Maratha march in Mumbai on hold till December

The decision was taken at a meeting of Sakal Maratha Samaj, an umbrella body of various Maratha outfits, in Aurangabad on Sunday

The grand Maratha march which was to be held in the city in November has been put on hold till December.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Sakal Maratha Samaj, an umbrella body of various Maratha outfits, in Aurangabad on Sunday. The group also decided to hold a rally outside chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ residence in Nagpur on December 14, when the winter session of the state Assembly will be in progress.

The Maratha group said they decide on the march in Mumbai based on the government’s response. “If the government doesn’t act on our demands during the Assembly session at Nagpur, we will hold a massive rally in Mumbai,” said a representative of the Maratha outfit.

Sources said plans the march has been put on hold, taking its impact on the financial capital into consideration. The rally at Nagpur, however, would put pressure on the government, as the opposition too will attack the BJP and Shiv Sena in the Assembly, political observers feel.

The outfits also came up with the list of eight demands to be submitted to the chief minister, taking the reports of inconsistencies in demands into account. The demands include changes to Prevention of Atrocities Act, reservation for the community and capital punishment to suspects of Kopardi incident involving a Maratha girl.

Meanwhile, the Marathas held a rally at Daman on Sunday. The Maratha outfits also plan to hold another rally at Kolhapur on October 15.