‘I was inside’: NCP MLA’s home set on fire by Maratha quota protesters
Maharashtra,Octo 30 : The house of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Prakash Solanke in Maharashtra’s Beed district was vandalised and set on fire on Monday allegedly by Maratha reservation agitators. A car parked at his house was also set ablaze, police said.
Visuals shared on social media showed a massive fire in his bungalow and smoke from it spreading to nearby areas. Earlier, stones were pelted at the house.
The attack came after an audio clip of Solanke, wherein he purportedly spoke about the Maratha quota stir and made a veiled remark on the hunger strike by quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, went viral, police told news agency PTI.
In the audio clip, the NCP MLA purportedly called the Maratha reservation issue a “child’s game”, according to the PTI report.
“A person, who has not even contested a gram panchayat election, has become a smart person today,” he said in an apparent dig at quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil.
NCP MLA Solanke said he was inside the house when the incident took place.
“Fortunately, none of my family members or staff were injured. We are all safe, but there is a huge loss of property due to the fire,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Agitations seeking Maratha quotas in jobs and education in Maharashtra have lately made headlines.
On Sunday, Shiv Sena leader Hemant Patil announced his resignation as an MP from Hingoli over the reservation issue. He wrote his resignation letter at a protest site in Yavatmal.
Reacting to the MP’s resignation, Manoj Jarange Patil, who has been on a hunger strike since October 25, suggested that the Maratha MPs and MLAs of the state should summon a special assembly session to address the issue.
The activist had earlier said that it was a “conspiracy” by Maharashtra Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to “stop Marathas from progressing”. He had made the comment on the delay in the passing of the Maratha Reservation Bill.
The Maratha quota issue has claimed three lives in Beed district. In the latest incident, a man allegedly died by suicide by jumping into a water tank on October 28.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated their support for the Maratha community, assuring them that the state government will give them their rights.
On Monday, Fadnavis told ANI that the Maharashtra government would make a “permanent decision” regarding the Maratha quotas soon, echoing Shinde’s remarks a day before that the community would be granted rights and their problems would be resolved.
Shinde said on Monday that a three-member panel of experts would be set up to advise the Maharashtra government, led by the Chief Minister’s Shiv Sena faction and BJP, on submission of a proposed curative plea to the Supreme Court pertaining to the Maratha reservation matter, news agency PTI reported.
-PTI
