Calling the incident of lathicharge as "unfortunate," Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday urged the citizens to maintain peace, news agency ANI reported. He stated that the incident will be investigated at a high level, adding that "instructions to treat all the injured in this incident at the government's expense" has been given.
Speaking on the Jalna's protest, CM Shinde stated: "The incident of the lathi-charge during the agitation in Jalna district is very unfortunate. I had a conversation with the leader of this movement, Jarange Patil. Meetings were also held under my chairmanship regarding their demands. Action was being taken by the government on their demands. However, the movement started even after that. I had requested Jarange Patil to withdraw the agitation but the protest still continued However, during protest time, the condition of Jarange Patil deteriorated, Collector and SP went there because they were worried about his condition. They were requesting that Jarange Patil should be admitted to the hospital. However, this unfortunate incident happened at that time."
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Assuring the citizens that the state government will try to settle the issue of Maratha quota soon, CM Shinde stated: "In November 2014, when the collation (Yuvti) government was in power under the leadership of then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the government announced the Maratha Reservation. The High Court also upheld the Maratha Reservation decision taken by the government. But the Supreme Court took a different decision. Everyone knows that this is due to someone's negligence...The issue of the Maratha Reservation is currently in the court. The state government is fully prepared to fight this case in court."
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi "to give Maratha Reservation in the special session in Parliament," ANI reported.
"When we were in power we tried to give you justice...There were agitations during our time as well but no one was lathi-charged. Our ministers spoke to the protestors every time...We all are together you keep agitating but take care of your health too...Today you are being lathi-charged, some days back same thing happened in Barsu village too...is this democracy?... All cases against protestors should be taken back immediately...before a detailed investigation is ordered," Thackeray stated.
Key Points
- A huge number of organisations rallied on Saturday in Nashik over police violence against Maratha quota agitators in Jalna the day before. Protests were held in front of the district collectorate, as well as in districts such as Chandwad and Yeola, headed by the Sambhaji Brigade and Swarajya Sanghatana. They demanded that the superintendent of police in Jalna be suspended and that the Maratha quota problem be resolved as soon as possible.
- Protests were also organised by the Marathi Kranti Morcha and workers from Maha Vikas Aghadi component parties, while the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) criticised the Jalna event.
- Since Friday evening, at least 20 buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) have been set ablaze in protest of the Maratha quota demand. Due to demonstrations, 45 of MSRTC's 250 depots remain closed, an MSRTC official stated here on Saturday.
- "Bus depots in Beed, Jalna, Parbhani, Osmanabad, and Ahmednagar are completely shut. So far, 20 buses have been set afire during the Maratha reservation agitation. At other places in Maharashtra, the movement of buses is normal," MSRTC spokesperson Abhijit Bhosale was quoted by PTI in its report.
- According to reports, an agitation in Jalna's Ambad tehsil in support of a man on hunger strike for Maratha quota got violent on Friday when police baton-charged and hurled tear gas shells to disperse demonstrators on the Dhule-Solapur route.
- On Saturday, Maharashtra Assembly Opposition Leader Vijay Wadettiwar urged that a special session of the state legislature be held and a resolution be tabled for the Union government to take steps to grant quota to the Maratha group.
- A day after numerous people, including police officers, were hurt in violence at the site of a Maratha quota protest in Latur district, the Congress leader attended a news conference.
- According to him, the Union government should grant reservation to the Maratha community along the lines of the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quota or boost the total reservation limit above the current 50%.
- If the Union government can offer 10% EWS reservation even in the absence of a demand, why can't the Marathas who marched to the streets in huge numbers to push their demand obtain reservation, Wadettiwar said.
- He stated that the demand for Maratha reservation should be brought before Parliament during its special session this month, and that the Centre may propose the requisite bill.
- The Maharashtra government's quota for the politically prominent Maratha group was overturned by the Supreme Court in May 2021.
- The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) head Sharad Pawar arrived in Jalna on Saturday to meet with villagers who were injured in a police lathi-charge and are being treated at Ambad Government Hospital, according to news agency ANI.