Maratha Protest: Bus torched in Jalna, MSRTC halts bus service
Maratha Protest: Bus torched in Jalna, MSRTC halts bus service
An official stated on Monday that Maratha demonstrators had set fire to a state transport bus at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Tirthpuri city, Ambad taluka.
As a result, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has stopped operating buses in Jalna until further notice and has lodged a police complaint.
According to an MSRTC representative, bus ferrying in Jalna has been discontinued indefinitely. The Ambad Depot Manager of MSRTC has filed a police complaint at the local police station regarding the alleged torching of a bus by Maratha Agitators.
For a number of years, the Maratha community has been demonstrating against the state government over the Maratha reservation.
The Maratha Reservation Bill, which was introduced in February and aimed to give Marathas 10% more reservation above the 50% cap, was unanimously approved by the lower house of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Manoj Jarange Patil, a Maratha reservation activist, refused to end his hunger strike even after the quota bill was approved by the Assembly on February 20. He insisted that the NDA government implement the ‘Sage Soyare’ ordinance notification within two days, failing which the majority community in the state would begin a new round of agitation on February 24.
Patil, who has been at the forefront of the demonstrations calling for 10% reservation for Marathas in government employment and education, claimed that the bill does not go far enough in granting their demands.
Leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ashok Chavan, meanwhile, questioned why the agitation needed to go on even after all of his demands had been met.
