The Maratha Kranti Morcha, which has been demanding for reservation in government job and education since last few days, has intensified their protest on the second day of Maharashtra Bandh Wednesday.
A large-scale violence marred the state-wide protest with protesters attacked public buses in Mumbai, and the neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai.
Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.
In wake of this massive protest, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called for an emergency high-level meeting and has promised to review the “progress†made by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on the issue.
Fadnavis had also initiated a recruitment drive for the Maratha community, saying that "There would be no injustice meted out to the Maratha community".
Maratha Kranti Morcha protest: As it happened
# 02:46 pm:Â Maratha Kranti Morcha calls off Mumbai bandh.
# 02:28 pm:Â Due to unavoidable circumstances, train services between Thane-Vashi/Nerul on Transharbour line is not running: PRO Central RailwayÂ
#01:49 pm:
# 01:45 pm:Â Mumbai: Miscreants pelted stones and set a bus ablaze in Mankhurd during Maratha Quota Stir. Fire has now been extinguished by fire tenders.
# 01:26 pm:Â I support Maratha Reservation demand. I appeal protesters to protest peacefully. We need to make a law in parliament and raise reservation cap from 50% to 75%, will also raise this issue in NDA: Union Minister and Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athawale.
# 12:15 pm:Â Workers of Maratha Kranti Morcha block Mumbai's Eastern Expressway in Chembur during their agitation for Maratha Reservation.
# 10:37 am:Â Clashes break out between two groups in Udgir in Latur district of Maharashtra when one group was forcibly trying to get people to shut shops and overturned a vegetable cart while attempting to enforce Maharashtra bandh. Police is on the spot and situation is contained.
# 10:23 am:Â Maratha Reservation Protest: Workers of Maratha Kranti Morcha block a local train in Thane.
# 10:03 am:Â Mumbai: A group of Maratha Kranti Morcha workers request with folded hands, the shopkeepers in Bandra to shut their shops.
# 09:54 am:Â Maharashtra: Jagannath Sonavne, a protester who attempted suicide by consuming poison on Tuesday in Aurangabad's Deogaon Rangari, dies in a hospital.
# 09:48 am:Â Tires set ablaze on Majiwada bridge in Thane.
# 09:31 am:Â Maratha Reservation protests: Workers of Maratha Kranti Morcha forcibly shut shops on Thane's Gokhale road.
# 09:25 am:Â We are not blocking any road. We are carrying out a peaceful protest. We have told our workers that there should be no inconvenience to the police or govt due to our protest. We are asking people to shut down their shops: Maratha Kranti Morcha.
# 09:18 am:Â Maratha Reservation protest: A Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) bus vandalised in Wagle estate area of Thane.
# 08:57 am:Â Police deployed outside BJP office in Mumbai in wake of Maratha Reservation protests..
# 08:52 am:Â Maratha outfits intensify their reservation protest in Thane's Teen Haath Naka.
# 08:29 am:Â Protesters pelted stones on two Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses near Navi Mumbai's Ghansoli this morning. BEST bus services from Airoli to Vashi have been completely stopped today in the light of Maharashtra bandh.
# 07:48 am:Â Strike called by Maratha Kranti Morcha enters the second day.
However, community leaders have claimed that despite assurances from Fadnavis, nothing concrete has been done till now over the demands. Hence, the protesters are now plannig to gherao ‘Varsha’, the official residence of the chief minister in Mumbai and will press for his resignation anytime soon.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earier cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur as protesters threatened to disrupt the event.
/newsnation-english/media/agency_attachments/2024-07-23t155806234z-logo-webp.webp){kind=logo}
Follow Us/newsnation-english/media/post_attachments/images/2018/07/25/657177595-strike.jpg)