificates to the blood relatives of those in possession of such records as a law, the report added.
BJP on Manoj Jarange's continued protests, allegations
Meanwhile, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, responding to Manoj Jarange Patil's allegations that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was plotting against him, said that his (Patil's) true nature will soon be revealed by the Maratha community itself.
According to the ANI report, BJP leader Ashok Chavan meanwhile questioned the necessity of continued agitation despite all the demands being met with the enactment of the reservation law passed recently during the special session of Maharashtra legislature.
"He (Manoj Jarange Patil) knows why he is agitating? What we are saying is that when the government has fulfilled all his demands by bringing this law, then there is no need for agitation," Chavan said.
With ANI inputs