Youths from Maraha community in Maharashtra’s Kalyan shut shops on Monday in support of the protest that is being held in the state over the demand for the Maratha reservation. Maratha leader Manoj Jarange has been staging a hunger strike in the state's Jalna district over the demand for Maratha reservation which turned violent last week on Friday. In the visuals shared by news agency ANI, the Maratha traders in Kalyan could be seen taking out a procession and chanting slogans and raising flags.
On Monday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis invited Jarange for discussion after the protest turned violent. Rajya Sabha MP and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's descendent, Udayanraje Bhosale, had also demanded a discussion on the issue with CM Eknath Shinde. Fadnavis has also assured Jarange Patil that justice will prevail in the incident that took place in Jalna.
The Deputy CM’s office stated that the government is helpful that a meeting would soon take place with the Maratha agitation leaders. It further said that the Cabinet subcommittee will meet today to discuss the issue of Maratha reservation in the afternoon and will be attended by CM Eknath Shinde and both Dy CMs.
Jarange said that the Maharashtra government will have to announce the Maratha reservation and implement it within two days. He also said that there is no need to go to Mumbai now because a government delegation held discussions over the matter.
Last week, as the protest turned violent in Jalna, the police used tear gas shells and baton-charge to disperse the crowd. Several people including 40 police personnel were injured and over 15 state-run transport buses were set ablaze and more than 360 people were booked in connection with the incident, the police said.