Pune/ Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Activists from Maratha and OBC communities, always at loggerheads in the state over the reservation issue, joined the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to extend their support to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
OBC activist Laxman Hake
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange and OBC activists Laxman Hake and Mahesh Sasane, staunch critics of each other, were on the same side of the agitation where they protested against police action and demanded Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET paper leak.After talks with CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday, Jarange warned against another lathi-charge against students. “If students are attacked again, we will not allow those political leaders responsible to roam in Maharashtra,” he said.He equated the police lathi-charge on protesters with the police action in Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna in 2023 when he was observing a hunger strike for Maratha reservation. ““Do not leave Jantar Mantar under any circumstances. If need arises, all Marathas will come to Delhi,” he said, assuring students that they would receive full support.Hake also met Dipke and extended his support to the protest. “Govt should have apologised to the entire country over the paper leak issue but it is so insensitive that it resorted to a lathi-charge on students. Our community will continue to support the students’ movement till their demands are accepted,” Hake said.Sasane from Pune travelled to Delhi to meet the protesters. “Students are exercising their democratic right to protest and demand the resignation of the minister. If govt tries to repeat the police action against students, our community will stand by them and we will start similar protests in the state.”
