The protest over Maratha reservation escalated after an audio clip of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Prakash Solanke went viral in which he purportedly made comments that triggered the protesters.
The ongoing agitation seeking reservation for the Maratha community in Maharashtra turned violent on Monday as agitators attacked houses and offices associated with the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
A mob set the house of NCP MLA Prakash Solanke in Beed on fire. He is an MLA from Majalgaon seat and belongs to the NCP faction of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who split the party earlier this year to join the state's ruling coalition of BJP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction.
Visuals of the house show a huge fire throwing plumes of smoke into the sky. Solanke later said that he was inside the house when it came under attack, but he and his family and staff were safe at the moment.
Later in the day, visuals of a fire set by a mob at the NCP office in Beed also surfaced.
ANI further reported that the agitators also set fire to the houses of NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar and former state minister Jay Kshirsagar.
The immediate trigger for the violence appears to be an audio of Solanke in which he purportedly mocked the ongoing Maratha reservation agitation.
The day's violence appears to be the most serious escalation of the ongoing stir for Maratha reservation. After a break over assurance by the Shinde-led Maharashtra government, Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil resumed his hunger strike against last week. The audio that's being circulated widely appears to show Solanke speaking dismissively about Jarange-Patil.
"The issue [reservation protest] has become a child's game. The person [Jarange-Patil] who has not even contested a gram panchayat election has become a smart person today," said Solanke purportedly in the audio, according to NDTV.
The Indian Express reported that government and BJP offices have also been attacked by agitators.
"Maratha activists also vandalised BJP MLA Prashant Bamb’s office in Sambhaji Nagar district’s Gangapur area on Monday afternoon. A mob also set the office of the Majalgaon Nagar Parishad on fire and pelted stones at police vehicles. The protesters have called for a shutdown of the local market," said the report.