Maharashtra govt will not show laxity on Maratha reservation issue, says Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday assured the Maratha community that the state government will not show any laxity in its efforts to ensure reservations for it. Fadnavis made this statement while speaking to reporters outside the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai. “No one in the state is opposed to giving reservations (to the Maratha community) and there will be no delay on the part of the state government in this respect. In fact, the government is attempting to ensure that any provision to give quotas stands up to judicial scrutiny,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_4842811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. PTI[/caption] Fadnavis noted that the Backward Classes Commission has completed the process of taking public suggestions on the issue of quotas, and is now working on its report. He said, “It would not be appropriate for the government to put any sort of pressure on the panel. However, the panel should come out with its recommendations expeditiously.” The chief minister also took note of incidents of violence that took place during the Maratha community’s protests across Maharashtra earlier this week. He said, “There have been allegations that some people have been wrongly framed in criminal cases. I have instructed the Director General of Police to file cases only if there is video evidence of persons engaging in violence. Cases should not be filed against people merely for agitating.” The Marathas, a politically dominant community that constitutes around 30 percent of the state’s population, have been demanding a 16 percent reservation. The community members had earlier taken out silent marches across the state to highlight their demands. The stir, however, turned violent earlier this week with the protesters pelting stones, torching vehicles, blocking roads and stopping train services in several parts of the state. The violence began after a 27-year-old protester from Aurangabad jumped to his death in Godavari river on 23 July. Another demonstrator from the same district had consumed poison and died a day later. A protester, who was injured in the violence on Wednesday in Navi Mumbai’s Kopar Khairane, succumbed to his injuries on Friday. With inputs from PTI