Government playing games by extending protest permission, grant quota instead: Jarange

Mumbai, Aug 29 (PTI) Activist Manoj Jarange on Friday evening slammed the Maharashtra government for extending the permission for his hunger strike for Maratha reservation for a day, and warned that Marathas from all over the state will come to Mumbai if the quota demand was not conceded quickly.

He would stop taking water in the next two days, he said, vowing to continue his fast.

Jarange, who started his indefinite fast in the morning, was speaking to reporters after the police extended the permission granted to him and his associates for the protest at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai for just one day.

"Instead of playing these games of giving one-day extension, announce reservations, and the poor Marathas will bless you forever. You have the opportunity to win the hearts of the poor Marathas,'' the 43-year-old activist said.

"If you take time to take a decision (on the announcement of reservation), more and more Marathas will come to Mumbai. If the government wants to destroy Marathas, why did it initiate dialogue," Jarange further said.

The activist also accused the government of trying to divide the Marathas and OBCs. "We have never said that you should reduce the OBC quota and give it to us. We are asking for what is our right.....This is our final fight. I will stop taking water in the next two days if there is a delay,'' he said.

He also accused the administration of locking public toilets near the Azad Maidan, and closing tea and snacks shops for the protestors.

He had asked his supporters to clear the streets and park their vehicles at designated places, yet the government was treating these "guests" by depriving them of water and food, he alleged.

''When you come to our place, Marathas will treat you in the same manner. This government is worse than the British rulers. Do not ill-treat the Maratha youth, they are harmless. They are the children of the poor and have come here suffering a lot of pain and hardship,'' he said.

"I am ready to sacrifice my life. When you come to our place for your political meetings and rallies, you will also face the same treatment,'' Jarange added.

He appealed his supporters to park their vehicles safely at authorised parking places in the city and then return to the Azad Maidan by local trains.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), the headquarters of the Central Railway, is a stone's throw from the protest site. There was heavy police deployment around both the places.

"If you do not give us parking places, then our vehicles will be parked on the roads,'' Jarange said, demanding that open spaces near the Azad Maidan should be opened for parking.

"Doesn't Mumbai belong to us? You say Mumbai is the financial capital of India and we have disrupted its life. Don't you think poor Marathas should also be economically empowered,'' he said.

The protestors should cook their food themselves and eat inside their vehicles, the activist said.

Earlier in the morning, the activist received a rousing welcome from thousands of supporters, sporting saffron caps, scarves and flags, after he reached the protest venue around 9.45 am.

“I will not go back until our demands are met. Even if I am shot dead, I will not retreat,” said Jarange in his address to his supporters.

Starting his fast at 10 am, he repeatedly urged his supporters to protest peacefully and not inconvenience Mumbaikars.

Jarange has been demanding a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. He wants all Marathas to be recognised as Kunbis – an agrarian caste included in the OBC category – which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.

Accompanied by hundreds of vehicles, Jarange, who began his march from his village Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district on Wednesday, was welcomed at Vashi by supporters as he entered Mumbai early in the morning. He then proceeded to the Azad Maidan. PTI MR DC KK ND VT KRK