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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the...

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the state and central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and when some attempted to enter inside, they were prevented by a strong posse of Mumbai Police deployed there since Monday. As tensions appeared to escalate, the police clamped down by detaining top state and city Youth Congress leaders including President Harshwardhan Sapkal, Vijay Wadettiwar, Bhai Jagtap, Hussain Dalwai, and many others. Thousands of students carried out a fresh demonstration at Dadar west Shivaji Park to vent their ire at the police action on Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s agitation in New Delhi on Monday. Several MVA leaders and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray visited or expressed solidarity with the protesting youth, comprising many women. Opposition’s Voice The Congress leaders alleged that Rahul Gandhi was targeted by the BJP-led government to muzzle democratic dissent, suppress the Opposition voices inside and outside Parliament and trampling upon the peoples' Constitutional Rights to protest peacefully. Defying pouring rains in the city on Wednesday, Congress workers along with activists of MVA allies, staged a noisy demonstration in Chembur and another group attempted to storm the BJP office in south Mumbai, condemning the assault on students in New Delhi and the detention of the Gandhi siblings. Senior Congress leader Hussain Dalwai flayed the government for “misusing the police” to gag democratic rights and the protests were intended to defend the Constitution and democracy against the BJP’s policy of intolerance of dissent in any form. “This is gross injustice. We are not allowed to protest against the government failures as they are misusing the police. The PM is scared of taking the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as he could be the next. We want to highlight to the BJP to govern the country as per the Constitution,” Dalwai declared, interacting with the media at Nariman Point. As the BJP also threatened to launch counter-protests, the police cordoned off and deployed a precautionary security ring around Tilak Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, as leaders from both sides exchanged political darts and looked aggressive enough for a confrontation. MVA ‘bandh’, ‘Tricolour’ march today The state is set for another two days of political turmoil as the MVA has announced a Maharashtra shutdown (‘bandh’) on Thursday followed by a non-partisan ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on Friday. MVA allies, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, besides other leaders of the alliance, informed of the state and city level actions today. Ambedkar appealed to the masses and also the BJP youth to participate wholeheartedly in the bandh tomorrow and claimed that students’ bodies, parent-teachers associations, colleges, universities, other institutes of higher education, private coaching institutions, and other governmental departments could support the shutdown, as it has now become a national issue. Aaditya sought the peoples’ participation in the ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on the theme of “One Nation, One Emotion” planned on July 24 afternoon to Shivaji Park, in support of environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, the Cockroach Janta Party, plus the youth and students protesting in New Delhi. Terming it as a national citizens’ movement rather than a political party, he called upon the people not to carry any party flags but unite under the National Tricolour to assert democratic rights and express resentment against the government’s high-handed policies. Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have already imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 across the city from July 23-to- August 6, apprehending the possibility of law-and-order disturbances.

Standoff intensified

Jarange says won’t even take water; CM says solution only within legal framework

Pic: Bhushan Koyande
Pic: Bhushan Koyande

Mumbai: The three-day old standoff between the Maratha quota agitators and the state government intensified on Sunday as leader of the agitation Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is on a fast unto death at Azad Maidan here, warned the government that he would stop consuming water from Monday onwards if the government fails to meet his demands.


On the other hand, even as government officials huddled trying to find way out of the deadlock Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis categorically said that the resolution of the issue is possible only within the legal framework set by various verdicts given by various courts in this regard.


Jarange-Patil said he will not leave Mumbai until the people of Maratha community get reservation in jobs and educational institutions under the OBC category. He also argued that his demand was constitutionally valid, adding that the government records prove that Kunbis and Marathas belong to the same caste. Jarange threatened to stop consuming water as the government was not accepting their demands.


“From tomorrow, I will stop taking water as the government is not accepting the demands. But I am not going back till the quota demand is met. We will get Marathas reservation under the OBC category no matter what,” he said.


"Our demand is constitutionally valid. The government has records of 58 lakh Marathas as Kunbis. Marathas will come to Mumbai (for the agitation) as and when they get time,” he added.


Jarange wants Marathas to be recognised as Kunbis -- an agrarian caste included in the Other Backward Classes category -- which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education, though OBC leaders are opposed to it.


Government at work

On the other hand, various arms of the state government huddled on Sunday trying to find a way out of the present situation pertaining to the demands raised by the Maratha quota activists. Meetings are being held with sociological as well as legal experts, said Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Minister for Water Resources and head of the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservations.


The sub-committee discussed the proposal submitted by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil and is seeking legal guidance on the matter. The government is keen to resolve the issue, but the leaders of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are making contradictory statements solely for political gains, Vikhe Patil said.


Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, meanwhile, made it clear that the resolution of the issue will have to be within the set legal frameworks.


“We are taking the demands being made by Jarange-Patil positively. He has been demanding that all the Marathas be declared as Kunbis. But, there are some decisions of various courts. We will have to respect the decisions. If the demands are being made beyond legal framework and government is expected to take populist decisions, such decisions won’t stand for even a day in the court of law. Making such a decision beyond legal framework would lead to a sense of being cheated among the Maratha community,” the Chief Minister said.


Only legal

Fadnavis clarified that the Mahayuti government has always followed legal procedures and not taken any decision without due diligence to the legal procedures.


“We wanted to give reservation to the Maratha community. Hence the Shinde committee was formed. It was due to the committee that many entries in old documents regarding Kunbi caste came forth. Now, we have handed over the work related to Hyderabad Gazetteer to the committee under Justice Shinde. He will have to follow certain legal procedures before he could recommend anything regarding reservation and the state government does accordingly. But, Jarange-Patil wants the reservation here and now. How can the state government do so?” Fadnavis asked.

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