Maharashtra: Agitation on Maratha quota begins in Kolhapur

A silent sitin protest demanding reservation for the Maratha community began in Maharashtras Kolhapur on Wednesday under the leadership of BJPrsquos Rajya Sabha member Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati This formally launched the statewide agitation over the Maratha quota issueThe agitation began amid light rains at the memorial of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj with several MLAs and other leaders cutting across the party lines taking part in it Several Maratha organisations in the state have extended their support to the protestAmong those present at the agitation were Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar Kolhapur guardian minister and Congress leader Satej Patil state BJP chief Chandrakant PatilDhairyashil Mane Shiv Sena MP from Kolhapur district also took part in the protest with a saline bottle attached to him as he was infected with Covid19 a few weeks backI have fully recovered from Covid19 but advised some rest for the next some days However I have stepped out of my house for this cause and I am ready to go to other places as well to extend my support he saidChandrakant Patil who has been critical of Sambhajiraje over the last couple of weeks questioning whether the latter was doing the protest to get a second term in the Raja Sabha on Wednesday handed over his letter of support to the parliamentarianWhile announcing the launch of the protest Sambhajiraje appealed to the protesters to remain silent while the public representatives address the gatheringThe protest is being held even as the Covid19 positivity rate in Kolhapur district remains high and a couple of days ago Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Health Minister Rajesh Tope had reviewed the situationShailesh Balkawde Superintendent of Police of Kolhapur has said that instructions had been given to the organisers of the protest to follow Covid19 appropriate behavior during the agitationThe Kolhapur police said they have made adequate arrangements in view of the agitation he saidLast month the Supreme Court had struck down the 2018 Maharashtra law granting quota to Marathas in admissions and government jobs terming it as unconstitutional and held there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 percent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdictSambhajiraje had toured several districts in the state and met key leaders across parties to discuss the quota issueHe had earlier said that till the objective of reservation for the community is achieved the state government should work towards strengthening the Shahu Maharaj Research Training and Human Development Institute SARTHI providing concessions to the poor from the Maratha community on lines of OBCs setting up new hostels for community students in every district and using other ways to ensure welfare of members of the social groupThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever