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This is an archive article published on November 1, 2023

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil to Shinde: ‘Why does the government need more time and for what?’

After CM Shinde’s appeal, Manoj Jarange-Patil said he was not interested in the details of the all-party meeting

Manoj Jarange-patil PuneJarange-Patil said he has been inviting the government for a discussion for the last four days, but it is not bothered. (PTI)
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Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil to Shinde: ‘Why does the government need more time and for what?’
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After Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday sought time for providing reservation to the Maratha community, quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil accused the government and political leaders of taking things lightly.

Shinde had sought time at the all-party meeting during which a resolution was unanimously passed saying all parties had agreed to give reservation to Marathas. All political parties also appealed to Jarange-Patil to withdraw his fast-unto-death.

While speaking to reporters at Antwarwali-Saraati village in Jalna district, Jarange-Patil said, “The government is seeking time… I have been fasting for the past 8 days and now the government says it wants more time. Why does it need time and for what? The government should specify.”

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Jarange-Patil said he was not interested in the details of the all-party meeting. “The children of the poor have to suffer injustice but these leaders are taking things lightly. Should we call them a government which cares for the people,” he said.

Jarange-Patil said he has been inviting the government for a discussion for the last four days, but it is not bothered. “But they are habitual at needling… Marathas are losing patience. They have a temper… If you want time for reservation, then hold the discussion until I am in a position to speak. Tell us how much time you want,” he said.

Asking Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, whom he had criticised on Tuesday, Jarange-Patil said he should come and hold a discussion. “No one will stop him on the road if he visits Antarwali-Saraati village for discussion. Our Marathas will provide you protection…”’

Warning he would stop drinking water from this evening, Jarange-Patil said, “I will see how the government does not provide reservation”.

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.     Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More


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