Page 3 - Maratha Stir

No going back on Maratha quota protest till all demands are met: Jarange

Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange on Friday asserted that he won't abandon his agitation midway till the community is granted reservation in government jobs and education, while Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar said the activist's demands have been accepted. Jarange was addressing protesters at Shivaji Chowk in the Vashi area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai after a meeting with a government delegation. The activist said the delegation has given him some documents which he will discuss with his supporters to announce their future course of action. There is no going back on the agitation till we get reservation, he asserted. The government is trying to persuade Jarange not to proceed to Mumbai. State education minister Deepak Kesarkar told reporters that Jarange's demands have been accepted and they will be fulfilled as per government procedure. So far, 37 lakh Kunbi certificates have been given and the number will go up to 50 lakh, he said. Earlier, the Maratha quota leader reac

Maratha quota stir: Jarange reaches Mumbai outskirts with supporters

Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange Friday reached Navi Mumbai with thousands of supporters to push for reservation for the Maratha community. Jarange and other Maratha activists reached the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) on outskirts of Mumbai around 5 am by bikes, cars, jeeps, tempos and trucks. As per his plan, Jarange, along with his supporters, will begin his hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Friday. The protesters are demanding Kunbi (OBC) status to the Maratha community. Despite the Mumbai Police issuing a notice to him denying him permission to hold a hunger strike in the city, Jarange announced on Thursday that he will reach Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on January 26. In a notice issued under section 149 of the Criminal Procedure Code that enables the police to prevent cognisable offences, the police said, Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and various financial institutions, international advocacy and other financial centers are working in Mumbai. ..

Maharashtra state commission to assess backwardness of Marathas: CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said the state Commission for Backward Classes will conduct a survey from January 23 to asses the social, economic and educational backwardness of the Maratha community. The Maratha community has been demanding reservation in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. The chief minister on Saturday directed the administration to carry out the survey in three different shifts on a war footing. Shinde chaired a meeting on the Maratha reservation issue at his official residence here and gave instructions to divisional commissioners, collectors, commissioners of municipal corporations and other senior officials via a video link. The survey announcement came on the day when Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange embarked on a protest march to state capital Mumbai from Jalna with thousands of supporters. Jarange has announced to launch an indefinite fast for the Maratha quota in Mumbai from January 26. He has

Resolve Maratha quota issue: Jarange urges Fadnavis a day before protest

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Friday urged Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to wholeheartedly address the issue of reservation for the community. Speaking to reporters, the activist said he would leave his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna at 9 am on Saturday to embark on a protest march for Mumbai to press for the demand to provide reservation to his community. "The resolution of the Maratha reservation issue rests with Fadnavis, and he should come forward and resolve the matter with his heart and mind," he said. The activist reiterated his demand that Kunbi caste certificates be issued to 54 lakh Marathas and questioned the progress made by the committee set up by the state government to address the quota issue since it started its work on December 23 last year. Jarange further accused state minister Girish Mahajan of making false promises and deceiving the Maratha community. "Where is minister Girish Mahajan who had come with seven ministers

Prepare flawless survey report on Maratha community for quota: Maha CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday directed the state officials to prepare a "flawless" survey report of the Maratha community in the state. Shinde issued the directives to the divisional commissioners, district collectors and municipal commissioners in the state in a video-conference meeting held during the day. Referring to the Supreme Court's decision of striking down the Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018, for having breached the 50 per cent reservation cap, he said, "The apex court pointed out several errors in that Act while striking it down. We have filed a curative petition and need a flawless survey report over the Maratha community." A questionnaire has already been sent to all the district collectors, he said, adding that there was a need to increase the number of enumerators as it was a "crucial" report for the government. "The state government has made Rs 367 crore available to the State Backward Class Commission.

