MUMBAI: A day after police lathicharge on Martha protestors demanding reservation, the Maharashtra Opposition on Friday demanded the resignation of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for “grossly failing” as home minister to maintain peace in the state.
Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar held Fadnavis responsible for the incident and demanded he step down. He said without instructions from Mumbai, the police would not have lathicharged the protestors in Jalna near Aurangabad.Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan also demanded the resignation of Fadnavis saying he has failed in his duty to protect the Maratha community protestors.
However, Fadnavis sought to clarify that the police used force when the protestors tried to hurl stones at cops. He said when Sharad Pawar was the chief minister, the police used lathicharge against the tribal Govari community where 103 lost their lives in Nagpur protest in 1994. “Sharad Pawar did not step down as chief minister, so why should I resign now?” asked Fadnavis.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who rushed to Jalna to meet the injured protestors in hospital, said since chief minister Eknath Shinde did not keep his word, that’s why the incident took place.“The police while using force did not spare women, children and senior citizens. Several people were badly injured in the incident. Without instructions from Mumbai, the police would not have lathicharged at all. Fadnavis has failed to maintain law and order,” alleged Pawar.
Replying to Fadnavis, Sharad Pawar said during his government, Madhukar Pichad was social justice minister. “Owning moral responsibility, Pichad had resigned from the cabinet after the 1994 episode.”