Monday’s protests against the Maratha reservation became more intense, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Prakash Solanke’s home was attacked with stones and set on fire by the enraged protestors.
There have also been reports of a group of individuals setting a vehicle on fire near Solanke’s Majalgaon apartment.
The Majalgaon MLA, a member of the NCP group headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, may or may not have been inside the house when the event, which happened at about 11 AM, took place. Nevertheless, Solanke said that he was at Majalgaon at the time of the event.
Why was everyone so agitated?
The demonstration against the Maratha reservation intensified after a recording of the MLA allegedly discussing the Maratha quota movement and subtly criticising Manoj Jarange, a quota campaigner who fasts, went viral.
Solanke allegedly said that “the issue (the demand for reservation and the ultimatum of 40 days given to the government for its implementation by October 24) has become a child’s game” in the widely shared video clip, according to media sources.
In an apparent jab at Jarange, he said, “The person, who has not even contested a gram panchayat election, has become a smart person today.”
To be considered for reservations in government employment and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, Maratha community members have been holding rallies.
As part of the second phase of the protest, Jarange sat on an indefinite fast in Antarwali Sarati hamlet in the Jalna district starting on October 25. This led to an increase in agitation.