Maharashtra: AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel demands all-party meeting to resolve Maratha quota issue

Imtiaz Jaleel. Pic/X

AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel has demanded that the Maharashtra government convene an all-party meeting in Mumbai to find solution to the Maratha quota issue amid protests, reported the PTI.

"If the government fails to act seriously and ignores the quota demand, it may have to face the after-effects," the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP from Aurangabad told PTI after meeting Maratha activist Manoj Jarange in Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on Monday night, the news agency reported.

Manoj Jarange has been on a hunger strike demanding the quota for Marathas in education and jobs. On September 1, police baton-charged protesters at a pandal where Jarange had been staging the protest in Antarwala Sarati.

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The police also lobbed tear gas shells to disperse protesters who set some state transport buses and private vehicles on fire.

"If the government fails to find a solution (on the Maratha reservation issue) and if the matter escalates, it will create a big problem for this government (comprising Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP-Ajit Pawar faction). It is high time that the government act on this issue or the state may face problems", Imtiaz Jalel added.

In a dig, the AIMIM leader claimed the state government should at least give an impression that it is serious about resolving the reservation issue which has been pending for years.

"If Marathas are getting (quota) benefits in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, why are they deprived in Maharashtra?" he asked.

Imtiaz Jaleel claimed committees were formed on the vexed Maratha quota issue earlier but not a single meeting had taken place.

"Marathas are angry. If Manoj Jarange's health deteriorates, we can't imagine the repercussions," he added.

Imtiaz Jaleel said he tried to convince Manoj Jarange to withdraw fast.

"Marathas don't need empty sympathy now. Instead of coming here, leaders of various parties should sit together in Mumbai and find a solution. The government should convene an all-party meeting," he added.

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 of the existing quota 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 quota limit to accommodate the Maratha community in it.

"A separate quote for the Maratha community can be created. However, I am against sharing the existing quota for OBCs with the Maratha community, the Congress leader said, according to the PTI.

(with PTI inputs)