The Maratha Kranti Thok Morcha, an organisation formed by members of the Maratha community, on Friday declared that it would hold State-wide protests if thousands of students from their community, who have already passed competitive exams, were not given immediate employment.
Aabasaheb Patil, chief coordinator of the Morcha, said that heavy rains this year have destroyed farmers’ crops and the government has not offered anything except empty promises. Further, more than 3,200 students have cracked the government competitive examinations under the Maratha reservation quota since 2014 but still remain unemployed.
The Morcha will now be handing over a letter outlining its demands, which include instant employment to students, to the Governor, as the State is currently under President’s Rule.
“We will wait for eight days after submitting the application for the Governor to talk to the President or the Prime Minister to discuss further steps with them. If the Governor does not take any action in favour of our demands, we will start protesting for the farmers and the students,” Mr. Patil said.
He said that while the style of the protest will not be declared at this point, it will be across Maharashtra and that any resulting law and order problems will be the Governor’s responsibility. The Morcha has already sought a meeting with the Governor’s office and is awaiting a response.
The organisation, in its application, has also demanded waiver of farmers’ loans, granting of instant fresh loans to them, declaration of a wet drought in the State, waiving off education fees of farmers’ children, and compensation for farmers who have lost their crops in the unseasonal rains.
Other demands include cattle feed for the farmer and money for rebuilding cattle sheds destroyed in the rains and resultant flooding.
