Nagpur: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday alleged that the state govt wants to “kill” Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, saying it had used his agitation for electoral gains and then abandoned him.Raut’s charge came after minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said a day earlier that no govt delegation would meet Jarange, who is on a hunger strike. “That means they want to kill Manoj Jarange,” Raut said.“His fight, his struggle, has become a noose around his own neck. His usefulness to them is over. The govt used his hunger strike for its own benefit during the elections, and now they have abandoned him.”Raut said Jarange’s health had visibly worsened. “Today is the ninth or tenth day, and I saw today that his health has deteriorated. This is extremely inhuman,” he said, demanding that a senior govt figure at least go and speak to him.Raut widened the demand beyond Jarange’s fast, calling for a broader resolution to the state’s caste-quota disputes. “Whether it is the OBC issue or the Maratha community’s issue, CM Devendra Fadnavis should call together the heads of all parties in the state, talk to them, and find a way out of this,” he said.Over the ongoing controversy over banning Muslims at garba events, Raut welcomed the statement by CM Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta, who said everyone should be allowed. Earlier BJP’s Nitesh Rane had backed a demand by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) that Muslims not be allowed to participate in garba and dandiya events. He alleged that instances of love jihad occurred through garba gatherings and said Muslims wishing to join Hindu festivities should meet certain conditions, including reciting the Hanuman Chalisa at some places.On Tuesday in Chandrapur, Amruta Fadnavis said, “I think our festival is one that includes everyone. If a Muslim person also comes there and quietly enjoys the garba, I do not see anything wrong in that,” she said.Raut said he welcomed Fadnavis’ stance but this needs to be taken further. “Very happy that Amruta ji feels like this. I request that she speaks with her husband to counsel those in BJP who are neo-Hindutvawadis,” said Raut.Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar took a more measured view of Jarange’s conduct, even as he faulted govt’s record. “Nothing in this country or state is bigger than what the Constitution provides. If someone demands something beyond it, the govt should not grant it; that is the govt’s call to make,” he said, adding, “I think everyone has erred somewhere here.”“Perhaps Jarange is demanding something beyond what is permissible, and the govt feels it isn’t fully possible,” Wadettiwar said. “But what has the govt done for OBCs until now, how much have they actually given them?”Wadettiwar also recalled how govt had previously treated Jarange, compared to now. “The way the govt used to bow before him, and he used to make them bend, cutting them down to size, it was embarrassing even to watch, as if they were rulers or slaves,” he said.
