Mumbai: Putting further pressure on the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis-led state government, the Sakal Maratha Kranti Morcha has announced a statewide hunger strike starting August 15.

The announcement regarding the hunger strike was made by the convener of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, Vinod Patil, in Aurangabad. Despite the silent morchas and agitations in past two years, Mr Fadnavis has not relented on the issue of Maratha reservation. Hence, Maratha morcha has decided to go on a hunger strike across all talukas of the state.

The outfit has also demanded a CID inquiry into a few companies in Aurangabad getting vandalised on Thursday during the statewide bandh. Mr Patil clarified that the morcha never supported violence that took place, and that the police should take action against those anti-social elements that were guilty. However, Mr Patil claimed that Maratha Morcha workers were not involved in the violence.

During the statewide bandh on August 9, agitators damaged property of more than 60 companies in the Aurangabad MIDC. The police is trying to identify the vandals from CCTV footage and video recordings, however, some agitators were seen with their faces covered.

Meanwhile, the state backward class commission will require three months’ time to analyse the data after receiving the survey reports sometime during the first week of September. So, the commission may submit its report in December. The CM has refused to grant quota before the recommendations of the backward class commission. Maratha Morcha and other organisations are not ready to withdraw their agitation till such time the backward class commission submits its report. The government now faces a fresh challenge in terms of tackling the hunger strike and other agitations.