On Sunday, June 27, the Maratha Kranti Sangharsh Morcha (MKSM) undertook a bike rally from Somaiya Maidan at Chunabhatti to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai to highlight their demand for reservation in jobs and education for the community.
This is the first rally in the state since the Supreme Court rejected the Gaikwad Commission report allowing reservation for the Maratha community.
The MKSM has put forth 10 demands in front of the state and has warned of a massive march on August 9, if the state fails to act upon them.
The demands include -- review petition in the apex court, sizable provision for SARTHI and Annasaheb Patil Financially Backward Development Corporation, hostels for the youth from the community in every district, recruitment of youth who had secured government jobs from the quota before it was quashed, among others.
The bike rally saw community members turnout with fancy bikes and expensive cars. Rajan Ghag, convener MKSM said the rally was for their fellow brethren in rural Maharashtra who are socially, educationally and economically backward.
Ghag said the Std X and XII results would be out next month and the students of his community would lose out on opportunities as even the reservations under socially and economically backward communities (SEBC) has been cancelled for the Marathas.
All this has happened because the present government could not present the Gaikwad Commission report properly in court, he added.
He further mentioned that 58 silent marches were held since 2016-17, after which reservation was given. It is believed that the demands cannot be fulfilled without aggressive agitation. If the government fails to respond positively in the next few days, the outfit will have a massive march in Mumbai in the next few weeks, Ghag warned.
Besides, there are Level 3 restrictions in Mumbai on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and gatherings are prohibited. The police turned the bikers back immediately on reaching CSMT. No details were available on legal action being initiated for flouting the lockdown norms.
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