Nagpur/Mumbai: The ongoing Maratha stir in certain parts of the state may take an exponential avatar post Diwali and Nagpur will also witness the mammoth Maratha rallies. In the upcoming winter session of state assembly in Nagpur, Marathas will join hands to hard press their demand for reservation.
Similar rallies are planned in Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Thane. The biggest of them is however planned for Mumbai after Diwali in November. A Shiv Sena delegation led by Industries Minister Subhash Desai also met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to demand a special session of legislature to discuss the question of Maratha reservation.
Rajendra Kondhare of Maratha Mahasangh told a leading English daily, “A final date would be finalised at the next meeting in Aurangabad on October 9, we all agreed that we would organise the Mumbai rally after Diwali. We would also take out a morcha in Nagpur when the winter session commences. If our demand is not met by then, we will plan the Mumbai rally after that to further intensify our agitation.”
Several Maratha organisations had a meeting at Shivaji Mandir in Dadar on Friday afternoon to discuss the further direction of the mass silent protests to highlight multiple demands, including a 16 per cent reservation in education and jobs.
The meeting also decided to celebrate Diwali in a simple manner with each Maratha house lighting one lamp in memory of the Kopardi rape victim. “It was decided that even if we wear new clothes, we will wear a black armband to express our protest against government’s apathy to our demands.”
