Marathas to hold naked morcha
NAKED MARCH: But the Sakal Maratha Samaj, the umbrella organisation representing 40 small pro-Maratha outfits has opposed the Maratha Kranti Morcha in Pune on May 10
In a latest development, the Sakal Maratha Samaj, the umbrella organisation representing 40 small pro-Maratha outfits has opposed the planned Maratha Kranti Morcha in Pune on May 10, where in the morcha members have announced to go half naked. This same morcha will also be held in Mumbai on May 30. Professor Sambhaji Patil, the leader of Maratha community announced this half-naked morcha of the community during a press conference in Pune on Saturday.
The Maratha groups had organised Chakka Jam (road blockade) in each city including Mumbai on January 31. The organisers announced that the concluding morcha will be held in Mumbai on March 6 and over one-crore people from Maratha community across the state will join it. However, the proposed morcha was postponed twice, since the election code of conduct was being implemented due to the civic elections and later again postponed due to the board examinations.
According to Patil, the final morcha of the Maratha community will be held on May 30 in Mumbai and the morcha will begin from Azad Maidan which will head towards Mantralaya. Patil said, “This half-naked morcha will be organised first in Pune on May 10.” Interestingly, not a single functionary or organisers of the Maratha Kranti Morcha were present at the press conference called by Patil. Meanwhile, Rajendra Kunjir, the organiser of the morcha in Pune denied any connection of Patil with the Maratha Kranti Morcha. “Patil is not associated with Sakal Maratha Samaj,” said Gunjir.
Second Maratha Golmej Parishad (Round Table Conference) will be held in Kolhapur on April 19 which is expected to attend by 400 representatives of the community. The next course of action will be decided in the conference.
Along with atrocity and reservation to the community, new demand to release Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan has added by Maratha Kranti Morcha. The primary reason for these protests was to demand immediate justice for the victim in the Kopardi gang rape and murder case. Their demands also includes amendments in the Prevention of Atrocities Act to prevent its misuse, reservation for Marathas in educational institutions, along with other initiatives directed to economically uplift the community.