01 April,2024 06:49 PM IST | Nanded | mid-day online correspondent
Ashok Chavan. File pic/mid-day
Maratha quota activists on Monday shouted slogans and tried to stop the car of Congress-turned BJP leader Ashok Chavan in Nanded. The incident took place in Kondva village as he was heading for the Lok Sabha election campaign.
The former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan was on his way to meet people in Naigaon tehsil there when the incident took place in the morning. A video showed quota activists shouting slogans and trying to stop his car before police took control of the situation and the vehicle moved ahead, reported PTI.
As his response to the incident, Chavan posted a video message on X, where he said that every politician has the right to meet people and emphasized that he had worked in favour of allotting reservation for the Maratha community. "If people are shouting slogans, let them do it. Some people from a few political parties are creating misunderstanding. Earlier, Jarange had said they don't want to indulge in politics. But some people are trying to defame the quota movement," Chavan said.
Under the leadership of Maratha activist Manoj Jarange, the Maratha community in the state have been protesting in demand of reservation in government jobs and education. Though the state government and assembly passed the bill, Jarange is firm on getting the reservation under Other Backward Class for the Maratha Kunbi community.
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The BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Chavan on the Maratha reservation issue had said that state government has given 10 percent quota to the community. The issue (grant of Kunbi certificates) blood relatives will also be resolved by following the legal procedure, he had said.
Recently, a similar incident took place with BJP's Beed candidate Pankaja Munde. A group of Maratha quota agitators tried to block her convoy in Kej, Beed where she was heading for her Lok Sabha election campaign.
The incident took place on March 27 and police intervened to disperse the crowd. The agitators gave slogans 'Ek Maratha, Lakh Maratha', showed videos of the protest which went viral on social media.
