Uddhav Thackeray demands Centre to provide reservations for Marathas, OBCs during special session of Parliament

A day after violence broke out in Maharashtra's Jalna over the Maratha quota demand, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray urged on Saturday that the Centre give reservations to Marathas and OBCs in the special session of Parliament scheduled later this month.

Addressing Shiv Sena (UBT) workers here, Thackeray slammed the government brutality of police baton charging the protestors seeking reservation for Marathas in Jalna on Friday evening. How can police behave in a way without the directions from someone,? he asked. Thackeray said he would visit Jalna later in the evening to meet the protestors.

I had condemned the government’s decision to convene a special session (of Parliament). But I welcome it, but first give reservation to Marathas, Dhangars (shepherd community) and OBCs in this special session, the former chief minister said. He hit out at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, saying no one from the government had time to meet the agitators in Jalna.

On Friday, police baton charged and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse protesters in Antarwali Sarathi on Dhule-Solapur road in Jalna’s Ambad tehsil after they allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on hunger strike for Maratha quota to hospital.