The members of Maratha Kranti Morcha have called for a state wide-bandh in Maharashtra on Thursday, August 9. The members of the community will be holding strong protests across the state to demand reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.
The leaders of the Maratha quota agitation warned that they will make sure all communications were suspended during the bandh. The state police department is also prepared to prevent any violence that may take place during the bandh.
The call for bandh comes after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the state was pondering over giving reservations to the Marathas. Following a meet with state leaders from diverse sections, Fadnavis said:
"A joint statement has been signed to give reservation to Marathas lawfully. The state government stands in absolute support for Maratha reservation, and we are following a requisite process to do it at the earliest."
Maratha Kranti Morcha leader Vinod Pokharhar had claimed that the state government has failed in implementing the promises made to the Maratha community during the 2014 assembly elections campaign.
Pokharhar accused the Chief Minister of not keeping his word on granting quota to the community. He said that over 2000 youth leaders were arrested by the state police under serious charges after last month's agitation.
"With the August 9 protest imminent, the state government ensured that hearing on the cases against the Maratha youth would take place after August 9. This means that these youths will remain behind bars till Thursday," Pokharhar was quoted as saying by Times Now.
Bhaiyya Patil, another leader of the agitation, informed that the community will hold a few meetings to chalk out the plan for the August 9 bandh. "We will finalise the agitation plan in these meetings. We want to show the strength of the community to the government," Patil was quoted as saying by Times Now.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has requested the Maratha community not to take any violent measures such as committing suicides during their protest. The Maratha community constitutes nearly 30 percent of the state's population and are politically quite influential.
Earlier this week, CM Fadnavis held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the issue of Maharashtra reservation. The meeting lasted for about four hours during which Fadnavis informed the PM Modi about the steps taken by his government to resolve the long-standing issue.
