Mumbai: In the wake of violence and vandalism across Maharashtra during the Maratha quota agitation, coordinators of the Maratha Kranti Morcha on Thursday said that future demonstrations would not be staged on roads but would assume the form of peaceful ‘sit-in’ protests. Meanwhile, sources from Home Department claimed involvement of outside forces in instigating violent clashes using pretext of Maratha agitation
Sakal Maratha Samaj and Kranti Morcha has distance itself from the violent agitations being held across the state but has demanded that the government fulfil it’s demands in a time bound manner by August 7 or face further agitation. At a meeting held in Parli in Beed district, a section of the Morcha coordinators further claimed that none of the Maratha quota agitators were connected with the violence that had erupted at various places during the shutdown.
“None of the agitators have anything to do with the violence that has occurred during the shutdown. Action should be taken against those miscreants responsible for the clashes,” said Abasaheb Patil, one of the State coordinators of the Morcha. The meet demanded that the CM announce a time-bound programme of awarding reservation to the Marathas by August 7 and that the government dissolve the cabinet sub-committee on the reservation issue headed by State Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil. Failing this, the Morcha said it would resume a statewide agitation from August 9.
Patil said that agitators would stage sit-ins in front of the houses of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in cities and tehsils across the State. Given the incoherent nature of the agitation since the first ‘thok’ (hit) morcha as opposed to the silent or ‘muk’ morchas that commenced from Parli on July 18, the Morcha members hinted that henceforth Parli would form the decision-making centre of the protest. “We will form a separate committee that will be empowered to hold parleys with the government,” said Ramesh Kere-Patil, another prominent Morcha coordinator. However, Morcha coordinators in other districts are not pleased with the meet in Beed, accusing Patil and other leaders of trying to hog the limelight by making Parli the future ‘nerve-center’ to decide the course of the agitation.
It seems, there is rift between Maratha outfits as the unit of Pune, Aurangabad and Latur are not ready to accept the decisions taken at Parli on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Pune Rural police arrested 18 persons, including three minors, for arson and damage to public property during the clashes in Chakan.