Vijay Wadettiwar, the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislature, called for the resignation of Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister who is also in charge of the home department, on Saturday over the violence tied to a Maratha quota protest in Jalna district.
Nearly 40 policemen and a few protesters were injured on Friday after cops used baton-charge and fired teargas shells to disperse a violent mob at Antarwali Sarathi village on Dhule-Solapur road in Ambad tehsil. Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, Wadettiwar said the government should conduct a fair probe into the incident and seek an apology from the Maratha community. He also demanded the resignation of the home minister.
Congress leader claimed that the agitation and subsequent police action were the results of the “wrong” decisions of the government. The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike at the village demanding reservation for the Maratha community since Tuesday. The trouble began when police tried to shift Jarange to a hospital on doctors’ advice, according to officials.
Wadettiar said the Maharashtra government did not take any steps to resolve the quota issue after the Supreme Court’s decision one and a half years ago due to which the unfortunate incident of lathi charge took place on members of the Maratha community fighting peacefully for their rights. Wadettiwar said the Jalna violence indicates that the government is not interested in ensuring reservation for the Maratha community and that it made a false promise for political benefits.