Jalna protest: Maha govt invites Maratha leader for talks

Days after his hunger strike over the demand for Maratha reservation turned violent in Maharashtra's Jalna district, the state government has invited Manoj Jarange Patil for talks over the quota issue, government sources said on Sunday.

Jarange Patil had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna since Tuesday.

However, the agitation turned violent on Friday after the authorities tried to shift him to a hospital.

As violence broke out, police baton-charged the protesters and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them. Several persons, including 40 police personnel, were injured and more than 15 state transport buses were set ablaze. More than 360 persons were booked in connection with the violence, police said.

A source in the government said Jarange Patil has been invited for talks over the Maratha reservation issue.

"There will be a meeting between the government officials and Jarange Patil over the demand for quota to the Maratha community," the source said.

Meanwhile, the Maratha Kranti Morcha has called for a bandh on Monday in Kalyan town of Maharashtra's Thane district to condemn the baton-charging of protesters in Jalna during their demand for Maratha quota.

In the wake of the bandh call, security in the town has been stepped up, an official in-charge at the Kalyan police control room said.

Essential services were exempted from the bandh, the morcha members said.

A number of activists of the Maratha Kranti Morcha moved around in Kalyan town appealing to shopkeepers and other public service providers, including auto-rickshaw drivers, to support the bandh.

So far, there was not much affect of the bandh, the official at the police control room told PTI.

However, the Maratha Kranti Morcha's local leader Harshwardhan Palande claimed most of the shops in eastern part of Kalyan were closed.

He said the auto-rickshaws were operating so that office-goers do not face any inconvenience.

On Sunday, the Maratha Kranti Morcha activists protested against the Jalna incident by crushing pumpkins with their legs at the Shivaji Chowk in Kalyan.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced that Jalna district superintendent of police, Tushar Doshi, is sent on compulsory leave and two DYSP-rank officers transferred out of Jalna district.

Shinde said ADGP (law and order) Sanjay Saxena would probe the lathi-charge incident, and if required, a judicial probe would be conducted.