Marathas to take out bike rally from Ghatkopar to CST today

MUMBAI: As a prelude to their major morcha in Nagpur on December 14 during the winter session of the legislature, Marathas will take out a bike rally in the city, from K J

Somaiya College

in Ghatkopar to

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

, on Sunday to press for their demands. In view of the bike rally that will start at 9 am, entire

South Mumbai

is expected to come for a grinding halt.

A convener of the Maratha Kranti Morcha said more than 20,000 bikers from Mumbai and neighbouring areas will participate in the rally, the first of its kind in the city. “We expect a large number of women to participate in the silent rally. It will be from Somaiya College to CST via Sion, Matunga, Dadar, Parel and Byculla. We will not use the flyovers so that traffic is not disturbed,’’ he said.

The Marathas are demanding death sentence for the accused in the Kopardi gangrape and murder case, reservation for the community in education and employment and halt to misuse of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. “We have reasons to believe that the Devendra Fadnavis government is avoiding reservation for Marathas. A case is pending before the high court; there too, instead of submitting a specific proposal, the government sought adjournment,” he said.

A month after the gangrape and murder of a minor girl in Kopardi in Ahmadnagar district, the Marathas took out a huge procession in Aurangabad to press for their demands. Following the success of the morcha, Marathas took out rallies in major districts across the state and now plan a silent march in Nagpur on December 14. In between, a march is also on the cards in New Delhi. “We plan to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submit a memorandum to them,’’ he said.

The convener said no decision has been taken on a silent march in Mumbai. “In the recent past, we did discuss a proposal for such a march in Mumbai, but no decision was taken. We expect that before we decide the date for Mumbai march, the CM will take a decision on reservation for Marathas,’’ he said.

While the Marathas have stepped up pressure on the government, prominent dalit organisations took out a huge procession in Aurangabad on Friday to press for their demand of stringent implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Their contention is that there was lax implementation of the Act, as a result of which atrocities against dalits were on the rise.