MUMBAI: The Maratha Kranti Morcha called off the bandh declared in Mumbai, saying that they wanted Mumbaikars to return home safely.
The bandh was called in Mumbai to press their demand of 16% reservation and to protest against the death of a Maratha youth in Aurangabad.Essential services like hospitals, school, medical were exempted from the Bandh.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday, 25 July, said that his government has taken cognisance of the Maratha protest and is open to hold talks with protesters.
The Maratha leaders want the government to give them OBC status and not reservation because any quota, beyond the existing 50 per cent, would be difficult to implement. On the other hand, if the Marathas are granted OBC status, they would qualify for the existing OBC quotas.
Fadnavis said his government has taken the issue of reservation seriously and that it is ready to talk to the members of Maratha community.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday asked Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis to hold talks with representatives of the Maratha outfits to end the ongoing stand-off over the quota demand.
Sr. Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said that CM Devendra Fadnavis misled the Maratha community and lied about not attending the Pandarpur Yatra this year.
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said that he supports reservation for Marathas and will raise the issue with the NDA.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has came out in support of the Maratha community protesting for reservation in government jobs and education.
Protesters pelted stones and set a bus ablaze in Mankhurd, Mumbai, during protests. The fire has now been extinguished by fire tenders.Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident.
Protesters of the Maratha Kranti Morcha blocked railway tracks, disrupting local train services from Thane.BEST bus services from Airoli to Vashi have been suspended in light of the bandh.
