Maratha quota impasse: simmering resentment among Maratha youths, warns Satara royal Shivendraraje Bhosale

@the_news_21 

Pune: Expressing serious concern over the discontent brewing among Maratha community youth over the Supreme Court’s stay of the implementation of the Maratha quota law in Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Shivendraraje Bhosale urged the community leaders to set aside their differences and stand together.

Speaking at the all party meeting of Maratha outfits held in Satara on Monday, Bhosale – a direct descendant of the warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – warned that a lack of unity among the community’s leaders could lead to “a social Panipat” (akin to Waterloo). He was referring to the shocking military reversal suffered Maratha army in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.

“I have come to this conference with a view to seeking justice for the Maratha community. I have not come here as a royal, but as a common member of my community. The Apex Court’s decision has irked the Maratha youth. Therefore, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government needs to sort out this issue on a priority basis,” remarked Bhosale.

Pleading with the community leaders not to repeat history, he said that it would do no good to the cause if the community was riven with factionalism. The Satara royal, along with leaders of other Maratha outfits present on the occasion, demanded that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, whose party is a major part of the tripartite MVA, to pay more attention to the quota issue.

Incidentally, despite Bhosale’s appeal to the Maratha community leaders to stand united on the issue, his cousin and rival from Satara – BJP Rajya Sabha MP Udayanraje Bhosale – who was expected to be present, yet again skipped the all party meeting. On Friday, Udayanraje abruptly cancelled another meeting that was scheduled to be held in Pune.

Meanwhile, Aba Patil of the Maratha Kranti Thok Morcha (MKTM) said that the subcommittee on the Maratha Reservation issue headed by senior Congress minister Ashok Chavan had not been of any use to the Maratha community.

“We demand that the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government dismiss this committee and form a fresh one with new members who are seriously interested in working for the rights of the Maratha community. Up until now, the MVA has not shown all the requisite seriousness in this matter,” Patil said.

Urging Sharad Pawar to take on a major role in securing justice for the community, Patil said that Maratha outfits had lost faith in Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.