India, July 29 -- Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the state home department to issue orders to withdraw the cases registered against protestors in Maharashtra who supported the recent agitation led by the Cockroach Janta Party's demand for the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, issued the directive on Tuesday, a day after Bihar and Assam announced the withdrawal of similar cases. Close on the heels of the chief minister's order, the state home department held a meeting to discuss the withdrawal of cases but, according to a home department official, the exercise may be more complicated than it appears.

While the chief minister's announcement sounds reassu...