Maratha quota: NCP delegation meets Maharashtra governor on reservation demand

Maratha quota: A delegation of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party faction on Sunday met Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais

Maratha quota: A delegation of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party faction on Sunday met Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais urging him to direct the state government to intervene in the quota agitation by the Maratha community, reported the PTI.

The delegation comprised NCP working president Supriya Sule, state NCP chief Jayant Patil, and party leader Jitendra Awhad, as per the PTI.

Jayant Patil said that leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will meet the governor again on Monday.

"We demand that the Maratha community be given reservation at the earliest. The Governor must speak to the state and central governments in this regard. We urged the Governor to communicate with the Centre about the situation. There are many committees set up but no firm decision has been taken," Jayant Patil posted on X (formerly Twitter).

राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेस पक्षाचे राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष, आदरणीय खासदार शरदचंद्रजी पवार साहेब यांच्या मार्गदर्शनाखाली पक्षाच्या राष्ट्रीय कार्याध्यक्षा, संसदरत्न खासदार माननीय सुप्रियाताई सुळे, प्रदेशाध्यक्ष माननीय आमदार जयंतराव पाटील व राष्ट्रीय सरचिटणीस माननीय आमदार जितेंद्र आव्हाड यांनी… pic.twitter.com/489MgXKkbM

— NCP (@NCPspeaks) October 29, 2023

Maratha community has been staging protests seeking reservation in the government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The agitation intensified after quota activist Manoj Jarange sat on an indefinite fast from October 25 as part of the second phase of the protest. On his appeal, many villages have banned the entry of political leaders.

Manoj Jarange has announced that fast-unto-death protests will begin in villages across Maharashtra from Sunday if the state government fails to act on the pending demand of the Maratha community.

The Maharashtra government's stated position is that it is committed to granting the reservation to the Maratha community which stands legal scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha MP and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sunil Tatkare on Sunday said he traced the history of reservations given to Marathas and the issues it faced in the judiciary, and the state government wanted to grant a legally sustainable reservation to the community.

Speaking to reporters here, Tatkare said the constituents of the 'Mahayuti'- the Shiv Sena, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) and BJP are now working towards 'Mission 45 plus' and are sure to bag more than 45 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The seat distribution among the Mahayuti constituents will happen properly and the leaders of the state and centre will be party to the same, he said.

The NCP leader reiterated that the Maharashtra government under the leadership of Eknath Shinde was committed to grant reservation to the Marathas.

(with PTI inputs)

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