Janjivan Bureau / Mumbai: Following the massive show of strength by the Maratha protesters at the Azad Maidan today, the steering committee members of Maratha Mook Kranti Morcha met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government would take constructive steps towards enabling reservation for the Maratha community, keeping the constitutional obligations in mind. Following the meet, the agitators called off the rally in Mumbai, citing the assurance given by CM Fadnavis.
Reservation in educational institutions and government jobs, one of the key demands of the Maratha agitators, was agreed upon by the Chief Minister. Fadnavis said his government would take constructive steps towards enabling reservation for the Maratha community, keeping the constitutional obligations in mind.
Fadnavis claimed the matter is currently being deliberated upon by the National Commission For Backward Classes. However, the state government would form a sub-committee under the chairmanship of state cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil, to study the feasibility of Maratha reservation and its roll-out in a time-bound manner.
However, Fadnavis did not state a deadline for the implementation of reservation for the Maratha community, claiming that the matter is not under the complete jurisdiction of the state government. ALSO: View Images of Maratha Kranti Morcha in Mumbai
Congress leader Narayan Rane, who was part of the one-man commission which recommended reservation for the Maratha community, said his only political agenda for the forthcoming period would be to exert pressure on the BJP-Shiv Sena government to honour the “time-bound reservation” assurance given to the Maratha protesters.
While promising reservation in the near future, Fadnavis announced a range of sops for the Maratha students. A total of Rs 5 crore would be spent by the state government to set-up hostels for Maratha students in all the districts of the state.
“Government announces land and grant of Rs 5 crore to build hostels for students from Maratha community in every district,” Fadnavis said in the Maharashtra assembly.
The Chief Minister further announced that the cut-off for student scholarship for Maratha students would be reduced from 60 to 50 per cent, in order to include more number of beneficiaries.
Fadnavis also told the House that 605 educational courses, which were being conducted exclusively for SC/ST students, would be thrown open for enrollment for the Maratha students as well.
For farmers, the state government would provide assistance on agrarian loans up to Rs 10 lakh, Fadnavis reportedly assured the delegation of protesters which met him.
The Maratha Mooka Kranti protest was launched last year in July, following the brutal rape of a minor Maratha girl in Kopardi. The community members had alleged that the prime accused, belonging to the lower caste, was attempting to misuse the SC/ST Atrocities Act to escape from the crime.
The first Mooka, or silent rally was held in Aurangabad on this same day, last year. The protesters, so far, have carried out 58 rallies across the state, seeking justice in the Kopardi rape case, along with the addressal of a slew of their demands related to reservation and agrarian sops.
