Munde cousins should not 'mess' with me, warns Jarange

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 3 (PTI) Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Friday warned Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde and her cousin Dhananjay Munde not to “mess” with him, asserting that the Maratha community would end their political careers.

Jarange was responding to Pankaja Munde’s statement on Thursday that reservation for Marathas should not be given from the “plates” of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as members of this community are already “starving”.

“I’m warning both of them (Pankaja Munde and Dhananjay Munde). Do not listen to Chhagan Bhujbal and mess with me. No one will come to save your political careers. Be wise now; there is still time,” he said.

On September 2, the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation issued a government resolution (GR) on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer, which will allow eligible members of the Maratha community to apply for Kunbi caste certificates. This will enable the Marathas to claim quota in education and government jobs under the OBC category.

The GR was issued after Jarange staged a hunger strike in Mumbai for five days from August 29. However, the decision triggered restlessness among the OBC community leaders, including Bhujbal, who are opposing the possible inclusion of Marathas in the OBC category.

Addressing a Dussehra rally at Sawargaon Ghat in Beed district on Thursday, Pankaja Munde said, “Gopinath Munde (her late father) supported Maratha quota and we are also in favour of it. But don't take it from our plates. My community is starving today. I cannot sleep after watching the struggle of people.” NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who was present at the rally, also opposed the grant of reservation to the Maratha community from the share of OBCs.

Attacking Dhananjay Munde, who earlier quit as a minister after the arrest of his close aide Walmiki Karad over the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, Jarange said, “Those who have blood on their hands should not speak about my community.” The activist said he won’t spare even NCP head and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar because of Dhananjay Munde. “We will defeat their candidates in polls, even if they belong to the Maratha community,” said Jarange.

He said the long-pending demand of the Marathas is being resolved, but if someone challenges the GR, they won’t keep quiet.

“In that case, the Maratha community members should approach the tehsil and collector offices with a memorandum demanding the cancellation of the 1994 GR, which granted reservation to several communities under the OBC category. I will also write to the government, seeking cancellation of the 2 per cent additional quota beyond the 50 per cent ceiling,” he said.

Jarange said they will also demand that those communities that have progressed should be excluded from reservation benefits. PTI AW NR