Maratha reservation row: BJP MLA Laxman Pawar tenders resignation

Amid the ongoing protests over demands for reservation of Marathas under the OBC category, Laxman Pawar BJP MLA from the Gevarai constituency in the Beed district tendered his resignation today. On Sunday, Shiv Sena MP from Hingoli, Hemant Patil resigned.

Mumbai:BJP MLA from Beed Laxman Pawar tendered his resignation on Monday in solidarity with the Maratha community demanding reservation under the OBC category. He is the first MLA in the state to resign on the issue of Maratha reservation. His move comes hours after Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde fraction) MP from Hingoli Hemant Patil announced his intention to resign.

Pawar, BJP MLA from the Gevarai constituency in Beed district, has sent his resignation to Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar. He said that the issue of the Maratha reservation has been pending for several years. "The community sentiments on this issue are strong and so I am resigning from my post for the issue of Maratha reservation.

On Sunday morning, Maratha activists staged protests in which the car and bungalow of Majalgaon NCP MLA Prakash Solanke were vandalised. Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil's indefinite hunger strike at Antarvali entered sixth day and his health condition has been deteriorating. Jarange took a sip of water on the insistence of the Maratha protesters and warned the state government to remain firm on his resolution to go without food, water and treatment from now onwards.

Meanwhile, the protests demanding Maratha reservation spread across the state. The Maratha activists became aggressive and prevented leaders from entering the village. They said that since the Maratha community was not going to them they, too, should not come to the people. The protesters demanded that either the leaders fight for the Maratha reservation or resign.