Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on November 1 confirmed the State government’s support for Maratha reservation and urged the pro-quota campaigner Manoj Jarange Patil to terminate his indefinite fast.
Emphasising the necessity for Mr Patil cooperation in securing reservation for the community, Mr. Shinde also underscored the call for restraint among the Maratha populace.
Maratha quota agitation | All-party meet on Maratha quota asks activist Jarange to withdraw his indefinite fast
During an all-party meeting on the quota issue spearheaded by the Chief Minister in Mumbai on Wednesday, a collective resolution was passed by all leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, urging 40-year-old Patil, the new poster boy of Maratha agitation, to call off his indefinite fast.
“Maratha should observe restraint. We are in favour of the Maratha quota, but the government needs time for legal modalities to implement the reservation,” Mr. Shinde said.
The resolution also bore the signatures of prominent leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, leader of opposition in the State Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole, LoP in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, among others.
Notably, Mr. Shinde did not invite his nemesis and former CM Uddhav Thackeray for the meeting.
For the past couple of days, the western State has witnessed outbreaks of violence, leading to the complete suspension of State-run bus services in five Marathwada districts and the imposition of curfews and internet shutdowns in parts of Beed, where the residences of two MLAs became targets for protesters.
DGP Rajnish Seth said on Wednesday that so far police registered 141 cases and arrested 168 persons in connection with the violence during the quota agitation.
Meanwhile, the agitators vandalised NCP leader and minister Hasan Mushrif’s car parked in south Mumbai. The Marine Drive police detained three persons in connection with the incident.
Mr. Shinde, urging against violence, appealed to the Maratha community while also advising political parties to refrain from any activities that might exacerbate the situation.
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Moreover, the Maharashtra government issued an order directing officials to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, enabling their access to reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
A government resolution asked officials to translate old documents, having references of Kunbis and written in Urdu and ‘Modi’ script. These documents are to be digitised, attested, and then put in public domain.
The activist recently brought the Maratha quota issue to the forefront in the State by staging a hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati on August 29. The situation escalated when police took action at the hunger strike site on September 1, resulting in injuries to several individuals.
The 14-day-long fast was observed by him in the same village ended on September 14 after getting assurances from Mr. Shinde.
Accusing the Eknath Shinde-led government of “not being serious” on the reservation issue and “misleading” people, Mr. Patil began his second phase of hunger strike on October 25, a day after an ‘ultimatum’ given by him to the State government to announce reservation for Marathas under OBC category ended.
He stressed the Maratha community’s refusal to accept an “incomplete reservation” and demanded a special legislative session on the matter and even threatened to cease drinking water if the “complete” quota was not granted to the community starting Wednesday evening.
