Maratha quota issue sparks protests against MVA govt.’s mega-recruitment drive

Ashok Chavan seeks to defend self and state government argues government did not fall short in its efforts in the SC.

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Pune: Even as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has tried to put up a united front over the Maratha quota issue, protests erupted across the State on Thursday as pro-reservation quota Maratha outfits and community leaders censured the Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA) government for its inadequate efforts in defending the Maratha quota law in the Supreme Court.  

Maratha community leaders including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs like Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje Bhosale and Narayan Rane, as well as former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, all have questioned the timing and the logic behind the MVA government’s mega-recruitment drive to fill up 12,500-odd vacant police posts, remarking it was a gross injustice to Maratha youths who would be denied the opportunity owing to the Apex Court’s stay on implementation of the Maratha quota law. 

In Kolhapur, Maratha outfits demonstrated outside the offices of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Association (known popularly as ‘Gokul’), while demonstrations took place in Pune and in the Marathwada region. Activists of the Sakal Maratha Samaj in Kolhapur attempted to stop milk tankers heading to Mumbai, but there attempts were thwarted by the police.

Also Read: Maratha quota issue: Vinayak Mete attacks Maha govt, Pawar

In Pune, the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) submitted a proposal enumerating their demands to Pune District Collector Dr. Rajesh Deshmukh. Maratha activists across the State raised slogans against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Minister for Public Works Department demanding their resignations. Chavan headed the cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha quota issue. 

Activists of the pro-quota Maratha Chhava Sanghatana (MCS) staged dharna outside PWD Minister Ashok Chavan’s residence in Nanded and Minister for Medical Education Amit Deshmukh’s house in Latur. In a bid to pacify the protestors, Chavan said that the state government had done everything in its power to defend the interests of the Marathas in the Supreme Court.  

Shiv Sangram leader and BJP ally Vinayak Mete contended that there was a complete “lack of coordination” between the three parties of the MVA government – Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.  

Criticizing the MVA’s mega-recruitment drive to fill vacant police posts, Dilip Desai, Sakal Maratha Samaj (SMS) coordinator from Kolhapur, said the Thackeray government’s move was like rubbing salt on the wounds of the Maratha community.  

Leader of opposition (LoP) in Legislative Assembly Devendra Fadnavis said that there was absolutely no hurry in announcing the recruitment. “The government must assure the Maratha community that their rights are secure,” he said. 

Santosh Shinde of the Sambhaji Brigade demanded that the Maratha community should be included in OBC category and added that the Government Resolution (GR) issued by Minister for School Education Varsha Gaikwad must be cancelled immediately. 

“The government should give 50% fee concession in all the new admission process of students from Maratha community. Until the issue of Maratha reservation is resolved, no mega-recruitment processes, including police recruitments, should be taken up by the State government,” Shinde urged.  Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane lashed out at his nemesis, Chief Minister Thackeray, claiming that the latter “never had had any affection towards the community”.