Fadnavis' aide meets Jarange, asks him to postpone quota protest

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' OSD met Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange in Jalna on Tuesday and urged him to postpone his agitation proposed in Mumbai from Friday in view of the Ganpati festival.

Jarange has given the Maharashtra government an ultimatum till Tuesday (August 26) to grant a 10 per cent quota to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) grouping, or face the wrath of protesters.

The Maratha leader has said the march to Mumbai will commence on August 27, Ganesh Chaturthi, if the government fails to accept the quota demand. He will sit on an indefinite hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on August 29.

The CM's Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Rajendra Sable Patil, met Jarange at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on Tuesday.

Asked about the meeting, the OSD told reporters, "I earlier spoke to Manoj Jarange over phone. I came to meet him today and asked him about the route he is taking to reach Mumbai." "I requested Manoj Jarange if he can postpone the agitation as there is Ganeshotsav (starting from Wednesday)," he added.

The state government last year announced 10 per cent reservation for the Maratha community under a separate category.

Jarange has been leading the campaign demanding that all Marathas be recognised as Kunbis — an agrarian caste included in the OBC category — thereby making them eligible for reservation in education and government jobs.

The activist on Tuesday said the government should announce quota for the community today, or else he will start the march for Mumbai from Wednesday.

He also said they have asked the government to allot them one dedicated route to reach the Azad Maidan in Mumbai and added that they will not change it.

"We have heard the government's requests (over the quota issue) for two years. For how long should can we keep discussing? I asked the CM four months back to give us reservation. The government should give us the quota today or we shall leave for Mumbai peacefully tomorrow," Jarange said.

The activist has stressed on the community's demand for the implementation of historical records, including the Bombay, Satara and Hyderabad gazettes, which he claims establish the Marathas' Kunbi identity.

The Justice Shinde committee (formed to study records of Kunbis) has found 58 lakh records, Jarange said.

"The gazettes have been studied for 13 months. We have cooperated with the government till now in every request they made to us. So, the Maratha community people should now come out of their homes and leave for Mumbai," he added.