Mumbai (The Hindu): Maratha organisations on Friday decided to organise its biggest rally in Mumbai after Diwali in November. A Shiv Sena delegation led by Industries Minister Subhash Desai also met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to demand a special session of legislature to discuss the question of Maratha reservation.

Several Maratha organisations had a meeting at Shivaji Mandir in Dadar on Friday afternoon to discuss the further direction of the mass silent protests to highlight multiple demands, including a 16 per cent reservation in education and jobs.

Rajendra Kondhare of Maratha Mahasangh told The Hindu, “A final date would be finalised at the next meeting in Aurangabad on October 9, we all agreed that we would organise the Mumbai rally after Diwali. We would also take out a morcha in Nagpur when the winter session commences. If our demand is not met by then, we will plan the Mumbai rally after that to further intensify our agitation.”

The meeting also decided to celebrate Diwali in a simple manner with each Maratha house lighting one lamp in memory of the Kopardi rape victim. “It was decided that even if we wear new clothes, we will wear a black armband to express our protest against government’s apathy to our demands,” Mr Kondhare said. At the October 9 meeting, the community will also finalise it’s final memorandum to the government.

At least five more morchas have been planned by the Maratha community, including silent protests at Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Thane, Nagpur and Mumbai.

Chief Minister Devendra on Friday was present at the Indosan-India Sanitation Conference attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district administration was awarded for its Swacch bharat initiatives.

On his return to Mumbai on Friday evening, Mr. Fadnavis met a Sena delegation led by Subhash Desai at his official residence. T he Sena submitted a memorandum urging him to call a special session to discuss the Maratha reservation issue and make amendments to the Atrocities Act. Mr. Fadnavis has announced that he was in favour of a quota for Maratha community, and urged Maratha community leaders to step forward for talks with the government.