Lathicharge in Jalna: Eknath Shinde orders inquiry into use of force; Jalna SP sent on leave

“The incident that took place in Jalna was unfortunate. I had called Manoj Jarange-Patil and told him to withdraw the agitation as his health was deteriorating and needed medical attention. I was concerned about his life. But the unfortunate incident took place,” Shinde said after attending a state function in Buldhana district.

Meanwhile, Minister Girish Mahajan and BJP MLA Nitesh Rane visited Antrali Sarate village in Jalna where Manoj Jarange, a local Maratha leader and seven others have been sitting on a hunger strike demanding the reservation.

Mahajan and Rane met Jarange-Patil to convince him to withdraw the hunger strike and assured him that the government is committed to give reservation to the Maratha community and that government is positive about all the demands of protesters.

Jarange-Patil demanded action against the policemen who resorted to lathicharge and also resignation of Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis and demanded that the FIRs registered against the protesters be withdrawn.

According to sources, Fadnavis has also given an assurance to withdraw the cases registered against the protesters.

On the question of stone-pelting and arson by the protesters across Jalna district, Patil said that he appeals for peaceful protest and that the community members are doing peaceful protest while those who have resorted to violence are outsiders who have been sent to defame the peaceful protest.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties and Maratha community organisations have called for a bandh in different districts including Sambhaji Nagar and Jalna. The administration also imposed curfew in the district.

Speaking at Buldhana, Shinde also said his government was committed to providing reservations to the community in education and government jobs. “My government is committed to giving reservations to the Maratha community in the state. We will not sit quiet until the community gets its due reservation,” he said. “Till the Maratha community gets reservations, the government schemes that are already in place will continue and deserving people from the Maratha community will benefit from them,” Shinde said.

He also launched a veiled attack on NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray. At a government programme, Shashan Aplya Dari, held at Buldhana, he said the Opposition leaders who visited the village on Saturday were politicising the issue. “Those who stifled Maratha reservation are now speaking on it. The Maratha reservation was given in 2014 and 2018. It stood in HC as well but the Uddhav-led government did not give justice to it and due to which the reservation was stayed by court,” Shinde said while blaming MVA for the issue.

As Jalna witnessed violence, stone-pelting and arson, the police registered eight FIRs against over 600 people on charges such as assaulting policemen, rioting, damaging public and private property.

“We have registered eight FIRs. The situation is peaceful and under control today. So far, 40 people have been arrested,” Dnyaneshwar Chavan, Inspector General of Police said.

BACKGROUND

It was in November 2018 that the Maratha community was given reservation under the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Act. The legislation proposed by the then BJP-Sena government got unanimous support from the Congress and NCP. However, the reservation was challenged in the Bombay High Court. The court, while upholding the reservation, said that instead of 16 per cent, it should be reduced to 12 per cent in education and 13 per cent in jobs. Accordingly, the Act was implemented with Maratha students availing the quota in educational institutions and jobs. On September 9, 2020, the Maratha reservation confronted another hurdle as the Supreme Court stayed its implementation and referred the case to the Chief Justice of India for a larger bench. It meant Marathas could not avail quota benefits either in education or jobs till the final verdict came out. But those who had availed the quota benefit till date remained unaffected. On May 5, 2021, the Supreme Court quashed the reservation.