Lathicharge on protesters at Antarwali Sarati was blot on agitation: Jarange

Pune, Jan 31 (PTI) Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday said the lathicharge by police on his supporters at Antarwali Sarati village last September was a "blot" on the quota agitation.

Speaking at the Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ) here, Jarange warned that he would launch a fresh hunger strike from February 10 if the Maharashtra government did not implement its notification about the grant of Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas.

Asked whether the lathicharge by police on September 1, 2023, at Antarwali Sarati, his native village in Jalna district, was a "turning point" in the agitation that made it bigger, Jarange said he did not think so.

"We can not call it a turning point as we did not want reservation at the cost of bruises suffered by our mothers and sisters. Only we know what kind of physical assault took place, how bullets were fired, how the heads of our mothers and sisters were broken. Several persons got stitches, some are still suffering from complications. They all were agitating peacefully, carrying small children with them," he said.

A couple of days before the lathicharge, the superintendent of police had visited the protest venue and appreciated that Jarange appealed to more than two lakh agitators to return home, he said. "What prompted the police to come in large numbers (two days later) and unleash assault on peaceful agitators," he asked.

He did not support the attacks on the houses of elected representatives, Jarange said, adding, "those who were involved in such incidents were not real agitators." Responding to state cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbals's remark that the Marathas have got a backdoor entry into the OBC quota thanks to the state government's recent notification, Jarange said this was not true.

Records showing Marathas as belonging to the Kunbi caste have existed for 70 years, and now through these records, Marathas were getting reservation benefits under the OBC category, he said.

"How can anybody call it a backdoor entry? This was our right," the activist said.

"A total of 57 lakh records establishing Marathas as belonging to the Kunbi caste have been found. They all should get the certificates. Implementation of 'sage soyare' (a clause dealing with blood relatives of such Marathas) is also important as a large number of Marathas will come under the OBC category (through this clause)," he added. PTI SPK KRK