Jarange-Patil suspends fast, sets one-month deadline for Maratha quota demand

Pro-Maratha quota activist ends indefinite strike, gives government one-month deadline to meet community demands before elections.

Pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Thursday agreed to end his indefinite strike, six days after he started it, granting the Eknath Shinde-led government a one-month deadline to accept the community’s demands.

While ending his fast in Jalna’s Antarwali Sarati village, his native home, the activist maintained pressure on the ruling party leaders that despite giving a month’s deadline, they would go ahead with our preparations for the upcoming Assembly election.

On June 8, he started his fresh round of indefinite fast, demanding the implementation of a draft notification that recognises all blood relatives of Maratha community members as Kunbis, an agrarian group classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) community, who are eligible for quota benefits. He also called for the framing of a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas, warning that he would field candidates for all 288 Assembly seats in the State election if his demands were not met.

Mr. Jarange-Patil announced his decision to suspend the fast after State Minister and Maratha quota sub-committee member Shamburaj Desai and Shiv Sena MP-elect from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad) Sandipan Bhumre met him and discussed the issue. Earlier, State Health Minister Tanaji Sawant and Opposition leader in the legislative council Ambadad Danve also visited the activist.

“We are giving the government one month to fulfil the Maratha community’s demands. However, we will continue our preparation for the upcoming Assembly election. If the government does not grant us a reservation, we will take it ourselves,” he said while addressing the crowd at the protest site. He warned, “If the demands are not met within a month, neither opposition members nor government officials should approach us. We will defeat their candidates in the State assembly polls by naming them.”

After meeting Mr. Jarange-Patil, Mr. Desai said that a meeting would be held on Friday to discuss the issue. “Out of five months, two months passed in following the model code of conduct (for the Lok Sabha polls). We will take a positive decision on the demands of the Maratha community in a month. If additional manpower is required to expedite the work, we will do so with the permission of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde,” he said.

Mr. Danve added that it was the CM’s responsibility to fulfil the demands of the Maratha community, stating, “The government fooled the community in Vashi by handing them over the draft notification [over Mr. Jarange-Patil’s demands). If the government has brought out a notification, a decision must be taken.”