After meeting with Maharashtra Government delegation, Maratha agitation leader Manoj Jarange Patil on Monday gave an ultimatum to the state government, stating that the state administration has four more days for implementing the reservation, news agency ANI reported. Patil has been on hunger strike at Antarwali Sarathi hamlet in Jalna since Tuesday, demanding quota for the Maratha people. However, the agitation became violent on Friday as officials attempted to transfer him to a hospital.
"We are giving four more days to Government as the Govt has to see the committee recommendation. My hunger strike and protest will continue, we will wait for four more days to get Government Resolution (GR)," Patil stated.
Earlier on Friday, Police baton-charged protestors and launched tear gas shells to disperse them after violence erupted. Several people were injured, including 40 police officers, and more than 15 state transport buses were set fire. According to authorities, more than 360 persons were arrested in connection with the incident.
Separate Quota For Maratha Community Can Be Created: Congress Leader Vijay Wadettiwar
Vijay Wadettiwar, the Maharashtra assembly's leader of opposition, stated on Tuesday that a separate reservation for Marathas could be formed but that he is opposed to sharing the existing reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) with the Maratha community, PTI reported.
Wadettiwar told reporters in Nagpur that he was not averse to raising the total quota cap to accommodate the Maratha minority.
He also accused the state administration of being selective in its actions against police officers in Jalna following a lathi-charge by police on demonstrators seeking Maratha quotas last week. “A separate quota for the Maratha community can be created. However, I am against sharing the existing reservation for OBCs with the Maratha community,” the Congress leader was quoted by PTI in its report.
He suggested that the Maharashtra government raise the total quota ceiling to accommodate the Maratha community's desire for reservation in education and employment.
“Instead of wasting time in procedures to issue certificates of Kunbi caste to the Maratha community, the Maharashtra government should increase the quota limit and accommodate the Maratha community in it,” he said.
AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel Demands All-Party Meeting To Resolve Maratha Reservation Issue
In the midst of demonstrations, AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel has requested that the Maharashtra government call an all-party meeting in Mumbai to find a solution to the Maratha quota problem.
After meeting Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Monday night in Antarwali Sarati hamlet in Jalna district on Tuesday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP from Aurangabad told PTI: “If the government fails to act seriously and ignores the quota demand, it may have to face the after-effects."
“If the government fails to find a solution (on the Maratha reservation issue) and if the matter escalates, it will create a big problem for this government (comprising Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP-Ajit Pawar faction). It is high time that the government act on this issue or the state may face problems”, Jalel was quoted by PTI in its report.