MAHARASHTRA Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday appealed to members of the Maratha community not to stage protests as the Government is thinking positively about the quota demand. Shinde’s assurance comes at a time when quota activist Manoj Jarange and thousands of his supporters are on their way to Mumbai to launch a protest on January 26. “The State Government is positive about the Maratha quota demand. We will take a decision. I appeal to the Maratha community to refrain themselves from staging agitations,” he told reporters.

 

Speaking about the ongoing survey by the State Commission for Backward Classes to asses the social, economic and educational backwardness of the Maratha community, Shinde said 1.5 lakh people are working in three shifts. “Once the backward classes commission submits the survey report, a special session of the State Legislature will be convened to enact legislation,” he added.

 

Jarange set out on a march towards Mumbai from Jalna district on January 20 with thousands of supporters, demanding that the State Government grant quota to Marathas under the OBC grouping in jobs and education. The morcha comprising several vehicles passed through Pune city on Wednesday. The march will halt in Lonavala in the evening before resuming its journey towards Mumbai on Thursday.