Maratha quota issue: two Eknath Shinde loyalists resign as MPs
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Mumbai: Two Members of Parliament from Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, known for their allegiance to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, have tendered their resignations in support of the Maratha reservation demand.
Hemant Patil, the MP for Hingoli, submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha secretariat in New Delhi, while Hemant Godse, representing Nashik, sent his resignation letter directly to Chief Minister Shinde.
Hemant Patil shared that due to the absence of the Lok Sabha Speaker in his office, he submitted his resignation letter to the office secretary in New Delhi, receiving an acknowledgment.
He made this decision when he was confronted by agitators in Yavatmal, who demanded clarity on his stance regarding the reservation demand. In response, Patil drafted his resignation letter on the spot and handed it over to the agitators.
In a response to a remark by NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) working president Supriya Sule, who suggested that his resignation was a political stunt, Patil stated, "I am not born into the Nehru-Gandhi family, where two or three generations have held power. They would have taken the initiative to grant a quota."
He further urged leaders to resign if they genuinely cared about the Maratha community, emphasising that the community had seen several leaders rise to the position of chief minister without substantial progress on the reservation issue.
In Nashik, Shiv Sena MP Hemant Godse composed his resignation letter in response to Maratha protesters on a fast who sought clarification on his stance regarding the reservation. He then sent the resignation letter to Chief Minister Shinde, appealing for swift action on providing reservation to the Maratha community.
Godse's letter conveyed his understanding of the Maratha community's prolonged struggle for reservation and the government's previous challenges in achieving this goal.
He noted the deteriorating health of Manoj Jarange, a Jalna-based quota activist on an indefinite fast for reservation, and expressed his decision to resign as a Member of Parliament in light of the strong sentiments within the Maratha community.