The government is thrusting new leaders to the fore and moving others aside to create a rift between the Maratha and OBC communities, he said, stressing that those protesting over their demand for non-dilution of the OBC quota are not at fault.
At the state level, Pawar appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the quota dispute.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has been booked by Beed police for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde over the murder of a sarpanch in the district. The FIR was registered based on a complaint by Tukaram Aghav, who alleged that Jarange's remarks were aimed at creating a divide in society. The activist had targeted Munde during a rally in Parbhani, stating that the Maratha community would not allow Munde to roam the streets if the sarpanch's family was harmed. Munde's supporters protested against Jarange, demanding action against him. The sarpanch, Santosh Deshmukh, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9, allegedly for trying to prevent extortion from an energy firm. Seven individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder case, including Walmik Karad, an associate of Munde, who has been arrested in the extortion case. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) is probing the cases.
Fadnavis also said the lathi-charge order was not given by any top official to the Jana Police last week.
'Those who have wronged or harassed the Maratha community should be taught a lesson through the ballot'
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with an interim order of the Bombay high court by which the decision of Maharashtra government to provide 16 per cent reservation to Marathas in jobs and educational institutions was stayed.
A man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in Aurangabad district.
The slain sarpanch's brother Dhananjay Deshmukh met Jarange in Beed on Thursday, a day after Karad was sent to the custody of a Special Investigation Team of the Maharashtra police.
The government said it would complete the process of quota for Marathas, which had remained incomplete after the high court stayed it in 2014.
'Shinde, via Jarange Patil, is making his moves to become the sole leader of the oppressed, poor, backward Marathas in Maharashtra.'
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday suspended his indefinite fast, which he began five days ago over the quota issue, stating that his community members say they want him alive to fight for the cause.
The government told the HC that 'Maratha community comprises people belonging to various castes and since the country doesn't conduct caste-based census anymore,' it was proving rather 'difficult' to get hold of the requisite data.
The NCP leader asked how suddenly a number of records showing Marathas as belonging to the Kunbi caste were being found.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government to make it clear whether it is ready to provide reservation to the entire Maratha community and why it needs more time in granting quota to it.
Activist Manoj Jarange vows to intensify his hunger strike for Maratha reservation under OBC, while the Maharashtra government seeks legal opinion on the issue.
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.
The Bombay High Court has directed activist Manoj Jarange and his supporters, who are staging an agitation demanding reservation for the Maratha community, to vacate Azad Maidan in Mumbai by 3 pm or face action.
The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday decided that Kunbi caste certificates will be issued to those Marathas hailing from the Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said.
Jarange is a strident critic of the senior BJP leader and has routinely accused him of being the main obstacle in the Maratha community's quest for reservations.
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange ended his five-day indefinite fast after government representatives assured him that several of his demands, including the reactivation of the Shinde Committee, would be fulfilled. Jarange, who has been demanding reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and education, warned that members of the community would march to Mumbai if the demands were not met. The government has assured that all cases against Maratha protesters would be withdrawn, while separate sections would be set up for issuing "Kunbi " certificates for the community members. The Economically Backward Section provisions for Marathas would also be implemented, while compensation would be released for those community members who lost their lives during the quota agitation.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday claimed Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde met him before the state polls last year along with his associate Walmik Karad, arrested later in an extortion case linked to the murder of a sarpanch.
'The Maratha versus OBC friction will increase. A huge chunk of the Shiv Sena's social base consists of OBCs.' Dhaval Kulkarni reports.
The monk claimed that since the closure of the feeding area, the pigeon population has drastically declined.
The activist claimed that state minister Uday Samant phoned him in the morning to assure that the chief minister and the deputy CMs were committed to granting reservation.
Jarange appealed to Shinde and his deputies to come together and resolve the issue of Maratha quota, an emotive issue which has been dominating the state's political discourse for the last few months.
Jarange, who was earlier on a hunger strike in the village over his demand for reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category, had ended his fast on September 14 on the 17th day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met him and assured to fulfil his demand.
"The government recruitment is frozen. Where are the jobs?" the minister said.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
The poll aspirants who feel threatened are seeking to garner sympathy from their voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region
Bhujbal took a veiled attack at Sharad Pawar for the opposition's boycott of an all-party meeting on the Maratha quota issue.
At present, a 10 per cent EWS quota is in force for those sections of the society which are not covered by any kind of reservations. The central law on the EWS quota was enacted more than two years ago to allow reservation for the poor in jobs and education among the general category.
Chavan said the Mahayuti and BJP's policy was Viksit Bharat and Viksit Maharashtra, as spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Over the last 65 years the state has seen majority of Maratha chief ministers and cabinet ministers, even Union cabinet ministers.' 'The Marathas have always wielded disproportionately significant political, commercial and social influence in the state and yet they are asking for reservations today.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday underlined the necessity of any reservation standing legal scrutiny as he listed key measures undertaken by the state government for the Maratha community.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday refuted talk of his stir not being a factor in the Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
With an eye on assembly elections after severe drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government on Wednesday approved 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and five per cent for Muslims in government jobs and education institutions.
The health condition of Maratha quota agitation spearhead Manoj Jarange, whose indefinite fast continued on the fifth day on Wednesday, deteriorated and he was given intravenous (IV) fluids when he was asleep during the protest, an activist close to him said.
Jarange had also claimed that a poisoning attempt was made against him through saline, though he did not elaborate on it.
It fixed March 17 to hear at length a batch of pleas filed for and against the Maratha quota.
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