The Maratha community members in Maharashtra are engaging in extensive demonstrations throughout the state, fervently pressing for reservations in government employment and educational institutions, a status they seek under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
One assembly of protestors effectively blocked the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway for an extended duration on a Tuesday afternoon, leading to a substantial traffic snarl that shows no signs of dissipating anytime soon.
Simultaneously, another contingent of demonstrators, affiliated with the Maratha Kranti Morcha, obstructed the railway tracks in Solapur. Images from the scene captured protestors igniting tires on the tracks and brandishing saffron flags, as they vociferously clamored for reservations to be granted to the Maratha community.
In response to the railway disruption, officials from the railway and Solapur City Police apprehended two protesters, namely Ram Jadhav and Nishant Salve. They were eventually removed from the railway tracks, although the protests endured.
In a separate incident that unfolded in Maharashtra's Jalna district, protestors resorted to setting fire to a panchayat samiti office during one of their demonstrations. This act of vandalism occurred as supporters chanted "Ek Maratha Lakh Maratha" and descended upon the panchayat samiti office located in Ghansawangi, where they proceeded to damage property by incinerating it. Several valuable documents and items of furniture in two rooms within the office sustained damage, as confirmed by an official from the Ghansawangi police station.
Another episode in Jalna saw members of the Maratha community making an attempt to disrupt train services by staging a sit-in on the railway tracks at a railway gate in Shelgaon village, situated in the Badnapur tehsil. Their intent was to impede the movement of trains.
Activist Manoj Jarange, a prominent figure championing the Maratha quota cause, continues his ongoing hunger strike in support of the reservation demand from his base in Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, a protest that commenced on October 25.
On Tuesday, he reiterated the stance that the Maratha community would not settle for an "incomplete reservation" and urged the Maharashtra government to convene a special session of the state legislature to address this matter.
Further complicating the situation, a group of agitators from the Maratha community gathered outside the residence of NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Amar Singh Pandit, prompting the police to employ tear-gas shells to disperse them.
Amidst this tumultuous backdrop across the state, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has called upon the Central Government to resolve the Maratha reservation issue by convening a special session of Parliament.
In response to the prevailing unrest, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted that the state government is actively working to resolve the Maratha quota issue. He further noted that some individuals were taking advantage of the protests to incite violence, which had resulted in the burning of houses, hotels, vehicles, and government facilities in Beed. In response to these actions, additional security forces had been deployed to affected areas.
Fadnavis also underscored that the home department would adopt a stringent approach, with at least 50 to 55 culprits having been identified through CCTV footage. He warned that Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) would be applied, and those responsible for creating disturbances would not be tolerated.
Furthermore, Fadnavis pointed out that some political leaders and their followers had been identified in connection with these disturbances, and they would be charged under the appropriate legal provisions.
