Maratha quota stir: Manoj Jarange-Patil refuses to budge despite calls by all parties

Mumbai: The burning Maratha reservation issue escalated further on Wednesday after Manoj Jarange-Patil refused to budge despite the three-hour-long all-party meeting involving the top leadership of Maharashtra reassuring to provide quota to Marathas. 

There were protests across the state including 'rasta roko' which disrupted the traffic at several places. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who presided over the meeting, however, sought some time because of the complex legal and constitutional issues. 

“During the all-party meeting, everyone agreed that the Maratha community should get reservation. It was decided that the reservation should be within the framework of the Constitution, but at the same time it shouldn't bring injustice to other communities. For this, we need some time. We need to have some patience”, Shinde said after the meet at Sahyadri Guest House at Malabar Hill in Mumbai. 

“Whatever we do, would need to pass the test of law. You need to trust the sincere efforts of the government. Also, when it comes to the question of Maratha reservation, all the political parties are together,” he said, adding that the government will pursue the the curative petition in the Supreme Court. 

The all party-meeting also requested Jarange-Patil to withdraw the fast as the government is working towards providing reservation to the Marathas. 

Speaking to reporters at the Antwarwali-Saraati village in Ambad tehsil Jalna district, Jarange-Patil, however, made it clear that he would not withdraw the agitation and would continue to be on hunger strike. 

“The government is seeking time but for what? I have been fasting for the past eight days. Now, the government says it wants more time. Why does it need time and for what? The government should specify,” he said. 

Jarange-Patil, who is the founder of Shivba Sanghatana, said that the only option is to call a special session of the Maharashtra legislature and enact a law giving reservation. 

“Please don’t give Marathas ‘half-reservation’. What we want want is ‘full-reservation,” he said.  

The meeting also expressed concern over the incidents of violence and arson and the protests going a different way. 

“Such violent acts would be a blot on the Maratha community's agitation,” he said, adding that in the past, the protests have been peaceful. 

“Three-member panel of judges are advising us. The Backward Class Commission is also working on it. Reservation given by the government when Devendra Fadnavis was CM was upheld by the Bombay High Court, but struck down by the Supreme Court on the grounds of some errors. We want to avoid a repetition of this situation," Shinde added.

So far, the police said that they have registered offences against 400 to 500 activists of the Maratha Kranti Morcha and Sakal Maratha Morcha on various charges. These include: causing danger to the lives of others and spreading fear among commuters.