Podcast | Editor’s pick of the day - Maratha protests redux

It was a day of Maratha protesters taking to the streets yet again. Agitating Maratha leaders had called for a statewide shutdown in Maharashtra on Thursday from 8 am to 6 pm. The protests went off largely peacefully except for a few skirmishes in Pune, Sholapur, Latur, among others. The events of the protest, and the reason why the Maratha protests happen so often (there have been 58 silent protests since August 2016), how granting reservations to the Maratha community is a double-edged sword for CM Devendra Fadnavis, and what lies at the heart of this unrest constitute the questions we will be answering on our Story of the Day.

Protesters demanded a written undertaking from the CM and the chief secretary that the quota will be implemented by November-end. "The entire Maratha community would be on the roads, blocking thoroughfares, from village pathways to national highways," Uday Gavare, MKM's Latur coordinator told The Times of India. The MKM is not satisfied with the Chief Minister's verbal assurances, NCP leader Abhijit Deshmukh, among those leading the stir in Aurangabad, told the paper. Several Maratha leaders feel that the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders may not keep the quota promise. "The state government has not only failed to implement its promises made to the Maratha community before the 2014 assembly elections and in the last four years but also delayed the procedure of withdrawing police complaints filed against the Maratha youth across the state," said Vinod Pokharkar, a leader of the Maratha Kranti Morcha. Another reason for agitation is the non-withdrawal of charges against nearly 2,000 youths, who were arrested by the local police under serious charges in the state, following the agitations held last month. "With the August 9 protest imminent, the state government ensured that hearing on the cases against the Maratha youth would take place after August 9. This means that these youths will remain behind bars till Thursday," Pokharkar alleged.