Accusing state minister and Maratha quota sub-committee chairman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of betraying the community through sweet-talk and assurances alone, he warned of taking his ongoing agitation to Mumbai after September 12 if his demands are not met till then.
Jarange has been agitating in Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district to demand reservation for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. He has also been seeking implementation of the Hyderabad and Satara Gazette records and issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to eligible members of the Maratha community.
As Jarange’s health condition deteriorated on Wednesday doctors administered intravenous fluids to him around 11.30 am.
A meeting of a high-powered committee related to Kunbi certificates and Maratha reservation records was held in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar during the day. After the meeting, state minister Uday Samant claimed the rate of rejection in giving Kunbi certificates in the Marathwada region was merely 0.3 per cent.
Talking to reporters while undergoing treatment at the protest site, Jarange alleged, “Eknath Shinde wants members of the Maratha community to fight among themselves…But he should not commit the sin of making Marathas fight against Marathas. Otherwise, he alone will be responsible for everything.” “They want riots and you will see that it will happen during this agitation. If Samant says that the sin of fomenting riots will not be committed, then what happened here earlier when people were drenched in blood?” he asked.
Referring to a meeting held by Samant and BJP MLC Prasad Lad, Jarange said the government was merely holding meetings and claiming that his demands had been addressed.”Vikhe Patil also betrayed us through sweet-talk for almost a year. Then these people (Samant and Lad) came. Now they started giving assurances like it will be done tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,” he added.
Rejecting alleged threats from political leaders, Jarange said the agitation would not be withdrawn under pressure.
“Some leaders are threatening us through muscle power. We are ready to die for the Marathas. We will not be afraid of anyone’s pressure. There is no question of withdrawing from the agitation…The government and the Maratha community are standing face-to-face. The rulers have been using the issue for their own political benefit,” he alleged.
”But even if all the ministers unite, even if they think they have money power and goons, they cannot do anything to the Maratha community. Every MLA keeps goons, but the youth from the Maratha community will teach them a lesson,” he warned.
The agitation would not be withdrawn under pressure, Jarange said.
He claimed that the meeting held in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was part of a “conspiracy” to derail the Maratha agitation.
“Only plans and conspiracies to weaken our agitation were made at the Sambhajinagar meeting. You have completely failed. Make it clear once and for all that this government cannot give justice,” Jarange said.
Stating that he agreed to undergo treatment after Samant and Lad made an appeal to him, the quota agitation leader maintained that he would not end his hunger strike until a concrete decision was taken on the demands of the Maratha community.
“I have been demanding issuance of caste certificates for the last two months. I was told that the cancelled certificates would be accepted. What happened to that assurance? What happened to the implementation of the Gazette?” he asked.
On the future course of the action, Jarange said the government had time till September 12 to resolve the issue.
“We are giving the government time until September 12. If the government does not resolve the issue within this period, the route for us to come to Mumbai will be completely open after September 12. We will come to Mumbai peacefully and will secure our rights,” he said.
