Supriya Sule meets Jarange-Patil, heckled by angry Maratha activists

Speaking to the media subsequently, Sule asked for an all-party meeting and later a one-day special assembly session to discuss the reservation issue. She also criticised the BJP and Fadnavis for the situation

MUMBAI: NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, daughter of party chief Sharad Pawar, was in Azad Maidan on Sunday afternoon to meet Jarange-Patil. When she reached the stage, the activist was resting and hence did not speak to her. Sule nevertheless requested him and his colleagues to take care of his health.

NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule interacts with Manoj Jarange Patil, during Maratha reservation protest at Azad Maidan, in Mumbai on August 31. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

Speaking to the media subsequently, Sule asked for an all-party meeting and later a one-day special assembly session to discuss the reservation issue. She also criticised the BJP and Fadnavis for the situation. “You people split our home and party for power,” she said. “Power does not mean only the post and authority that comes with it. It also means responsibility. Now it is the state government’s responsibility to resolve the issue.”

When Sule walked towards her vehicle after the media interaction, a group of angry Maratha activists tried to stop her and shouted slogans. They accused her party and Sharad Pawar of spoiling the future of the Maratha community by not solving the issue when he was in power. Security guards managed to take Sule to her vehicle but activists surrounded that too.

NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad told the media that Sule had showed courage in meeting the activists and listening to their grievances although they were angry. “Lending an ear to people who are not in your favour is the quality of a leader,” he said.

Later in the evening, Jarange-Patil expressed displeasure about the way Sule was treated. “If you don’t give respect to the leaders coming here, no one will come to us,” he said.

It was not just Sule—media organisations too registered complaints that Maratha activists had misbehaved with journalists, women journalists in particular, and warned that they would boycott the protests. After this, Jarange-Patil sent out a warning from the stage to the Marathas to behave themselves.