Maharashtra: Maratha quota activists show black flags to NCP leaders over reservation issue in Latur

Maratha quota stir/ PTI

Police in Latur detained numerous Maratha community members after they displayed black flags to leaders of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) during a meeting to oppose the reservation demand.

The incident occurred during a meeting of the party's district-level officials at a hotel on Ambejogai Road. A group of Maratha activists waved black flags and chanted slogans about the quota demand as NCP state unit chief Sunil Tatkare, State Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare Sanjay Bansode, president of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women Rupali Chakankar, and MLC Vikram Kale arrived, reported PTI.

According to the report, following the incident, the police detained six to seven members associated with a Maratha outfit and took them to a police station. Security measures were then beefed up in the region

The Maharashtra legislature has passed a measure allowing Marathas 10 per cent reservation in education and government posts under a separate category. However, activist Manoj Jarange remains staunch in his quest for quotas for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

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During a one-day special session of the legislature, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde tabled the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill, 2024, intending to break the long-standing gridlock on the Maratha quota issue.

Despite the adoption of the Maratha quota bill, activist Manoj Jarange Patil remains resolute in his hunger strike and has demanded immediate action from the government. At the forefront of the protests, he said that the recent bill falls short of addressing the Maratha community's demands and he has been specifically calling for declaration of the community as Kunbis and demanding reservations under OBC quota.

"It will be the most humiliating blow for Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis if the old people, especially the grandparents of deprived Maratha students, sit on an indefinite hunger strike. The deaths, if any, would entirely be their (CM and DCM's) responsibility," he had said, according to mid-day report, in Antarwali Sarati.

Residents of Malwadi attempt to contact Min carrying petrol-filled bottles

In a separate incident, residents of Malwadi in Udgir tehsil attempted to contact Minister Bansode at the NCP conference venue, claiming encroachment on their land. These people were discovered carrying petrol-filled bottles, forcing authorities to investigate their intentions. They were then transported to the Shivaji Nagar Police Station for further investigation.