Hemant Godse, an MP from the Shinde faction from Nashik, on Tuesday, sent his resignation to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the ongoing fierce Maratha reservation movement. Maratha community members, led by activist Manoj Jarange, have launched a fresh round of agitation to press for a quota in government jobs and educational institutions. Jarange has been on an indefinite fast at a village in Jalna district since October 25. On Monday, Beed district saw large-scale violence during the Maratha quota agitation. Earlier, Shinde faction MP from Hingoli Hemant Patil had also sent his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday.
BJP MLA quits
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Beed district in central Maharashtra also tendered his resignation from the legislative assembly in support of the Maratha reservation demand. Laxman Pawar, the MLA from Gevrai assembly segment, said the Maratha quota issue is pending for years. The BJP is part of the state's Shiv Sena-led ruling coalition where the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) is also a constituent. Laxman Pawar's decision comes in the wake of the Shiv Sena MPs from Nashik and Hingoli in Maharashtra, both loyalists of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, quitting in support of the Maratha reservation demand.
Beed worst-affected district
Internet services were also been shut in Beed in central Maharashtra, an official said. The agitation became intense from midnight of October 29 when buses and government vehicles of various officials were torched in the district, it said. The curfew was enforced in a periphery of 5 kilometres from the collector office, head offices of talukas along with all national highways passing through the district, the order said.
