One GR can’t fulfil all Maratha quota protesters’ demands: Eknath Shinde
The comments come at a time when BJP ministers, and even Oppn leaders like Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT), congratulated Fadnavis for working out a solution
Mumbai: At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is claiming credit for resolving the Maratha quota agitation launched by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said that all demands of the community can’t be fulfilled with one government resolution (GR).
Speaking to mediapersons on Thursday, the Shiv Sena chief, who is also a Maratha, said, “All the demands of the Maratha agitation cannot be fulfilled with one GR. It will happen step by step as legal complexities are involved.”
The Maharashtra government issued a GR earlier this week to speed up the process of providing Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas, following a five-day hunger strike by Jarange-Patil at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. Over 30,000 supporters of the Maratha quota activist descended upon Mumbai from August 29 to take part in the protest. Jarange-Patil ended his hunger strike on September 2 after the state government accepted six out of his eight demands.
After the agitation ended, all BJP ministers, and even opposition leaders like Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut, congratulated Fadnavis for working out a solution.
Reacting to the matter on Thursday, Shinde claimed that he was present when the GR was finalised, and although it was issued in 30 minutes, people in the government had worked on it for four days.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the matter on Thursday, Shinde claimed that he was present when the GR was finalised, and although it was issued in 30 minutes, people in the government had worked on it for four days.
{{/usCountry}}Shinde was the chief minister when Jarange-Patil had marched to Mumbai in January 2024 to protest for Maratha reservation. He withdrew his agitation after the state government issued a draft notification enabling Marathas to get a Kunbi caste certificate if the applicant was related to a person holding the certificate by blood or marriage. Shinde had taken credit for resolving the agitation.
{{/usCountry}}Shinde was the chief minister when Jarange-Patil had marched to Mumbai in January 2024 to protest for Maratha reservation. He withdrew his agitation after the state government issued a draft notification enabling Marathas to get a Kunbi caste certificate if the applicant was related to a person holding the certificate by blood or marriage. Shinde had taken credit for resolving the agitation.
{{/usCountry}}This time, however, the Shiv Sena chief was not involved in the negotiations with Jarange-Patil, as Fadnavis had given the job to a cabinet sub-committee headed by BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil. Shinde and his co-deputy CM, Ajit Pawar, who is also a Maratha, attended only one meeting on the matter under Fadnavis.
{{/usCountry}}This time, however, the Shiv Sena chief was not involved in the negotiations with Jarange-Patil, as Fadnavis had given the job to a cabinet sub-committee headed by BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil. Shinde and his co-deputy CM, Ajit Pawar, who is also a Maratha, attended only one meeting on the matter under Fadnavis.
{{/usCountry}}While Shinde waded into the matter on Thursday, opposition leaders have slammed him. On Saturday, when Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray was asked about the Maratha protesters creating chaos on Mumbai’s streets, he said, “You all must ask Eknath Shinde about all this. When Jarange-Patil had come to Mumbai last time, he had claimed that the problem was over. Now, why has Jarange-Patil come again?”
Raut alleged that Shinde had provided resources to the Maratha protesters. “One wonders whether the plan was to destabilise Fadnavis,” he said. In one of his press interactions on Tuesday, after the protest ended, Fadnavis was also asked about his earlier utterances regarding who was helping stoke the agitation. The chief minister said, “There is no need to go into detail when good things happen. You all know.”
Jarange-Patil, however, told the media that Shinde had nothing to do with his agitation. “If I had planned to create trouble for Fadnavis, I would have gone to Varsha bungalow (the CM’s official residence) to protest,” he said.
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