Marathas attempt to unite factions for Nagpur rally

Indicating that the Nagpur rally would pull curtains on the ongoing agitation, another KMM leader said, “At the end of four months of silent rallies, we have to put an end to the agitation. It cannot continue eternally. Our plans to hold a mega-rally at Delhi had to dropped as demonetisation led to a cash crunch. Therefore, Nagpur, where the ongoing winter session is underway, is the right turf to reiterate our demand for reservation.”

However, the leader said the government had pre-empted their move by filing a 2,700-page affidavit in court in support of the reservation. “The Nagpur rally will highlight the agrarian crisis. The problems of the farmers will be the central theme and we would urge the government to bring more reforms in the agriculture sector,” he added.

Apart from the affidavit, the government has made other overtures to the Marathas. CM Devendra Fadnavis has urged the KMM to come forward for a dialogue, and efforts are underway to get the group to be part of the committee the government is planning to constitute to look into their charter of demands.

Sanjay Shinde, an observer of the Maratha movement and administrator at the Dr B R Ambedkar Marathwada University, said, “Initially, leaders of the Congress-NCP had believed that the rallies would work to their advantage in the local bodies elections. But trends in the first phase of the polls so far have proven otherwise. So, there are sections that feel the Maratha agitation should conclude for the time being.”

The participants at the Nagpur rally will essentially be from districts of Vidarbha and the neighbouring districts of Marathwada. The Marathas from western Maharashtra and Konkan are not going to be part of the rally. An organiser said, “Getting the Kunbhi-Marathas on board would help put up a decent show in terms of numbers.”

The chief organiser of the rally said the KMM does not endorse any show of violence or aggression. “The stray instance of local Chhava and the Sambhaji Brigade disrupting the CM’s rally at Paithan (Aurangabad) was due to local rival leaders. The KMM has distanced itself from the Chhava and the Sambhaji Brigade.”