Chandrashekhar Bawankule refutes allegations by opposition over Maratha quota violence

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule denied claims made by opposition parties that the police action against Maratha quota protestors in Jalna on Friday was directed by the authorities or that it was a diversionary tactic strategy.

On Friday, police had resorted to baton charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob in Antarwali Sarathi on Dhule-Solapur road that allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on hunger strike as part of the quota stir to the hospital.  Several persons including 40 police personnel, were injured and more than 15 ST buses were set ablaze. Some 360 persons have been booked in connection with the violence.

He attacked Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on the Maratha quota issue. The reservation granted to the community in jobs and education was lost during the chief ministership of Thackeray, while Pawar had never spoken on the issue in the past 40 years, Bawankule claimed.

Speaking to reporters after meeting injured persons in hospital and those on hunger strike at the site of police action in Jalna on Saturday, Pawar had claimed agitators told him a call from the higher-ups changed the attitude of the police and action was taken despite the stir being peaceful.