Leaders of 32 parties on Wednesday backed the reservation for the Maratha community as per the procedure while pledging to work for it jointly. “It needs to be completed at the earliest, but it will need adequate time and it needs to be taken into account,” said a resolution the 32 leaders signed at an all-party meeting.

The meeting was called against the backdrop of violent protests for quota for all Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. The resolution said the violence has given a bad name to the agitation while expressing dismay over it. It appealed protesters against taking law into their hands and the activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who has been on a hunger strike to press for the demand, to cooperate. The leaders asked him to call off his strike.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde, who chaired the meeting, asked the community to give the government more time. “The agitation has taken a new turn that has led to a sense of insecurity among the people.We appeal Maratha community and Jarange-Patil to cooperate with the government.”

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was among those who attended the meeting, where the leaders endorsed the government’s stand and action against those involved in the violence.

Jarange-Patil said he was ready to talk but the government should come with the firm assurance. “They should tell us what type of reservation they will give us and in how many days?”

HT on Wednesday reported the government was unlikely to accept Jarange-Patil’s demands to include all Marathas under the OBC category even as the it has finalised measures to pacify the community.