Sharad Pawar said that the Chief Minister should intervene in this matter to find a way out (File)
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday met the injured protesters as Maharashtra's Jalna remained tense due to the lathi charge on them over the Maratha reservation. The NCP chief also asked for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's intervention.
"I feel the Chief Minister should intervene in this matter more to find a way out," Mr Pawar said.
He further said that state president Jayant Patil and MLA Rajesh Tope informed me about the incident in detail after which we decided to come in Jalna.
"We all met the injured at the hospital. Our state president Jayant Patil and MLA Rajesh Tope informed me about the incident in detail. Rajesh Tope requested me to come here as soon as possible, this incident is very serious and if people who are affected are not consoled or taken care, then there are chances that the incident might spread across Maharashtra. Therefore, Jayant Patil and I decided to come here immediately and meet the people," he added.
"We met the injured at the hospital...While speaking to the injured they said that the situation was normal and the officials were in touch with them and everything was fine but suddenly the police force lathi-charged," Mr Pawar said.
On Friday, a clash broke out between police and protesters demanding Maratha reservation in Jalna. Police resorted to lathi charges to disperse the protesters.
Condemning the lathi charge by police on the protesters demanding reservation for the Maratha community, Congress leader Ashok Chavan said that it is "unfortunate" that the community is being defamed.
"No one is trying to understand their emotions. There is a lathi charge, tear gas, and rubber bullets are being used... The government should have sent their representatives, they should have spoken to the people, and assured them, then this could have been avoided. Suddenly, a huge police force was increased... This provoked the whole incident," Mr Chavan said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)