Mumbai:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met Governor Ramesh Bais late Monday evening to apprise him of the developments related to the Maratha quota stir, which descended into violence and arson in several places during the day.

A CMO official said the meeting was a “routine procedure” under which the CM briefs the governor “whenever there is some major development or social unrest in society”.

Mr Shinde was at Raj Bhavan for 45 minutes, after which deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, met the CM at his official residence Varsha.

During the day, angry protesters torched, vandalised homes or offices of three MLAs — two of the NCP and one of the BJP — targeted a municipal council building and disrupted road traffic in different parts of the state, police said, adding no casualties were reported.

The incidents of violence and arson were reported from central Maharashtra’s Beed and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districts.

The state-run Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation said it was stopping operations from several depots in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) after some of its buses were damaged.

Two Lok Sabha MPs of the ruling Shiv Sena resigned in support of the reservation demand.

Protests have been taking place in various parts of the state seeking reservation in jobs and education for the Maratha community since the end of August.

It includes a fast unto death since October 25 by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, and localised stirs that are centred on not allowing leaders to enter villages till they make their stand clear on the demand.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar/Nashik:

Shiv Sena MPs from Nashik and Hingoli in Maharashtra, both loyalists of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, have resigned in support of the Maratha reservation demand.

Hingoli MP Hemant Patil submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha secretariat in New Delhi on Monday, while Nashik MP Hemant Godse sent his resignation letter to CM Shinde.

“As Lok Sabha Speaker was not present in his office, my resignation letter was submitted to the office secretary. I have also received an acknowledgement,” Patil told a Marathi news channel in New Delhi.

Notably, he decided to step down when he was stopped by agitators in Yavatmal who asked him to clarify his stand on the reservation demand. Patil drafted his resignation letter on the spot and handed it over to the agitators.

Reacting to NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) working president Supriya Sule’s jibe that his resignation was a stunt, Patil said, “‘I am not born in Nehru-Gandhi family. There two-three generations are in power. They would have taken the initiative (to grant quota)”, he said, adding if leaders are concerned about Marathas, they should resign.

“Several leaders from the Maratha community went on to become chief ministers but the community didn’t get anything,” he added.

In Nashik, Shiv Sena MP Godse drafted his resignation letter when Maratha protesters observing a fast asked him to clarify his position on the issue.

He sent the resignation letter to CM Shinde and appealed to him to grant reservation to the Maratha community as soon as possible.

“For the last many years, the Maratha community has been striving to get the reservation. Earlier, the reservation for the community didn’t survive in the court. After becoming the chief minister, you (Shinde) focused your attention on the issue of the reservation.

“After you took oath in front of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s bust at Dussehra rally to provide reservation to the Maratha community, members of the Maratha community felt assured,” the letter stated.

Godse said the government could not solve the reservation issue in the time limit given by Jalna-based quota activist Manoj Jarange, whose indefinite fast for reservation entered the sixth day on Monday.

“The health of Manoj Jarange is deteriorating with each passing day. Considering the strong feelings of the Maratha community, I am resigning as the Member of Parliament,” Godse stated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday hit out at the opposition parties, and asked what they did for the Marathwada region in the state when they were in power for two-and-a-half years.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was speaking to reporters following his arrival at the airport here to attend a meeting of the state cabinet.

The opposition parties have been alleging that the Eknath Shinde government failed to implement the decisions taken for the development of Marathwada, which comprises Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously known as Aurangabad), Osmanabad, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Nanded, Hingoli and Parbhani districts.

Earlier this week, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve asked why the state government did not implement the decisions taken during a cabinet meeting held in 2016 when Devendra Fadnavis was chief minister.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen abbreviation (AIMIM) MP Imtiaz Jaleel also questioned the Eknath Shinde dispensation over the pending projects and decisions not implemented in the region till now.

“Those who are saying that decisions taken during a cabinet meeting here in 2016 have remained unimplemented should tell us what they did during the two-and-a-half years they were in power. If the decisions were not implemented, it was the duty of the previous government to take them forward. What were they doing when they were in power?” Mr Fadnavis asked.

“The Marathwada water grid scheme was killed by the previous (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government. They are levelling allegations only because they are trying to stall the cabinet meeting aimed at the development of Marathwada region,” he added.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government came to power in November 2019, but collapsed in June 2022 after a rebellion by Eknath Shinde, which led to a split in the Shiv Sena.

The meeting of the state cabinet is being held here on the occasion of the Marathwada Liberation Day, also known as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din, celebrated on 17 September annually.

Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din marks the integration of Marathwada with India after security forces invaded Hyderabad and defeated the Nizam and his Razakar units on September 17, 1948.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)