Over 20 lakh people from the Maratha community held a Muk Morcha (silent agitation) in Pune on Sunday, the highest public turnout since the agitation is announced with a rally at Aurangabad on August 10.

The protests is being across the state for the demand of reservation, scrapping or reforming the Atrocities Act and for the justice for the gang-rape and of a minor in Kopardi. A student, Shobha Mhaske, before the start of the rally, said, “While we seek justice for the Kopardi crime, there are several issues where our community has been sidelined. In many instances, we find that students with no merit take advantage of reservations, while we lag behind despite working hard at our studies.”

The march also had the participation of the prominent Maratha leaders such as Lalita Babar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Udayanraje Bhosale. Babar sadi, while referring the Kopardi case, said, “I strongly identify with the concerns of women’s safety.”

“The demands of our community are neither unrealistic nor irrelevant. Successive governments have failed to check farmer suicides. Compensations and subsidies have benefited only richer farmers. It is the duty of all elected representatives of the Maratha community to participate in these marches,” said NCP MP Udayanraje Bhosale.

The march began at 10.30 am with the garlanding of the statue of King Sambhaji, in the Deccan area. People from across the state gathered at the Alka Talkies, the start point. Soon, people started to join the march in huge numbers as more than 20 roads of the city were blocked.  

Reports said, more than 5,000 police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order. Interestingly, members of the Swachata Samiti cleaned stretches behind the protesters as the march moved ahead.

As the women protesters presenting the demands to the collector after the three hours, the rally was announced as concluded.

By Prajakt K.