Maratha quota protest: Protestors set ablaze a bus, MSRTC suspends services in Jalna

Maratha quota stir in Mumbai/ File Photo

Maratha protestors had set a state transport bus on fire at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Tirthpuri city, Ambad taluka, said an official in Jalna, Maharashtra, reported on Monday. Consequently, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has suspended bus services in Jalna until further notice, after a police complaint was submitted by MSRTC's Ambad Depot manager, ANI reported.

"Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has stopped ferrying its buses in Jalna till further notice. A police complaint has been filed by MSRTC's Ambad Depot Manager in a local police station after a bus was allegedly torched by Maratha Agitators," MSRTC was quoted as saying in the ANI report.

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According to the report, for numerous years, the Maratha community has been opposing the state government over the Maratha quota issue.

In February, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Maratha Reservation Bill, which sought to increase Marathas' reservation to 10 per cent above the 50 per cent threshold.

Even though the quota law was passed by the Assembly on February 20, Maratha reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange Patil has continued his hunger strike, demanding that the 'Sage Soyare' ordinance notification be implemented within two days. Failure to do so may cause greater disturbance among the majority group on February 24.

Patil, a prominent figure in the Maratha quota issue, voiced unhappiness with the bill's 10 per cent reservation, claiming that it failed to meet their expectations.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashok Chavan questioned the need for continued protest now that all requests have been met by the administration.

"He (Manoj Jarange Patil) knows why he is agitating? What we are saying is that when the government has fulfilled all his demands by bringing this law, then there is no need for agitation," Chavan told ANI.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar had urged the activists to protest peacefully and maintain the law and order situation. He further added, "Everyone knows who groomed Manoj Jarange Patil, whose people used to go to Manoj Patil, whose OSD used to meet Manoj Patil. Maharashtra government ministers used to meet the activists. What they have sown, they are reaping."

With ANI inputs