Maratha quota row: Jarange to stage indefinite strike in Mumbai from Jan 20

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday announced he will start an indefinite strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand for reservation for the community. Addressing a massive rally in Beed district in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, Jarange claimed "crores" of people from the Maratha community will come to Mumbai on January 20. Meanwhile, in a video message, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the Supreme Court has accepted the curative petition filed by the state government pertaining to the Maratha reservation issue and has scheduled a hearing on January 24. This, Shinde said, has opened a "window of hope' for the community. He asserted his government is committed to giving reservation to the Maratha community and urged people to observe restraint. Shinde also said quota benefits of other groups will remain untouched while giving reservation to the Marathas. Speaking at the rally in Beed, Jarange said, "I will start an indefinite hunger st

Maratha quota row: CM Shinde to chair Cabinet Sub-Committee meeting today

The meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted for Maratha reservation and facilities will be held this evening

Release of water into dam stopped on pretext of Maratha quota stir: Chavan

The Maharashtra government stopped the release of water into the Jayakwadi dam on the pretext of law and order situation in the wake of the Maratha quota agitation, Congress leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan claimed on Friday. Chavan also posted a letter, purportedly written by an executive engineer of the Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation to the state Water Resources Department, on social media. The release of water into the dam was suspended as per the government's order in view of the law and order situation created by the Maratha quota agitation, the letter said. The agitation had turned violent earlier this month. What is the connection between the release of water into the Jayakwadi dam and the ongoing Maratha quota stir? There should not be any attempt to defame the Maratha community's agitation and delay the release of water for the Marathwada region, Chavan said on X. This is a deliberate attempt to malign the Maratha quota agitation," he ...

Maratha quota stir has reached 'decisive stage': Activist Jarange at rally

Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday night announced a chain hunger strike will be launched in all villages of Maharashtra from December 1 in support of reservation for Maratha community members and accused political parties of conspiring to deprive them of quota benefits. Jarange, spearheading the latest agitation seeking reservation for the Marathas in government jobs and education under the OBC category, said the pro-quota stir has reached a "decisive stage" and community members will fight for their right by remaining within four walls of law and through non-violent means. Addressing a well-attended rally in Navi Mumbai, the activist asserted any amount of misleading tactics by his distractors would not work as he was "in the blood of Marathas" and would continue to fight for reservation. Had the Marathas been given reservation 75 years ago, by now they would have flourished and earned name and fame, and occupied important positions in all-India services like IAS and the IPS, he ...

Protests held in Nashik against police action on Maratha quota agitators

A large number of outfits protested on Saturday in Nashik against police action on Maratha quota agitators a day earlier in Jalna. On Friday, police had resorted to baton charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob in Antarwali Sarathi on Dhule-Solapur road that allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on hunger strike to the hospital. Around 40 policemen and several protesters were injured and many buses set on fire during the violence that erupted there. More than 350 persons have been booked for alleged involvement in the untoward incidents. Protests led by the Sambhaji Brigade and Swarajya Sanghatana took place in front of the district collectorate here as well as in areas like Chandwad and Yeola. They sought the suspension of the Jalna superintendent of police as well as quick resolution of the Maratha quota issue. Protests were also held by the Marathi Kranti Morcha and workers belonging to constituent parties of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, while the Centr

Maha CM should find a way out: Sharad Pawar on Maratha quota protests

He further said that state president Jayant Patil and MLA Rajesh Tope informed me about the incident in detail after which we decided to come here.

Maratha quota protest: Leaders from several parties attend, promise support

A three-hour protest led by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati on the Maratha reservation issue was held in Nashik on Monday

Consider the evidence: Maratha power and quota quagmire - parties in a fix

Despite calls for restraint due to the Covid pandemic, Maratha groups like the Sambhaji Brigade and Shivsangram have threatened to revive their agitation

Maratha activists hold protest against Supreme Court's quota verdict

Maratha quota activists staged a protest at Diva in Thane district of Maharashtra against the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the law granting them reservations in admissions and jobs

Why Marathas are deserting Cong, NCP and seeking shelter in BJP, Shiv Sena

The exodus is so overwhelming that three descendants of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the most revered Maratha hero, are now all in the BJP

Maratha stir: All obligations to be completed by Nov, says Fadnavis

Fadnavis also took on his critics who have been demanding an ordinance to grant reservations to the Maratha community