Maratha quota protest: Maharashtra govt delegation to meet Jarange at Shivneri

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday stepped up its efforts to reach out to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, lining up a ministerial delegation to meet him at Shivneri.

Jarange set out for Mumbai in the morning as he remained firm on launching his agitation from August 29 in the Maharashtra capital.

The activist told reporters that he had received a phone call from cabinet sub-committee head and state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil informing him that a government team would reach Shivneri in Pune district for discussions.

“The delegation sent by Vikhe Patil will be coming to Shivneri. The government has shown willingness to hold discussions, but our stand on the Mumbai agitation remains unchanged,” Jarange told reporters.

Meanwhile, 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 Shinde committee on Maratha quota has been granted a six-month extension, a demand Jarange had made earlier. “The sub-committee accepted this demand in its very first meeting,” Vikhe Patil said.

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.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and ruling coalition head BJP on Tuesday had urged Jarange to reconsider the timing of his proposed strike in view of the Ganeshotsav beginning on August 27.

However, the activist announced that he would launch a fresh round of indefinite hunger strike for Maratha reservation at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from August 29.