‘I was inside,’ says NCP MLA Prakash Solanke after Martha agitators set his home on fire in Beed

Maratha reservation latest news: Maratha reservation agitators set the home of NCP MLA Prakash Solanke on fire in Beed on Friday. Huge plume of smoke was seen after the attack. News agency ANI posted the video of the residence on fire. In his first reaction after the attack, Solanke confirmed that he was at his home when the arson attack took place. No one has been injured in the attack, Solanke further added.

“We are all safe but there is a huge loss of property due to fire,” the NCP lawmaker was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the agitation is going in the wrong direction. He also said that Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil ‘should take note of this’. Before setting his home on fire, the Maratha agitators also pelted stones, a PTI report said.

A PTI report said that a group of people also set ablaze a car parked at the residence of Solanke located in Majalgaon after an audio clip of the MLA in which he purportedly spoke about the Maratha quota agitation and made a veiled comment on the fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange went viral. In the audio clip, Solanke was purportedly heard saying that “the issue (the demand for reservation and the ultimatum of 40 days given to the government for its implementation by October 24) has become a child’s game.”

Jarange Patil has been on an indefinite fast since October 25. Last month, Maharashtra witnessed widespread protests by Maratha agitators with Jalna being worst-hit. Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation had said that it suffered a loss of Rs 13.25 crore due to the agitation. The state has witnessed as many as six deaths by suicide, which have been linked to the Maratha agitation.

The Maharashtra government’s stated position is that it is committed to granting reservation to the Maratha community which stands legal scrutiny.