Raigad:

Amid mounting pressure on the Maharashtra government over the Maratha quota issue, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday took a swipe at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying one should not make a promise if it cannot be fulfilled.

His remark comes in the wake of activist Manoj Jarange launching an indefinite fast in his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on Wednesday to seek reservation for Marathas.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Pawar said Mr Jarange pressed for reservation for the Maratha community and other demands.

“The state chief minister and his colleagues had a dialogue with them (Mr Jarange and his supporters). I have no idea what conversation they had. But it appears that he was given an ultimatum of 30 days. The period was later extended (by 10 days). He was assured that his work would be done in that timeframe. But that has not happened. You should not give a word if you are not able to fulfil it,” Mr Pawar said.

The NCP founder added that Mr Jarange cannot be blamed for launching an indefinite hunger strike.

Mr Jarange had earlier sat on a hunger strike from August 29 over the Maratha quota demand, but he called off the protest on the 17th day on September 14 after Chief Minister Shinde met him and assured to look into the demands. Mr Jarange had set a deadline of 40 days before the government to provide reservation to the Maratha community, which ended on October 24. 

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

Elderly people take part in a ‘silent rally’ for peace and harmony in the violence-hit Manipur, at Khongjom War Memorial Complex, in Thoubal district. The Manipur government has extended mobile internet ban for another five days till October 31, officials said on October 26.
| Photo Credit: PTI

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Mumbai:

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange and resolve the issue of reservation for the community.

Mr Thackeray was speaking to reporters here, a day after Mr Jarange launched an indefinite fast in Jalna district over the Maratha quota demand.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his speech at his party’s Dussehra rally held in Mumbai on Tuesday vowed to provide reservation to the Maratha community by bowing before the bust of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the dais.

Taking a dig at chief minister Shinde, Mr Thackeray said making a vow and then resorting to delaying tactics was not a way out.

“The government should tell the Maratha quota protesters what is the way out. Why isn’t the government not resolving the issue if there is a way out?” Thackeray asked.

“I welcome the Prime Minister, but he should meet Mr Jarange and resolve the issue of granting reservation to the Maratha community,” the former Maharashtra CM said.

PM Modi was on a visit to Shirdi in Maharashtra on Thursday. He performed puja at the revered Shri Saibaba Samadhi Temple in Shirdi and offered prayers. He later performed the ‘Jal Pujan’ of Nilwande dam, located in Ahmednagar district, and inaugurated the dam’s left bank canal network.

Mr Jarange, who has become the face of the Maratha quota agitation, launched his hunger strike at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on Wednesday as the 40-day deadline he had set before the Maharashtra government to provide reservation to the community came to an end on October 24.

Expressing disappointment over the state government’s “failure” to take steps for giving reservation to the Maratha community, the 40-year-old activist said he gave ample time to the government and would not wait any longer.

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

Osmanabad:

BJP national secretary Pankaja Munde on Saturday said the Maratha community wants concrete action over reservation and not mere promises, and urged the Maharashtra government to hold positive talks with the quota protesters to resolve the stalemate. The former Maharashtra minister was talking to reporters here on the sidelines of her ‘Shivshakti Parikrama Yatra’.

“The Maharashtra government can take a decision on Maratha reservation. It has a plan about how much reservation can be allotted to which community. It should hold discussions with protesters with confidence and courage and try to provide reservation to the Maratha community,” she said.

“If they don’t want to go above the 50 per cent quota cap, then a major decision will have to be taken at the national level. The central government’s problems on this front are different. It faces a similar situation in many states. It will do what it can as per the Constitution,” Ms Munde said.

The Maratha community no longer wants mere promises, they don’t want to be misled, they want concrete action in the form of reservation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader added.

She urged the state government not to make the Maratha and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities quarrel between themselves.

The state does not want to see the two communities fighting, she said.

She asked the Maratha community members to exert pressure on the government for reservation by holding protests, and said they should not think about ending their lives over the issue.

“…Your fight is useful for the coming generations,” Ms Munde added.

The Maratha quota issue returned to centre stage when the police last week baton-charged a violent mob at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district after protesters allegedly refused to let authorities shift Manoj Jarange, an activist on hunger strike over the quota issue, to a hospital.

Mr Jarange on Friday warned that he would intensify his ongoing hunger strike from the weekend.

He has asked the government to drop the requirement to provide evidence of genealogy for the Marathas from the Marathwada area if they want to obtain the Kunbi caste certificates and avail of reservation under the OBC category.

The state government on Thursday issued a Government Resolution (GR) saying that Kunbi caste certificates would be issued only after the Maratha community members from the Marathwada region provide genealogical records from the Nizam era. The region was once a part of the Nizam-ruled Hyderabad state.

Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture-related occupations, are grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and enjoy reservation benefits in education and government jobs.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

A protest for Maratha reservation today reached Mumbai, days after violent clashes between police and protesters in Maharashtra’s Jalna district. Protesters today have gathered at Mumbai’s iconic Marine Drive and also outside the Plaza Cinema in Dadar demanding reservation for the Maratha community.

The reservation provided by the state government for the politically dominant Maratha community was quashed by the Supreme Court earlier.

The protest in Marine Drive started early morning today and has led to a heavy police deployment in the area. The protesters have so far disregarded requests to vacate the area and move the demonstration to Azad Maidan.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has also joined the protests and urged the Centre to provide the reservations in the special session of Parliament convened later this month.

Yesterday, Mr Thackeray had visited violence-hit Jalna and demanded the resignation of state Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the protests in which at least 38 policemen have been injured.

He also slammed the “government brutality” of police lathi-charging the protestors.