Amid concerns, Manoj Jarange Patil backs govt resolution, assures ‘all Marathas will be in OBC category’
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil dispelled rumours that the government resolution issued on Tuesday was false, saying that if there was any issue, it would be rectified.
Maratha Kranti Morcha leader Manoj Jarange Patil ends hunger strike after accepting government proposal based on Hyderabad Gazette, with some corrections accepted, in presence of Mr. Radha Krishna Vikhe Patil, during massive rally demanding Maratha community reservation."in Mumbai. (Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)
A day after some Maratha community leaders raised concerns about the government resolution (GR) on reservations, quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil expressed confidence on Wednesday that all Marathas would be included in the OBC category. He also urged the Maratha community not to believe in rumours.
“I have little doubt that all Marathas in western Maharashtra and Marathwada will be in the OBC category. I urge the community not to harbour any such doubts. They should not believe any rumour doing the rounds,” Jarange Patil told reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, where he was admitted to a hospital after he ended his five-day hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
Supporting the GR, Jarange Patil said, “Some of our community leaders are saying that the GR is false…If it was false, why is Chhagan Bhujbal boycotting the Cabinet meeting? It means the GR is authentic. I will be meeting experts in this connection…If there is a problem with the GR, we will get a revised GR issued. The government has promised the same. There were at least 50 high court advocates who confirmed that the GR was okay.”
Jarange Patil said that those who could not find their caste records would also be taken care of. “ The issuance of a GR for such people will be difficult. Such a GR has not been issued since 1881…A three-member committee has been formed for those whose caste records have not been found,” he added.
Praising the fight put up by the Maratha community, Jarange Patil said, “Marathas put in all their might to get reservations and finally won. We had to wait for a long period of time to get justice. Marathas have finally succeeded. I credit the entire Maratha community for this success. I am only a namesake.”
Jarange Patil said he never makes decisions by himself. “Whenever decisions are taken, they are taken in consultation with 7 crore Marathas of Maharashtra,” he added.
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He also warned those trying to create confusion. “Such people were never with us. They were also with the government. We should not attach importance to them, forget them. Till I am alive, I will work for the welfare of the Maratha community. So far, 58 lakh caste records have been found, 3 crore Marathas have got reservation, and several of them are getting free education. Some people want us to lose our confidence; we should not let that happen. I just dream of the welfare of our children,” he added.
The Maratha quota activist said he has told the government that even if there is a small error while issuing the government resolution, they should get it corrected immediately. “In fact, they have already issued a revised GR when I pointed out to them…Even now, we can get it revised if Marathas raise any objection,” he said.
The activist said the government has accepted all his demands. “The government has accepted the demand for financial assistance to those who lost their lives during the agitation. It has also promised jobs to their relatives. It will withdraw all cases against Marathas who participated in the agitations. It will happen either within 15 days or one month. I will ensure that all this is done. I just want to request the community to remain patient and peaceful,” he added.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
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