Only Eknath Shinde can tell why Maratha quota protest started again, says Raj Thackeray

Asked by reporters about the agitation, Thackeray said, "Only Eknath Shinde can explain everything about the Maratha agitation and the reservation issue. If you want to know why Manoj Jarange has returned, ask Eknath Shinde. Last time, when he had gone to Navi Mumbai as chief minister, he had resolved the matter. Then why has it come up again? All these answers can only be given by Shinde," reported PTI.

In January last year, Jarange's march to Mumbai had stopped at Vashi in Navi Mumbai following a request by the then government led by Shinde who assured that quota demands would be met.

Speaking in Sangli, BJP minister Chandrakant Patil defended Shinde, saying he had not given any false promise on the issue of Maratha reservation.

"On the basis of what is documented, all issues concerning the Maratha community have been addressed. Whatever solutions could be worked out to the demands raised by Manoj Jarange were implemented. But sometimes, there are no remedies for certain compulsions," he said, reported PTI.

Patil also said that ordinary citizens should not be made to suffer due to the agitation. The BJP-led government had offered Navi Mumbai as an alternative site for the protest, but the proposal was rejected, he said, reported PTI.

Jarange has demanded recognition of Marathas as Kunbis, an OBC community, so that they can benefit from reservations. 

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis late night to discuss the ongoing hunger strike by activist Manoj Jarange in Mumbai to press for Maratha quota, sources said on Sunday, reported PTI.

Vikhe Patil heads a cabinet sub-committee on issues related to the Maratha community's demand for reservation and its social, educational and economic condition.

(With inputs from PTI)