Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray met with demonstrators protesting for the Maratha quota in Jalna on Monday and urged they should not let those who ordered lathi charges on protesters to enter Marathwada, news agency PTI reported. Thackeray arrived in Jalna and met Manoj Jarange, who has been on a hunger strike for a week, seeking quota for the Maratha people. On Friday, the unrest turned violent as officials attempted to transfer Jarange to a hospital.
As violence erupted, police used baton charges and tear gas shells to disperse the demonstrators. Several people were injured, including 40 police officers, and more than 15 state transport buses were set fire.
According to authorities, more than 360 people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Thackeray said: "Leaders seek your votes and leave you. The agitators should not allow entry into Marathwada of those leaders who ordered the attack with lathis and to hold the agitators at gun-point. This should go on until the leaders apologise." The MNS leader spoke with the protesters in Jamkhed Phata on his way to Antarwali Sarathi village.
"Earlier, politicians promised a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea (off Mumbai coast) and took your votes. But after taking your votes, your issues are ignored," he was quoted by PTI in its report.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stated that the opposition should not politicise the matter, according to Thackeray.
"But, Fadnavis would have done the same thing if he would have been in the opposition," he claimed.
"I have heard the issues of the agitators. I will check the legalities and talk to the chief minister to resolve them. Today there are no elections, but when elections come, remember the marks of lathis (on the agitators)," Thackeray added.
Pankaja Munde, national secretary of the BJP, who began her Shiv Shakti Yatra from Aurangabad on Monday, said the issue of reservation for Marathas requires serious consideration.
"It is absolutely painful to see such a situation of the Maratha community...there is a need for an impartial inquiry into this incident. This agitation (of Maratha community) needs serious attention. But at the same time, this is not a political but a constitutional issue," Munde was quoted by PTI in its report.