Jalna (Maharashtra) : The ongoing agitation for reservations to the Maratha community acquired political overtones with various leaders condemning the Jalna lathicharge on protesters. The State government initiated efforts to address the situation with a cabinet sub-committee looking into the matter. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on his part, invited quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange for discussion, official sources said.
Fadnavis purportedly assured Jarange of taking action against those who are responsible for the Jalna incident and that the government was serious to find a way out of the situation. The meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet sub-committee on Maratha Reservation is slated to take place today, the Chief Minister's Office informed. CM Shinde will also attend the meeting, the CMO added.
Earlier speaking on the Jalna clash over quota agitation on Saturday, Shinde said that the state government was committed to providing reservations to the Maratha community. The High Court also upheld the Maratha Reservation decision taken by the government but the Supreme Court took a different decision.
Shinde said that everyone 'knows that this is due to someone's negligence. The issue of the Maratha Reservation is currently in the court. The state government is fully prepared to fight this case in court. There are some difficulties, and the state government is trying to resolve them.'
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday visited Jalna and met the people agitating for the Maratha quota and said they should not allow those who ordered lathi-charge on the protesters to enter Marathwada. Raj Thackeray reached Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna and met Manoj Jarange, who has been staging a hunger strike since a week demanding reservation for the Maratha community.
Thackeray said, "Leaders seek your votes and leave you. The agitators should not allow entry into Marathwada of those leaders who ordered the attack with lathis and to hold the agitators at gun-point. This should go on until the leaders apologise."
The Maratha protest is picking up momentum as of now. On September 1, police lathicharged Maratha protestors in Jalna. Many policemen were also injured in this along with the protestors. Political leaders are now lining up to meet the Maratha protesters. MNS President Raj Thackeray has reached Jalna to meet the Maratha protesters.
On the other hand, Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Wadettiwar criticised Fadnavis and demanded the latter's resignation owning responsibility for the injustice to the Maratha community. Wadettiwar said that the government was committed, it would have passed a bill in Parliament to provide Martha reservation.
