Manoj Jarange leaves for Mumbai, govt delegation to meet him near Pune

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Maratha quota movement leader Manoj Jarange left for Mumbai on Wednesday to launch a fresh hunger strike, but agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune on his way to the state capital.

While the 43-year-old activist has announced that he would sit on an indefinite fast at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from August 29, police granted him permission to stage his agitation there only for a day, with the number of protesters not exceeding 5,000.

Speaking to reporters at his village Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna district, over 400 km from the state capital, Jarange assured that his supporters would protest peacefully and not disrupt the Ganesh festival.

Jarange has been demanding that all Marathas be recognised as Kunbis – an agrarian caste included in the OBC category – which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.

The activist told reporters that he received a call from state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads a cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, informing him that a government team would reach Shivneri in Pune district for discussions.

“A delegation might come for discussion at Shivneri. I will not sit in any room, the discussion will take place in the open. No matter who comes for the talks, we will secure the Maratha quota this time,” he said.

Vikhe Patil said the cabinet sub-committee, which held its first meeting on Monday, had deliberated on Jarange’s demands concerning extending reservation benefits to close relatives of the Maratha community.

He added that the Justice Shinde committee on Maratha quota has been granted a six-month extension, as Jarange had demanded earlier.

The Jalna police allowed Jarange and his supporters to proceed with their march after imposing 40 conditions, directing them to avoid any law and order situations, not to cause disruptions to the movement of vehicles and desist from avoiding “objectionable” slogans.

The BJP which heads the ruling coalition as well as Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had on Tuesday urged Jarange to postpone his agitation in view of the Ganeshotsav beginning on August 27.

“There will be attempts to provoke us, but we will continue our agitation peacefully at Azad Maidan. No matter how long it takes this time, we will ensure reservation for the Maratha community,” the activist told reporters before leaving Antarwali Sarathi in the morning.

Hundreds of supporters from Beed, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna and other districts in the Marathwada region reached the village in the morning.

Before leaving for Mumbai, Jarange addressed his supporters and attacked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, accusing him of being “anti-Hindu and anti-Maratha”. “The ball is now in the court of Fadnavis whether he gives us permission (for the protest) or not,” he said.

“Eknath Shinde is not being allowed to speak (on the Maratha reservation) issue,” he claimed.

In Mumbai, the senior inspector of Azad Maidan police station wrote a letter to the activist, granting him permission -- in response to an application -- to stage peaceful protests at Azad Maidan on August 29 between 9 am to 6 pm. At 6 pm, all protesters will have to leave the site, the letter said.

After entering Mumbai, from Wadi Bunder Junction only five vehicles of main protestors can head to Azad Maidan and the number of protestors there should not cross 5,000, it said.

The protest should not disrupt the Ganesh festival celebrations or cause traffic congestion, the letter instructed, while also warning the protesters not to incite communal hatred or hurt communal sentiments.

Children, pregnant women and senior citizens should not take part in the protests, the police said.

Ahead of Jarange’s march, a 35-year-old man in the Latur district attempted to take his life, accusing the government of delaying the Maratha reservation issue and repeatedly forcing the activist to go on hunger strikes.

Baliram Shripati Mule of Shingdi (Bu) village in Ahmedpur tehsil drank poison on Tuesday afternoon. He was taken to a private hospital in Latur.

In early 2024, the state government, then headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, enacted a law to grant 10 per cent reservation to Marathas under a separate category. However, Jarange has been insisting that his community members be given quota under the OBC category.