Maratha outfits to begin their quota stir from Wed
Silent protest in Kolhapur today; similar protests will be held at Nashik, Aurangabad, Amravati and Raigad; state says doing everything possible
MUMBAI: Demanding that their quota in government jobs and education be restored immediately, Maratha community outfits will begin statewide agitations from Wednesday.
Initially, the protests will be staged in five cities, beginning with Kolhapur on June 16. Later, silent protests will be held at Nashik, Aurangabad, Amravati and Raigad. The outfits have also planned a long march from Pune to Mumbai, if their demands are not met by August. Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a BJP Member of Parliament (MP), who is a descendant of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji, will lead the protests.
On May 5, the Supreme Court quashed the 12% and 13% reservation given in education and jobs to Maratha community under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018. The five-judge bench also refused to refer the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment, setting a 50% cap on reservation, to a larger bench for reconsideration. The state plans to file a review petition in the SC challenging the verdict. It had appointed a committee headed by retired high court judge Dilip Bhosale to study the ruling and suggest a way forward. The committee in its report has recommended the government to move a review petition.
Virendra Pawar, one of the convenors from Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM), said they have decided to cover all regions of the state in the beginning. “We will be covering all regions by holding protests at Kolhapur (western Maharashtra), Nashik (north Maharashtra), Aurangabad (central Maharashtra), Amravati (Vidarbha) and Raigad (Konkan),” Pawar said. “The protests will be staged at a gap of around a week as we also need some time to make the arrangements. If our demands are not met till then, we have also planned a long march from Pune to Mumbai. People from the community will cover the entire distance between Pune and Mumbai on foot. It may happen by the first week of August,” he added.
The first silent protest at Kolhapur will be held at Shahu Samadhi Sthal, resting place of well-known social reformer Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, who was also a descendant of King Shivaji.
Last time, a huge silent protest was held in Mumbai on August 9, 2017, demanding reservation and justice to a minor girl from Maratha community, who was raped and brutally killed at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district of western Maharashtra. The convenors are also mulling to organise a long march (between Pune and Mumbai) around the same time.
Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati has been mobilising the community by holding various meetings of Maratha outfits and leaders across political spectrum. On Saturday, he visited Kopardi in Ahmednagar district to meet the victim’s family and demanded the case be fast-tracked. Kopardi incident became the emotional connect for the Maratha community across the state, which also triggered a large-scale agitation for justice to the victim along with their old demand of reservation to the community.
He then visited the of residence Kakasaheb Shinde, a 28-year old Maratha youth in Aurangabad district, who committed suicide by jumping into Godavari river in July 2018. He was the first youth who committed suicide demanding reservation, after which a few more youths from the community ended their lives for the demand.
On Monday, he met Udayanraje Bhosale, another descendant of the Maratha king, who expressed strong support for Maratha reservation. The meeting took place in Pune.
“We have invited all MLAS and MPS (from the district) to participate in the silent protest to be held tomorrow. We have also decided not to speak a word on Wednesday. Let the public representatives clear what they feel,” Sambhajiraje said in Kolhapur on Tuesday.
Many political leaders across political parties are likely to participate in the silent protest. It includes rural development minister Hasan Mushrif (NCP), minister of state for home Satej Patil (Congress), minister of state for health Rajendra Patil Yadravkar (Independent), Kolhapur MP Sanjay Mandlik (Shiv Sena), Hatkanangale MP Dhairyasheel Mane (Shiv Sena), Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, Jansurajya Shakti Party chief Vinay Kore, Congress MLA (Kolhapur) Ruturaj Patil etc.
“Mushrif, Satej Patil and all MLAS from Kolhapur district will participate in the silent protest,” said Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister on Tuesday. “We are trying to find a positive way out of the situation and had asked the community leaders to discuss it with the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, however, they decided to go ahead with the agitation,” he told reporters in Pune.
Bhosale said, “I am with Sambhajiraje and have extended my full support to his efforts in getting reservation for the Marathas. We have only one demand and that is reservation for Marathas.”
He asked politicians from all parties to hold a special assembly session on the issue of Maratha reservation as soon as possible.