Maratha Reservation should go up from 50 pc to 75 pc, says Union Minister Ramdas Athawale

While the entire Maharashtra had been witnessing days long protest over demand of Maratha reservation for government job and education, Union Minister and Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday claimed that quota in jobs should go up from the present 50 per cent to 75 per cent.

The Republican Party of India leader has also suggested to make a law in parliament in this regard and said will raise the issue in the NDA anytime soon.

"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," the news agency ANI quoted Athawale as saying.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha, however, has called off the strike on Wednesday after the large-scale violence marred the Maratha protest across the state. Read More Here: Maratha Reservation Protest: Maratha Kranti Morcha calls off Mumbai bandh

While two of the protesters committed suicide during the quota stir, others took to streets with saffron flags and were slogennering over demand of reservation.

As many as nine BEST buses were vandalised, several roads were blocked and efforts to disrupt the suburban train services were made. Shops remained shut and the reports of stone pelting came in from some parts of Maharashtra.

The normal life in the city came to a stand-still ever since the massive violence errupted in the city.

Large number of security forces were also deployed to keep the situation under controll. They took no time to clear the blocks in different parts of the city. Long-distance services like railways and busses also remained unaffected while other essential services functioned smoothly.

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Meanwhile, in the view of this massive protest, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called for an emergency high-level meeting and also 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".