Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (File)
Three days after protests demanding quotas for the Maratha community in government jobs and education grew violent across Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state government was “willing to hold talks” with representatives of the community.
Fadnavis had faced flak after Maratha leaders took strong objection to his comments on July 22 — that the government had intelligence inputs about snakes being let loose among devotees during the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi puja in Pandharpur — and had remained silent over the protests that followed.
Fearing a political backlash, the BJP had engaged prominent Maratha leaders within the party to reach out to community leaders for damage control. Sources in the party said the Chief Minister’s statement on Wednesday came after a “breakthrough had been achieved through back-channel negotiations”.
On Tuesday, some sections of protesters, including Sambhaji Brigade’s Pune regional chief Manoj Aakhre and Maratha Seva Sangh leader Purushottam Khedekar, had called on the Fadnavis government to hold a dialogue with community leaders.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said, “After silent marches carried out by representatives of the Maratha community representatives (in 2016 and 2017) across the state, the government had announced various decisions taking note of the protests. Even now, the government is willing to hold a dialogue with community representatives to resolve various issues”.
Terming the violence witnessed during the last few days and the loss of lives as tragic, Fadnavis said protesters must refrain from violence and protests, using dialogue instead to air their grievances.
Buses parked at the Swargate bus depot. MSRTC suspended all its services by 1.30 pm on Wednesday due to the Maratha agitation. State transport services resumed partly by late evening. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)
According to sources, the state government had also readied an action plan for such talks. With no immediate solution in sight over the demand for quota, sources said the government has plans to placate protesters by offering to walk the middle path over its upcoming recruitment drive.
After the government announced the decision to fill up 72,000 posts in the next two years, the Maratha community has been demanding that 16 per cent of those be reserved for it, pending the final outcome over the quota issue in the Bombay High Court.
Senior government sources said the “option of not advertising 16 per cent of the posts was being examined.” While another option, staying the recruitment drive till the quota issue was resolved, was also discussed, sources said the government was not in favour of it and believes that it could rile up job aspirants from other castes.
“Whatever confusion prevails in the minds of Maratha community representatives over the mega recruitment drive, it can be resolved through dialogue. A consensus decision over the issue is possible,” said Fadnavis.
Contending that his government was “committed to providing reservation to Marathas in jobs and education”, the Chief Minister went on to list various welfare measures the government had enacted for the community youth and job aspirants in his statement. He claimed that his government was willing to “discuss and resolve deficiencies found in their implementation.”
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Facing fire politically from both within the BJP and the Opposition, Fadnavis also used his statement to fire a barb at his detractors. “Some political leaders are trying to extract political mileage by fanning the situation. In Maharashtra’s interest, they should lend a hand in resolving various problems faced by the community,” Fadnavis said.
Earlier, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar had blamed Fadnavis’s “irresponsible comments” for provoking the sentiments of community leaders. Sources said Fadnavis’s salvo was primarily aimed at Pawar.
On Tuesday, leaders of Sambhaji Brigade and Maratha Seva Sangh, who are part of the Maratha Kranti Morcha — an umbrella organisation of Maratha outfits — had said they wanted to hold discussions with the Chief Minister and not any other minister. Welcoming the government’s stand, Santosh Shinde of the Sambhaji Brigade said the state government should invite all prominent leaders of the Maratha community for talks. “There are several groups under the Maratha Kranti Morcha. The government need not invite all of them. It can invite one representative from each group,” he said.
The Sambhaji Brigade also criticised the attitude of the government towards the family of Kakasaheb Shinde, who ended his life in Aurangabad during the agitation. “The family members told us that not a single government official met them… They said, it shows that the government does not care if Maratha youths live or die,” said Shinde.
Purushottam Khedekar of the Maratha Seva Sangh said the government’s readiness to hold a discussion was a positive sign. “The government should not cling on to negativity. It should keep its doors and mind open for talks. The Maratha community is open for discussion. Let us sit and discuss,” he said.
He said he was confident that only a discussion will lead to a solution. “There will be a cent per cent solution to the current crisis if discussion between the government and the agitators are held,” he said.
Maruti Bhapkar, a Maratha community leader who was detained along with 20 others in Chinchwad on Monday while holding an agitation during Fadnavis’s visit, said dialogue was a sensible way to bring the situation under control. “If the Chief Minister clarifies and throws a light on his government’s plan to accord OBC status to the Maratha community, it will help us understand if the government was serious or intends to delay the matter till the elections,” he said.
He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to take initiative and hold a meeting with prominent members of the Maratha community, along with the Chief Minister. He said he had forwarded a list with names of prominent Maratha personalities, with whom the government could hold discussions.
Bhapkar said the government should not look at political gains and make statements that will add fuel to fire. “If attempts are made to crush the agitation, or if it is neglected, there are likely to be serious consequences. Therefore, it is important that the Chief Minister and his government take urgent initiative to end the agitation,” he said.
(With inputs from ENS Mumbai)