Remaining firm on his march on Mumbai, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Thursday accused the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government of trying to play with the community, but asserted that the Marathas would not fall into any kind of trap this time.
Speaking in Jalna’s Antarwali-Sarathi village, Mr. Jarange-Patil further alleged that some Ministers in the government were reportedly “hatching a conspiracy” to stop him.
The activist stated that he, along with lakhs of members of the Maratha community, would embark from Antarwali-Sarathi to Mumbai on January 20 as the government had failed to deliver on the reservation issue. Mr. Jarange-Patil is expected to reach Mumbai on January 26, where he will continue his protest in the city’s Azad Maidan.
He reiterated that the government should immediately issue other backward class (OBC) caste certificates to 54 lakh Marathas whose proofs showing them as Kunbis had reportedly been found as per government claims.
“The government is trying to trap and fool the Maratha community. They keep sending delegations days before we announce any agitation offering us some vague solution. But the Marathas will not fall into any trap this time and we will begin our march to Mumbai on January 20 as decided earlier,” he told reporters.
The government and some ministers of trying to hatch a conspiracy against the Maratha agitation, Mr. Jarange-Patil alleged, accusing them of trying to create divisions within Maratha community.
He demanded that the government give OBC certificates within the next two days to Marathas for whom proofs showing them to be Kunbis.
Mr. Jarange-Patil said that even relatives of these beneficiaries must be given certificates without any hitches.
“If they do this in the next two days, we will go to Mumbai to congratulate the government,” he quipped.
He warned the government that it should not attempt to break the agitation by force in the manner of what it did in Antarwali Sarathi last year.
A violent fracas had erupted between the Maratha quota protestors and the police at Antarwali Sarati on September 1, 2023, after the agitators allegedly refused to let authorities shift Mr. Jarange-Patil, who was on a hunger strike, to a hospital.
The police had baton-charged and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob which led to nearly 40 police personnel being injured and more than 15 State transport buses being torched in the ensuing violence.
The activist further said that if reservation was not given, the agitation would be transformed into a nationwide protest.
Meanwhile, a government delegation led by Independent MLA Bacchu Kadu (an ally of the ruling government) met with Mr. Jarange-Patil at Antarwali Sarathi on Thursday. However, the talks proved inconclusive with the activist berating the bureaucrats for their apparent tardiness in finding proofs showing Marathas as Kunbis.
