The Shiv Sena on Thursday criticised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for “going missing” during the violent agitations by the Maratha community on Wednesday, and said the State has paid the price for the government’s nature to “suppress” issues.
The party is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the State and at the Centre.
“During the bandh, there were instances of violence at many places. It seemed that the State government had run away in the last 24 hours. At other times, the Chief Minister can be seen everywhere. But nobody knows about his whereabouts in the last 24 hours, what he was doing and with whom he was holding discussions,” said an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana. It said the situation was similar to that of the Sudhakarrao Naik government after the 1992 riots.
Police tow away a car burnt by protesters in Navi Mumbai. | Photo Credit: PTI
Had Mr. Fadnavis agreed to talk to the Maratha community when it all started — with some people protesting in Parli in Beed district — the subsequent events would not have taken place, it said. “The State has paid the price for the government’s nature of suppressing issues,” the Sena said.
Claiming credit
Calling the BJP “at the forefront of taking credit”, the editorial said, “They should also take credit for Wednesday’s bandh and violence. They may take full credit for providing reservation to the Marathas, but there should be an end to this violence,” said the editorial.
It also said that the previous Congress-NCP government could have resolved the reservation issue keeping the legal aspects in mind. However, it chose to tkae the ordinance route to grant 16% reservation to Marathas, which was ultimately challenged in court.
The editorial said that the government’s decision to fill over 70,000 posts was also responsible for the uproar. “The violence was only natural when community members feared losing these jobs in the absence of reservation,” it said.
Mr. Fadnavis had said in the Assembly last week that the government would allot 16% of the 72,000 posts to Maratha candidates in the form of backlog, if the Bombay High Court approves the quota. “Therefore, no injustice will be meted out to the community,” he had said.