Jarange-Patil refuses to be pacified, threatens another hunger fast from February 10

Speaking at Raigad, which was the capital of the Maratha warrior-king Chhatrapati Shivaji, Manoj Jarange-Patil further gunned for reservation to be given to Muslims and to the Dhangar community.

Unwilling to let the Maharashtra government off the hook, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Tuesday announced yet another indefinite hunger fast from February 10 onwards if the Maratha community members were not granted other backward class (OBC) Kunbi caste certificates as promised.

Speaking at Raigad, which was the capital of the Maratha warrior-king Chhatrapati Shivaji, Mr. Jarange-Patil further gunned for reservation to be given to Muslims and to the Dhangar community.

Last week, after CM Eknath Shinde met with the activist in Navi Mumbai and persuaded him to call off his protest by assenting to all his demands, the Maharashtra government issued a draft notification which stated that the blood relatives of a Maratha person, who had obtained records to prove that he belonged to the agrarian Kunbi community, would also be recognised as such. As per the activist’s demands, this would enable the relatives of that person to avail of reservation benefits currently enjoyed by the Kunbi OBCs.

“I have said time and again that the quota law must be made applicable to blood relatives as not enough proofs are being found in the Marathwada region. If the government does not speedily implement the promise made in its ordinance or if it succumbs to the pressure of some people, I will go on a hunger fast again. Hence, I am announcing an indefinite hunger strike from February 10 from the footsteps of Raigad itself,” Mr. Jarange-Patil said.

He stressed he had not stopped the quota agitation and warned he would not do so until every Maratha had secured reservation.

“The government must implement its promises in the next 10 days,” he said.

Mr. Jarange-Patil also hinted at taking up the cudgels to fight for reservation benefits for the Muslim and Dhangar communities.