The Maratha agitation, which has been raging in Maharashtra for the last 10 days, struck a peaceful note on Wednesday with many of the protestors voluntarily participating in ‘jail bharo andolan’ in Mumbai. The protestors were briefly detained by the police in South Mumbai.
There were no incidents of large-scale violence in the State. However, the highway traffic around Solapur city, in South-Western Maharashtra was blocked for many hours due to the protest marches.
State Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told media persons in Mumbai that the Fadnavis government was not keen to take quick decision for the Maratha community, which could end up in protracted litigations. Such decisions could be counterproductive and misleading,
The State government was committed to providing reservations but the process can’t be hasty.
The due process of law needs to be followed for reservations. In the country’s democratic set up, citizens have a right to protest but it should be peaceful. Violent acts obstruct the path for getting the right solutions, he said.
He said that the State government had earlier tried to provide the reservations by using the Ordinance route but it was struck down by both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
Therefore, the State government has to be cautious in these matters. It can’t just fool the people by making mere announcements.
‘Working on solution’
He added that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was working very hard to provide an amicable solution to the issue at hand.
The Maratha community has been seeking caste-based reservations in jobs and educational institutions. Under the umbrella of Maratha Kranti Morcha, they have been holding massive but peaceful protest across the State for the last three years.
The situation took an ugly turn on July 22 when Fadnavis made a statement that he worried about pilgrims at Pandharpur, as certain Maratha groups had plans to disrupt the pilgrimage, which could create stampede among pilgrims.
The Maratha groups were deeply troubled by the statement and then they actually started resorting to violence and enforcing Bandh in the State.