'Colleges charging full fees from Maratha students will face

The Maharashtra government has issued a circular for the second time directing all the colleges to not charge full fees from the students of the Maratha community under the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj scholarship.

The move is seen as a bid to calm down the protesters demanding reservation in government jobs and education under OBC quota.

The protests for the quota turned violent today, a day after a member of the community jumped into the Godavari river in Aurangabad district.

"The government will reimburse 50 per cent fees of those students whose parents' annual income is less than Rs 8 lakh under the scholarship scheme," Tawde said.

He said the colleges charging full fees from the students could face a legal and disciplinary action if they failed to follow the directives of the government.

Tawde urged the students to lodge a complaint with Joint Director, Education, and nodal officers appointed for the purpose.

He further said the government has done more for the Maratha community than what the previous governments led by the Congress and NCP had done.

Tawde alleged that a handful of Maratha families from the Congress and the NCP have been controlling the levers of power for the past 40 to 45 years.

"The resentment in the Maratha community is against these families," the minister said.

To another query over the ongoing agitation, the minister said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his senior colleagues Girish Mahajan and Chandrakant Patil are talking to the protesters.

Senior Sena leader and Minister for Industries Subhash Desai said those who had assured reservation to the Maratha community before 2014 polls should come forward and clarify.

Meanwhile, conveners of Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) said tomorrow's bandh in Mumbai and surrounding areas will be peaceful.

The conveners said essential services like ambulances, schools colleges will be excluded from the ambit of the shutdown.