Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena came down heavily on Sharad Pawar, accusing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president of “rubbing salt on the wounds of the Maratha community” and giving its agitation for the reservation that turned violent in Jalna “a casteist connotation”.
“Sharad Pawar has always politicised the issues of the Maratha community. Because of him, the reservation status was left dangling. Had Pawar actually wanted and decided, he could have given reservation through the Mandal Commission,” Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjeev Bhor said after Pawar met the injured protesters in Jalna following a police lathi charge. Bhor further alleged: “The earlier reservation was demanded by then Prime Minister VP Singh. However, it got stuck in red tape only because of Pawar’s refusal. Now that they are no longer in power and the party is on the decline, Pawar is in a state of despair."
Newly appointed leader of opposition and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also condemned the incident. Reacting to it, Bhor said, “Wadettiwar is a staunch opponent of Maratha reservation. He had once dismissed the Gaikwad report as ‘bogus’."“Today, the opposition is pretending that it stands behind the Maratha community. But it has a history of insulting the Maratha community. Earlier, in Uddhav Thackeray’s mouthpiece, Saamana, Uddhavji and Ambadas Danve had insulted the silent march of Maratha community. Now, they are portraying that they are with the Maratha community.
On Friday, a clash broke out between police and protesters demanding Maratha reservation in Jalna. Police resorted to lathi charges to disperse the protesters.Condemning the lathi charge by police on the protesters demanding reservation for the Maratha community, Congress leader Ashok Chavan said that it is "unfortunate" that the community is being defamed.