Mumbai: Maratha outfit Maratha Kranti Morcha has called for a bandh in Maharashtra on today, two days after a man demanding reservation for the community committed suicide.
The 27-year-old protestor, Kakasaheb Shinde, jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad district. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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“It has been a couple of years since the idea of granting reservation was floated, but nothing concrete has been done to fulfill the demands. The state government can easily take a call and pass the law. If the Fadnavis Government fail to do the same, we will continue with the protest. We have to understand, that they don’t care about the people of Maharashtra any longer and these suicides don’t matter to them,” said Pro-reservation Maratha leader and Shiv Sena MLA Harshvarshan Jadhav.
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The quotas for Marathas has been a highly contentious issue, with the community comprising of around 30% of the state’s population.
In 2017, a huge rally was held by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in the same connection in Mumbai.
However, the organizers said that the strike would be a peaceful one as schools and colleges would remain open and not be included in it.
Taking a stock of the situation, Mumbai DCP and PRO Deepak Deoraj said, ‘All the necessary deployments have been put in place. We have also instructed our vigilance teams to keep a watch at sensitive pockets. We have told them to protest peacefully.’