Clearing Maratha Quota Protesters Forcibly Will Cause Disturbance During Ganesh Festival: Raut
Mumbai belongs to Marathi manoos and the high court needs to be sensitive towards the protesters, Raut said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday accused the Mahayuti government of creating anarchy and said forcibly removing protesters gathered in the city for the Maratha quota agitation would lead to disturbance in the state during the Ganesh festival.
Talking to reporters, Raut also demanded the Centre's intervention in the issue, calling for an amendment in the Constitution and reservation for the OBC, Maratha and Dhangar communities based on economic backwardness.
He alleged some ministers in the state cabinet want riots and protests in villages to destabilise the state.
Some are "working behind the curtain", he said, without naming anyone.
"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis set his house on fire by engineering a split in the Shiv Sena, and he will now realise the mess he has created in the state. They (ministers) are from his allied parties. Some are seeking political gains through this agitation," the Rajya Sabha MP claimed.
He said Maratha protesters squatting in the city's streets are not infiltrators, terrorists or from other states.
Raut further disagreed with the Bombay High Court's order, asking activist Manoj Jarange to direct his protesters to vacate the streets.
Mumbai belongs to Marathi manoos and the high court needs to be sensitive towards the protesters, he said.
'If protesters are forcibly cleared, Maharashtra will be disturbed during the Ganesh festival,' Raut said.
"If anyone tries to clear protesters forcibly, ministers in the cabinet should be asked if they consider themselves Marathi or Maratha," he said.
The Sena (UBT) leader likened the Maratha agitation to farmers' protests against the three farm laws.
He suggested that protestors be given the Brabourne Stadium, as they cannot sit in Azad Maidan and have to come out on the streets.
Raut said Fadnavis should bring together major political parties and former chief ministers to hold a discussion on the issue, and the entire cabinet must then hold talks with Jarange.
