Maratha morcha: Give quotas or face poll debacles, community warns Devendra Fadnavis

Nagpur: Maratha Kranti Muk Morcha met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday and warned him that if the state government fails to accommodate quotas for the community an electoral rout might be a possibility.[caption id=“attachment_3156348” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shiv Sena MLAs and MLCs at the Maratha Morcha in Nagpur on Wednesday. Sanjay Sawant/Firstpost[/caption] This is for the first time that the morcha established a direct contact with the chief minister despite holding over 40 silent rallies all over Maharashtra since 9 August this year seeking reservations. “The chief minister is the highest authority of the state. So please don’t send us back empty handed. If you fail to give reservation to Maratha Community then we will teach you a lesson but not through bullet but ballot in the next election,” a delegation member of the Maratha Kranti Muk Morcha apparently told Fadnavis during the meeting in Nagpur. The delegation sought to know from the chief minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi could implement a decision as big as demonetisation overnight why the state can’t give reservation to the Maratha community in a speedy manner. The delegation made it clear that it wants a resolution to the issue in a time-bound manner. Upon suggestion from state Education Minister Vinod Tawde, Fadnavis assured the delegation that a panel would be formed with experts as members from different fields to discuss the Maratha reservation issue threadbare. The Nagpur edition of the Maratha Morcha started by 12 noon from Yashwant Stadium and ended at Moris T point at 3 pm on Wednesday in which over 1.50 lakh people from all age groups and varied professions participated. More than 150 all-party MLAs, MLCs and ministers were part of the rally. Three senior ministers of the state government Chandrakant Patil, Vinod Tawde and Deepak Sawant personally took Morcha delegates — Rutuja Mohite, Ankita Bhandwalkar, Himani Bhaltilak, Sanjana Wanapur, Jayashree Bhuiwar and Vaishnavi Daph — to the chief minister. Apart from reservations, other major demands of the Morcha included the amendment in Atrocities act, capital punishment to the accused in the Kopardi rape case and the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations. Among the political participants in the rally Maratha leader from BJP Chandrakant Patil, minister Vinod Tawde, MLC and opposition party leader Radhakrishna Patil, MLA Nitesh Rane, NCP MLA Shashikant Shinde, MLC Narendra Patil, MLC Vidya Chavan, BJP MLA Aashish Shelar and MLC Pravin Darekar were prominent. From the Shiv Sena, Cabinet Minister Eknath Shinde, Minister of State Dada Bhuse, Ravindra Waikar, Sanjay Rathod and MP Sambhaji Raje Bhosle were persent. Several schools and colleges and business establishment remained shut in Nagpur although no incidents of violence were reported.