Maratha quota: Manoj Jarange Patil ends fast, warns of ‘choking Mumbai’ if no quota by January 2
Before breaking his fast, the activist issued a warning that he would “choke Mumbai” if the government fails to provide reservation to all Marathas in two months.
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Manoj Jarange Patil at the protest site in Antarwali-Sarati village in Maharashtra’s Jalna district. (ANI/File) Nine days after Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil began his fast-unto-death demanding reservation to the community under Kunbi (OBC) category, he withdrew his hunger strike, after agreeing to give time till January 2 to the government to complete the procedural requirements and meet his demands.
Before breaking his fast, the activist issued a warning that he would “choke Mumbai” if the government fails to provide reservation to all Marathas in two months.
The agitation had turned violent over the past week in various parts of the state with protesters resorting to torching of houses of MLAs and vandalising government properties. On Thursday, it was also decided that cases during the violence in Jalna district will be withdrawn in 15 days and those in the rest of the state will be withdrawn in a month.
The decision to break fast followed Patil’s two-hour meeting with a delegation of four state ministers — Dhananjay Munde, Uday Samant, Sandipan Bhumre and Atul Save — and two retired judges Justice Maroti Gaikwad and Sunil Shukre who went to the protest site in Antarwali-Sarati village in Jalna district. Independent MLA Bachchu Kadu, also a Maratha leader, who had been camping in Jarange’s village since Wednesday, was also trying to convince Patil. Kadu had gone there as the emissary of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
“This is not over and the agitation will not stop. Only fast-unto-death has been called off. We had given 50 days to the government earlier and can give additional two months… It has been agreed today that going forward, not just Marathas from Marathwada but any Maratha from the state will be provided with Kunbi certificate, if they produce the required documents,” said Patil.
In October, the Maharashtra government had formed a committee headed by Justice (Retired) Sandeep Shinde to decide on the procedure to grant Kunbi (OBC) certificate to Marathas. The committee, which around 1.7 crore records and approved more than 13,000 records for offering Kunbi status, submitted its first report last week. The government has been seeking more time to complete the remaining work. With Thursday’s development, the committee has two more months to complete the formalities.
Warning the ministers who had come to convince him, Patil said, “If the government fails to fulfil the promise by January 2, we will choke Mumbai beginning January 3. There will be economical, industrial blockage. No one will be allowed to come outside of their homes. Marathas from across the state will march to Mumbai…”
Earlier, retired Justice Gaikwad, who also headed the Backward Class Commission and based on whose report reservation to Marathas was extended in 2018, and Shukre held a discussion with Patil in the open, in the presence of other protesters.
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