Poor response to MKM’s call for Jail Bharo drive

Mumbai: The ongoing agitation for Maratha reservation on Wednesday failed to generate momentum for its “Jail Bharo” drive. The Maratha Kranti Morcha had given a call for the same to protest chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ remarks on agitators. However, the “sit-in” agitation in other parts of the state continued on Wednesday.

The MKM had given a call for “Jail Bharo” from August 1 to demand revoking of cases against Maratha protesters and an apology from Mr Fadnavis and revenue minister Chandrakant Patil for their controversial remarks against Maratha protesters. On Wednesday, anticipating the agitators to take to the streets, the police tightened security at places including Dadar, Azad Maidan, Mankhurd, Andheri, Borivali and others. Minor protests took place at these locations.

Meanwhile, other parts of the state witnessed intense agitation. Protesters blocked the Solapur-Pune, Latur-Nanded and Nashik-Malegaon hig-hways on Wednesday. There were protests in Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Parb-hani, Nanded and Hingoli, too.

Meanwhile, state-level coordinators of the MKM will meet on Thursday in Parali to decide on further strategy. Parali is the location where the first of the “sit-in” protests were kicked-off.