09 June,2024 04:39 PM IST | Jalna | mid-day online correspondent
Manoj Jarange/ PTI
Manoj Jarange, a Maratha reservation activist, urged Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday to address assaults on Marathas who did not vote for the BJP candidate in the Beed Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
Speaking on the second day of his indefinite fast in Antarwali Sarathi village, Jarange alleged that Marathas in Beed district were being harassed for not supporting BJP's Pankaja Munde, who lost to NCP (SP) candidate Bajrang Sonawane in the recent election. He urged the home minister and the Beed superintendent of police to take immediate action against the violence, and he urged Maratha youngsters to remain peaceful and promote communal unity, reported PTI.
According to the PTI report, Jarange cautioned that leaders who opposed Maratha interests would face repercussions in the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
He began his fast on Saturday, requesting the implementation of a draft notification declaring all Marathas' blood relatives as Kunbis and the passage of legislation identifying Kunbis as Marathas. The Kunbi group, which is predominantly agricultural, falls under the OBC category, and Jarange is lobbying for Kunbi credentials for all Marathas so that they can receive quota advantages, the report added.
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According to the news agency report, he asked Marathas to focus on farming during the sowing season rather than joining him at the protest site. Meanwhile, the gramme panchayat of Antarwali Sarathi village voted a resolution in support of Jarange's protest, despite earlier reservations about potential hazards to communal harmony.
Jarange has previously agitated over the quota problem between February 10 and February 26. On February 20, the Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed a measure granting Marathas 10 per cent reservation in education and government posts under a separate category, the PTI report stated.
Pankaja Munde loses Beed seat to NCP (SP) candidate
Pankaja Munde lost the Beed Lok Sabha election to Nationalist Congress Party (SP) candidate Bajrang Sonawane by 6,553 votes in a close race. Interestingly, the results of the Beed poll were the last to be revealed by the Election Commission in the early hours of June 5.
