Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar meet Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde

Eknath Shinde. File Pic

Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, reported news agency ANI.

Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis were spotted leaving Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's residence early this morning, reported ANI.

The meeting was held amid the current protests in the state over the demand of reservation for the Maratha community in education and jobs.

Although the Maharashtra government issued an apology on Monday for the lathi charge on protestors in Jalna, the opposition has been pressurizing the government on the issue demanding Shinde's resignation.

"Lathicharge by police was not right... I am apologising on behalf of the Government. CM has said that the action will be taken against those who are responsible for it," said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Shiva Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray had yesterday taken a jibe at the Maharashtra government.

"I had gone to Jalna to meet protesters...This state government is 'shameless'...They have brutally beaten everyone including women...Now they are not taking responsibility and playing the blame game. This government is sending the message that if anyone protests for justice we will break their head," Thackeray said.

On September 2, Thackeray had visited Jalna and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give reservations to Marathas during the special session of Parliament to be held on September 18.

The meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet sub-committee on Maratha Reservation was held on Monday to discuss the issue of the Maratha reservation and lathi charge on protestors. Both Shinde and deputy chief ministers- Pawar and Fadnavis- were present at the meeting.

On Friday, a clash had broken out between police and protesters in Jalna who were demanding reservation for the Marathas. Police had resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the protesters.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday said a separate quota can be created for Marathas and maintained that he is against sharing the existing reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) with the Maratha community.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Wadettiwar said he was not opposed to the idea of increasing the overall quota ceiling to accommodate the Maratha community.

He also accused the state government of being selective in acting against police officers in Jalna in the wake of a lathi-charge by police last week on protesters seeking Maratha quota.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)