Jalna, Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange on Friday accused Maharashtra minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal of fomenting communal tension and urged Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to curb it.
He was speaking to journalists in Mahakala village in Jalna district in the wake of sloganeering and stone-pelting in his native Matori village in neighboring Beed district.
The incident took place on Thursday night when some people from nearby villages were passing through Matori to take part in a rally by OBC quota agitators Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare.
Jarange claimed that Bhujbal had orchestrated the attack to wrongly blame the Maratha youth.
"Bhujbal himself asked his men to throw stones at his (OBC activists') vehicles and then blamed the Maratha youth. The Prime Minister and Home Minister should stop him for fomenting communal discord," he said. he.
Jarange also alleged that the police were harassing the Maratha youth and also accused them of being involved in the stone-pelting incident.
"The police are harassing Maratha youth and blaming them for stone pelting. This injustice must end," he said.
He warned the government that the Maratha community would not remain calm if such "selective harassment" continued.
Jarange claimed that on previous occasions too Bhujbal had tried to disturb the peace in his village of Antarwali Sarati, but his efforts were frustrated.
"Bhujbal incited people and created a communal divide, but we foiled his plan," he said.
The fasting of OBC activists Hake and Waghmare was a government-sponsored protest, Jarange said, adding that Bhujbal himself accepted that the two were his activists.
Jarange, who has brought the Maratha quota issue to center stage in the state, has been demanding implementation of the draft notification that recognizes Kunbis as “sage soyare” (blood relatives) of members of the Maratha community.
Kunbi, an agrarian group, falls under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, and Jarange has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas, thereby making them eligible for quota benefits.
However, OBC activists Hake and Waghmare have opposed Jarange's demand that Kunbi certificates be issued to the Maratha community, stating that the state government should not take any decision affecting OBCs.
Hake and Wahgmare had been on fast to protect the OBC quota in Wadigodri village in Jalna district. They ended their 10-day fast on June 22.
He was speaking to journalists in Mahakala village in Jalna district in the wake of sloganeering and stone-pelting in his native Matori village in neighboring Beed district.
The incident took place on Thursday night when some people from nearby villages were passing through Matori to take part in a rally by OBC quota agitators Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare.
Jarange claimed that Bhujbal had orchestrated the attack to wrongly blame the Maratha youth.
"Bhujbal himself asked his men to throw stones at his (OBC activists') vehicles and then blamed the Maratha youth. The Prime Minister and Home Minister should stop him for fomenting communal discord," he said. he.
Jarange also alleged that the police were harassing the Maratha youth and also accused them of being involved in the stone-pelting incident.
"The police are harassing Maratha youth and blaming them for stone pelting. This injustice must end," he said.
He warned the government that the Maratha community would not remain calm if such "selective harassment" continued.
Jarange claimed that on previous occasions too Bhujbal had tried to disturb the peace in his village of Antarwali Sarati, but his efforts were frustrated.
"Bhujbal incited people and created a communal divide, but we foiled his plan," he said.
The fasting of OBC activists Hake and Waghmare was a government-sponsored protest, Jarange said, adding that Bhujbal himself accepted that the two were his activists.
Jarange, who has brought the Maratha quota issue to center stage in the state, has been demanding implementation of the draft notification that recognizes Kunbis as “sage soyare” (blood relatives) of members of the Maratha community.
Kunbi, an agrarian group, falls under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, and Jarange has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas, thereby making them eligible for quota benefits.
However, OBC activists Hake and Waghmare have opposed Jarange's demand that Kunbi certificates be issued to the Maratha community, stating that the state government should not take any decision affecting OBCs.
Hake and Wahgmare had been on fast to protect the OBC quota in Wadigodri village in Jalna district. They ended their 10-day fast on June 22.
