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Maratha Kranti Morcha: Now, Maratha protestors to boycott paying taxes

Upping the ante against the state government, leaders of Maratha groups said the community would boycott payment of taxes till their demand for quotas was implemented. A meeting in Latur on Sunday, which was attended by coordinators from 22 districts, resolved that members of the community will blockade all main roads with their families, livestock and vehicles on August 9.

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Upping the ante against the state government, leaders of Maratha groups said the community would boycott payment of taxes till their demand for quotas was implemented. A meeting in Latur on Sunday, which was attended by coordinators from 22 districts, resolved that members of the community will blockade all main roads with their families, livestock and vehicles on August 9.

 This blockade will be preceded by a sit-in protest from August 1 at all government offices and those of members of Parliament and the legislature. The meeting resolved that no negotiations would be conducted with the state government.

“Till the time reservations for Marathas are implemented, we will launch non-cooperation with the government. Marathas will not pay any taxes like for instance, property tax,” said Shantaram Kunjir of the Sambhaji Brigade, who attended the meeting. Sanjiv Bhor Patil of Shiv Prahar said this “non-cooperation” would cover non-payment of the entire gamut of taxes, including income tax and agricultural cess. Kunjir said since the community was united, the government would not act against them.

 “On August 9’s Maratha Kranti Jan Andolan, Maratha community members, with their families, cattle, implements and vehicles like bullock carts and tractors, will blockade the main road near their villages. This is a protest to show our numbers and we do not want it to take a violent turn. It is also the responsibility of the state government to ensure that there is no flare up or provocation,” he added.

Kunjir charged the police had lodged cases under harsh sections of the law against Maratha protestors and demanded that they be withdrawn unconditionally. Though chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday that this would be done, Kunjir added that the amnesty would cover minor cases when the police had booked agitators under charges like attempt to murder and assaulting public servants. “We want a blanket amnesty... in Navi Mumbai, police booked even those activists of the Maratha Kranti Morcha who were not part of the protests,” he alleged.

The meeting demanded the state government pay a Rs 50 lakh compensation and grant a government job to the kin of Kakasaheb Shinde and Rohan Todkar who lost their lives in the agitation. A special investigation team under a retired high court judge has been sought to probe their deaths.

 “The Maratha Kranti Morchas (organised in 2016 and 2017) saw a turn out of lakhs. They saw a charter of demands being presented. We are demanding that these, which include fast-tracking the execution of the death sentence for the three convicts in the Kopardi gang rape, amending the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, to stop its misuse, complete loan waiver for farmers and ensuring that the statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai is the tallest in the world, be implemented,” said Bhor.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis and former chief minister-turned-BJP ally Narayan Rane met a Maratha community delegation on Sunday. Fadnavis said they would withdraw cases against “innocent” protestors except those who had attacked the police. The government would ensure there was no injustice against Maratha youth in the recruitment to 72,000 state government posts. Fadnavis said they were investigating complaints on “other elements infiltrating” the protests.

However, Kunjir and Bhor said the Latur meeting had disowned and condemned the delegation.

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