Maratha community to hold silent marches in Konkan next week

Maratha Surajya Sangh, an organisation working for the welfare of Maratha community, today announced to hold rallies in three districts of the Konkan region on September 27 to press for various demands.
"We have named this silent rally as 'Maratha Kranti Morcha' and it would be held on September 27 in three districts- Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. The objective is to sensitise the government and other machinery about our demands," state head of the organisation Pranay Sawant said.
He hold Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar responsible for the "plight" of the community, which comprises "33 per cent of the total population" in the state.

"Pawar is responsible for the backwardness of the community, which comprises one third population of the state. Despite being the most influential leader, he did nothing for his own brothers and the demand for Maratha reservation took a backseat under his regime," he alleged.
The community, which is pre-dominant in Maharashtra politics, has been taking out silent marches in various towns in the state over the last one month, following the alleged rape and murder of a girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district, two months ago. The victim was a Maratha, while the accused were Dalits.
The community leaders have been demanding scrapping of the the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), saying it is grossly misused, and also reservations for Marathas in educational institutes and government jobs.

On September 3, lakhs of people attended the rally in Parbhani and silently protested against the rape and murder of the 14-year-old Maratha girl on 13 July.
Similar silent protests were held in Jalna and Latur cities yesterday, reportedly attended by several lakhs of people collectively.