The battle cries by Marathas, demanding reservations in jobs and education and justice for 14-year-old Maratha girl in Ahmednagar district, virtually reached the corridors of power in the State on Wednesday, as the community members took out a massive silent morcha to Konkan Bhavan in Mumbai’s satellite city of Navi Mumbai.
In continuation of similar “Mook” (silent) protests staged elsewhere in the State since early last month, thousands of Maratha community members from Raigad district marched from Central Park at Kharghar to Konkan Bhavan at Belapur in Navi Mumbai, in what is taking the shape of agitations akin to the ones of Jats in Haryana and Patidars in Gujarat.
The only difference between the agitation in Maharashtra and the protests witnessed in two other states is that the all the morchas taken by Marathas have been silent protests and have passed off without any untoward incident.
Braving heavy downpours, the protesters – dressed in black – hit the streets in Navi Mumbai, carrying saffron flags. So systematic was the march that women were on the front, while girls and boys followed them in their 6 km march.
Not wanting to take any chances, the police had deployed considerable force along the morcha route. The educational institutions and wholesale market at Navi Mumbai were closed for the day.
En route to the Konkan Divisional Commissioner’s office, the silent protesters – who undertook a 6 km morcha — converged at the MGM junction at CBD Belapur for a public rally, where the agitators paid homage to the four soldiers from Maharashtra who were killed in the attack on the Indian Army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday last.
After the public meeting at which only youngsters highlighted the objective behind their taking out the march, a delegation of five girls met the Divisional Commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh and presented a memorandum on behalf of the Sakal Maratha Samaj, demanding reservations in education and jobs and scrapping of the “misused “SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act). The delegation also demanded stern action against the culprits behind the gangrape and murder of a 14-year-old Maratha girl at Ahmednagar district in July this year.
A similar massive Maratha morcha was taken out in Solapur town of western Maharashtra.
Several Maharashtra towns, including Akola, Hingoli. Nanded, Beed, Osmanbaad and Aurangabad, have witnessed similar silent protests during the last one and half months.
The ongoing agitation by the Maratha community -- which accounts for 33 per cent of total population in the State – has put the BJP-led saffron alliance government on the defensive.
Mounting pressure on the Devendra Fadnavis government to look into the grievances of the agitating Marathas, Uddhav Thackeray of the ruling Shiv Sena demanded that a special session of the Maharashtra legislature be convened to discuss the Maratha community members’ demands.
last week, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP president Sharad Pawar had exchanged barbs over the ongoing Maratha agitation.
On his part, Fadnavis had – in an interview with the State-run television channel Sahayadri, Fadnavis on Friday last -- warned the vested interests against trying to create social unrest in the state, in an effort to dislodge him from the post.
In a veiled attack on Sharad Pawar, Fadnavis had hinted that Hinting that the Maratha leaders who had in the enjoyed fruits of power and were no longer in the government, were behind the community morchas.
In an effort to win over the agitationg Marathas, Fadnavis had invited the Matatha community leaders for talks with the government.
Among other things, Fadnavis also announced that his government would revive “ Anna Saheb Patil Corporation” to extend assistance to the economically backward people within the Maratha community. He also promised job reservations for Marathas in private sector.
However, Pawar on Saturday took the battle back t0 Fadanvis' camp by saying: “Mere words won't not do. We need some action (from the state government)”.
“Saying merely that we concur with the views of Marathas would not help matters. The ruling party has to translate its words into action. I cannot do much, because I am not in power. Those who are in power have to settle the issues raised by Maratha connunity members,” Pawar said in an interview with a leading Marathi channel.
There has long been a vehement demand for reservations to Maratha community, It may be recalled that the previous Congress-NCP government had in the run-up to the 2014 State Assembly polls extended 16 per cent reservations to Marathas in government jobs and admissions in government and aided educational institutions in the state and five per cent reservations to Muslims in government jobs.
The reservations that the DF government had announced to Marathas and Muslims were in addition to 52 per cent reservations that exist in educational institutions and government jobs in the State.
However, the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2014 stayed the operation and implementation of an ordinance promulgated by the previous Congress-led DF government on July 9, 2014, ahead of the October 2014 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
After it came to power in the state, the BJP-led saffron alliance government had on November 15, 2014 announced it would soon move the Supreme Court to seek the lifting of a stay imposed by the Bombay High Court on the operation and implementation of the controversial ordinance.
With the support of the Opposition parties, particularly the NCP, Marathas are now mounting pressure on the Devendra Fadnavis government to have their way in securing reservations for their community.