All the political parties of Maharashtra on Wednesday decided to offer reservation to the Maratha community without disturbing the existing arrangement for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes.

The parties also appreciated the state government’s stand that enough time should be given to prepare a legally viable scheme and asked the protesters to call off the agitation and maintain peace. The agitation, led by Manoj Jarange Patil, has not been called off.

After the all-party meeting, chief minister Eknath Shinde said: “Everybody agrees that the Maratha community should get reservation.... It was decided the reservation should be within the framework of the law and without doing injustice to other communities.”

He added: “Time should be given for this; everyone supports this. Whatever unfortunate incidents are happening, everyone has expressed displeasure about them.... A committee has been formed of three retired judges.... The Backward Class Commission is working on a war footing. Soon, decisions will be taken to give justice to the Maratha community.... There is a need to give time, and the Maratha community too should keep patience…"

Though all the parties were on board, a resolution of the crisis is not easy as the Supreme Court has already dismissed the demand as illegal. The Shinde government itself is unstable and much will depend on how the BJP’s central leadership sees the matter. The immediate purpose is to restore normality as the protests have taken a violent turn.

Shinde also requested the protesters to maintain peace and cooperate with the government. The all-party meeting was attended by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan, ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Chandrakantdada Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Valse Patil, Girish Mahajan, Dadaji Bhuse, leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and others.