MLAs across party lines protest in Mumbai for Maratha quota

Several legislators cutting across party lines in Maharashtra on Thursday staged an agitation outside the Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai, in support of the demand for reservation to the Maratha community.

The lawmakers, belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as well as the Shiv Sena, and the Congress, gathered at the gate of the secretariat in the morning and raised slogans demanding reservation to the Maratha community.

This is for the second day in a row that legislators from different political parties held a protest outside the Mantralaya in support of the quota demand.

This move by the elected representatives came in the wake of the appeal made by Maratha activist Manoj Jarange, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike to press for the quota demand, to prohibit politicians from entering villages.

Earlier this week, incidents of violence were witnessed in many parts of Maharashtra over the reservation issue.

State-run bus services were suspended in five Marathwada districts while curfew and Internet shut-down were imposed in parts of Beed where the houses of political leaders were targeted by protesters.

Amid a fresh wave of protests over the Maratha quota demand, the Eknath Shinde-led state government on Wednesday held an all-party meet to discuss the way out.

Leaders at the all-party meeting passed a resolution asking Jarange to call off his indefinite fast, but he refused to relent asking why the government needed more time to provide reservation to Marathas.

While CM Shinde said the government needs time for legal modalities to implement the reservation, Jarange asked why more time is needed.