The Maratha Kranti Morcha on Tuesday hinted that it will go ahead with its State-wide ‘bandh’ on August 9 even as the Bombay High Court urged restraint upon agitators till the quota issue was decided.
Appeal to youth
Morcha coordinators from across the State will meet in Aurangabad on Wednesday to decide on the nature of the shutdown, said sources.
Shantaram Kunjir, one of the coordinators, said that the meeting would impress upon the agitating youth to desist from taking the law into their hands.
“Through appeals and exhortations, we are trying to ensure that the August 9 ‘bandh’ is a peaceful one. There has already been much destruction of property during the agitation especially in Chakan, Solapur and Aurangabad,” Mr. Kunjir told The Hindu.
‘Need to demonstrate’
Underscoring the need for a demonstration without road blockades, he said the Morcha leaders would be urging protestors to stay within limits as several cases had already been lodged against a number of agitators in the past weeks.
“There is no question of calling off the bandh as we have already announced it. We will be requesting all establishments and the public to cooperate during the shutdown. However, we will ensure that agitators do not resort to violence,” Santosh Shinde of Sambhaji Brigade told The Hindu.
Sit-ins staged
Meanwhile, Morcha members continued to stage sit-ins outside the homes of prominent politicos, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s residence in Baramati and Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan’s in Nanded. Both leaders have announced their firm backing for the quota agitation.
Congress-NCP rule
In an attempt to pacify them, Mr. Chavan’s wife, Ameeta Chavan, joined the protestors clamouring for immediate reservation for the Maratha community.
Despite declarations of support for the quota issue, Mr. Chavan has faced flak from Morcha activists who have accused him of proving ineffectual over the reservation question when the Congress-NCP coalition was in power and Mr. Chavan was the Chief Minister.