Maratha Kranti Morcha: Call for agitation in Mumbai indicates group split

The organisers of the silent rallies, demanding reservation for members of the Maratha community in government jobs and education, might be heading for a split.

Alleging that some of them have sold out to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government, a faction of the organisers have declared to start aggressive agitation to press for reservation demand.

The announcement was made following a meeting convened by the ‘Maratha Kranti Morcha’ at YB Chavan auditorium in Nariman Point on Saturday.

Maratha Kranti Morcha is the movement under which the rallies are being conducted over the last two years. Until August last year, when around two lakh Marathas took to the streets, the leaderless organisation took unanimous decisions. However, recent developments indicate a split within the group.

“We will develop a new strategy and conduct meetings at the district and tehsil level across the state,”said Abasaheb Patil, one of the organizers.

The government should have accepted their demands within one day by organising a special session of the state legislature, said Patil.

Manikrao Shinde, another organizer, said they will continue the aggressive agitations against the state government till the next state assembly elections. They will also ensure the community will boycott BJP in the polls by creating public awareness.

“Some of the organisers from community don’t want to revive the agitation against the state government for their personal gains. We have now decided to brush them aside and make serious attempts to bring everyone on the same platform again. Now, the state government will be responsible for our steps. We are even ready to go to jail,” Shinde said.

Mansing Pawar, who had played major role in the Maratha movement, admitted that the situation has gotten out of hand. “One of the problems we are facing is that things have gone out of control. One of the reasons for this is that the community has grown large, and now everyone wants to reap the success of the rallies. However, the community will not accept any kid of violence as that would defeat the purpose of the silent marches,” said Pawar.

Speaking on the demand for reservation, Pawar said the matter is sub judice at the moment.