Bombay High Court on Monday noted the city has been brought to a standstill due to the ongoing Maratha quota agitation, and the situation is grim as reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange hardened his stand by giving up water on day four of the stir. The High Court, while observing the protest has not been peaceful and has violated all pre-stir conditions, urged for normalcy to be restored in Mumbai, and gave an opportunity to Jarange, spearheading the stir, and his supporters to rectify the situation and ensure all streets are vacated by Tuesday noon. It asked the Maharashtra Government why the streets occupied by agitators, who have come to Mumbai from different parts of the State, are not being cleared and directed it to ensure more protesters do not enter the metropolis.

 

While the quota agitation and its fallout were argued in the HC, a few 100 metres away at Azad Maidan, the site of the stir in south Mumbai, the 43-year-old activist remained unrelenting as he warned more than five crore Marathas will descend on the metropolis if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis does not listen to the quota demands of the numerically strong community. Jarange has been staging a hunger strike at Azad Maidan since Friday, demanding a 10 pc reservation to Maratha community in Government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad, in a special hearing, said the protesters have not remained at Azad Maidan -- the designated place for the agitation -- and blocked several vital areas in south Mumbai. “The situation is grim and the city of Mumbai has been practically brought to a standstill,” the court said. Later, Jarange asked protesters to follow the directives of the Bombay High Court and not inconvenience the people of Mumbai by roaming on the streets. 

 

 

THE administration will implement the Bombay High Court directives on Jarange-led Maratha quota protest, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. He also stated that the State Government is deliberating on finding legal options to resolve the standoff over the Maratha quota demand. Fadnavis’ assurance comes shortly after the HC noted that Jarange and his supporters have prima facie violated the conditions. A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad stated that since the protesters do not have valid permission to continue the stir, it expects the State Government to follow the due procedure laid down in law by initiating appropriate steps.

 

The Government shall also ensure that no more protesters, as claimed by Jarange, shall enter the city henceforth, it said. “The Government will implement the High Court directives,” Fadnavis told reporters in Pune and rejected the charge that law and order had collapsed.

 

  MAHARASHTRA Minister and senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday said that Marathas should not be accommodated in the quota for the Other Backward Classes, citing that only 17 per cent reservation is available for 374 communities in the State. Talking to reporters after a meeting of OBC leaders, Bhujbal warned that lakhs from the OBC community will stage protests if the reservation meant for them is slashed. “The court has already termed the demand to categorise Marathas and Kunbis as one community as foolish. Out of the 27 per cent reservation meant for OBCs, 6 per cent is for the nomadic tribes, 2 per cent for the Gowari community and other small portions are earmarked for different groups. Only 17 per cent is left, and this too is shared among 374 communities,” Bhujbal said. “Marathas should not be included in OBCs, I request with folded hands,” he said. Bhujbal reiterated that such a move would be unjust to existing backward communities.