Maratha stir: Shiv Sena plans to request special session on the issue

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. (File)

THE SHIV Sena is planning to request Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to convene a special assembly session to discuss the demands of the Maratha community.

A delegation of Shiv Sena MLAs, led by Industries Minister Subhash Desai, was scheduled to meet the chief minister to seek an early resolution to the Maratha conflict and the need to convene an assembly session immediately. The meeting, however, could not take place as the chief minister had to leave for Delhi. The delegation will now meet Fadnavis on Friday. On Sunday, a cartoon appeared in the party newspaper Saamana lampooning the silent marches being taken out by the Maratha community. It shows a male protester kissing a female protester, which offended the Maratha community.

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The cartoon not only generated a severe backlash from the public, even the Shiv Sena’s elected representatives complained to the party. In a rare instance, the party’s newspaper office was also attacked by members of a Maratha organisation.

The Sena has made efforts to assuage the feelings of the Marathas, including an apology by the cartoonist of Saamna. However, political opponents of the Sena have demanded that the Sena should apologise.