Maratha reservation stir: CM Shinde calls all-party meeting; Uddhav not invited

Amid the intensified Maratha reservation agitation Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Wednesday called an allparty meeting to discuss the situation in the state but Shiv Sena UBT president Uddhav Thackeray has not been invited for the meetingNews agency PTI reported that an official in the Chief Ministers Office said Shinde will apprise opposition leaders of the governments plans to handle the situation and seek their supportIn the last few days incidents of violence were witnessed in many parts of MaharashtraStaterun bus services have been completely suspended in five Marathwada districts while curfew and Internet shutdown have been imposed in parts of Beed where the houses of political leaders were targeted by protesters the PTI report saidThe CM has appealed to people not to resort to violence and also asked political parties to avoid indulging in any activities that would worsen the situationThe Maharashtra government published an order on Tuesday asking officials concerned to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members paving the way for them to avail reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes OBC categoryA government resolution GR asked the officials to translate old documents having references to Kunbis and written in Urdu and Modi script which was used to write Marathi language in earlier times These documents are to be digitised attested and then put in public domainThe decision comes after CM Shinde said a governmentappointed committee scrutinised 172 crore old documents including those of Nizamera and among them 11530 records were found where Kunbi caste was mentionedAlso read Maharashtra Proquota supporters vandalise offices public transport vehicles across stateKunbis a community associated with agriculture are grouped under the OBC category in Maharashtra and enjoy reservation benefits in education and government jobsShiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said their party president Uddhav Thackeray has not been invited for the allparty meeting called by CM ShindeSlamming the Shiv Senaled coalition government Raut said while Maharashtra is burning the Shinde dispensation is resorting to shameless politicsLeaders with just one or no MLA have been invited for the allparty meeting but a party with 16 MLAs and six MPs has not been extended an invitation because Shiv Sena UBT has become an eyesore to them Raut said in a post on XThe Rajya Sabha member a close aide of Thackeray asserted his party does not need any honour but wants the longpending issue of Maratha reservation to be resolved quicklyActivist Manoj Jarange who is observing an indefinite fast for the quota demand at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on Tuesday said the Maratha community will not accept an incomplete reservation and the Maharashtra government should call a special session of the state legislature on the issueHe threatened to stop drinking water from Wednesday evening if the complete quota was not granted to the Maratha communityAs per a statement issued by the Chief Ministers Office earlier Jarange who started his second hunger strike on October 25 began to drink water after a satisfactory discussion with Shinde on Wednesday morningJarange said the government should not trouble Maratha youth who are protesting peacefully or else a firm response will be givenHe criticised Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who has said the perpetrators of violence in Beed will face charges under IPC section 307 attempt to murderJarange expressed displeasure over the state Cabinets decision to grant Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas in the Marathwada regionDont be selective in granting reservation Give Kunbi caste certificates to all Marathas Officials should not distribute these Kunbi certificates as declared by the government The government should accept the first report of the Justice Shinde committee and convene a special session of the legislature to decide on the Maratha quota he saidIn May 2021 the Supreme Court struck down Maharashtras Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2018 which granted reservation to the Maratha community for violating the 50 per cent ceiling With inputs from PTI