Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who is on his second day of protest, has called for cancellation of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s event in Parbhani. He also launched an attack at Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Jadhav.
Addressing reporters in Parbhani on the second day of his protest, Jarange criticised Jadhav for going ahead with the event despite being asked to cancel it, news agency ANI reported.
“He has been chosen to work for the Marathi people. Keep this in mind. You were asked to cancel the event, but you did not do so. This is your biggest mistake. Your existence was not to hold programs, but to take care of the Maratha community. Now your politics have become obsolete. I am asking Eknath Shinde to cancel the program, or we will answer back,” he said.
11th indefinite hunger strike
Jarange, who launched his 11th indefinite fast on Saturday, has also demanded a total scrapping of caste validity scrutiny committees. This new demand has immediately drawn staunch opposition from Other Backward Classes (OBC) leaders and legal experts across Maharashtra.
This demand comes after Jarange alleged that these committees act as corrupt hurdles in obtaining OBC certificates, claiming that they demand bribes while ignoring legitimate documentation.
Adding that issuing authorities like tehsildars and sub-divisional officers are already fully competent, he argued that two-tier verification is entirely uncalled-for and vowed to continue his protest until these committees are abolished.
What are his core demands?
Earlier this month, Jarange held a meeting with experts and researchers to chalk out a strategy for the Maratha reservation agitation scheduled for August 29 in Maharashtra’s Jalna district, news agency PTI reported.
The meeting focused on the Hyderabad Gazetteer, the government resolution concerning concessions for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and other issues related to the Maratha community.
His core demand includes that eligible Marathas be recognised as Kunbis, an agrarian community that enjoys reservation benefits in education and government jobs under the Other Backward Class category.
He stressed that the government must recognise all Marathas as Kunbis, warning that he would march to Mumbai and intensify the agitation if it failed to do so. He also said the Maratha community’s core committee would meet in Antarwali Sarati on September 12 to decide whether to stage a hunger strike in Mumbai.
“The Maharashtra government should declare all Marathas as Kunbi,” the activist told reporters on the second day of his agitation, according to PTI.
“If the government accepts our demands by September 12, there will be no need to hold the proposed fast in Mumbai,” the activist said.
Jarange also called on the state government to issue reservation based on the Satara Gazette, withdraw all police cases registered against quota protesters across Maharashtra, and provide government jobs and financial compensation to the families of those who died during the previous agitations.
He further demanded for the creation of a dedicated state portfolio for the Maratha and Kunbi communities with immediate staff appointments, disbursal of interest on loans extended through the Annasaheb Patil Arthik Vikas Mahamandal, the release of pending SARTHI student scholarships, and the immediate issuance of appointment letters to candidates selected under the SEBC and EBC quotas.
(With inputs from agencies)
