Jarange-Patil prepones march, to start Mumbai hunger strike from January 26

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil has advanced his march to Mumbai by four days to demand reservation for his community in government jobs and education.

MUMBAI: Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, in pursuance of reservation for his community, has decided to advance his march to Mumbai by four days. Whereas earlier he had announced that he would leave Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna on January 24, the new plan is to leave by January 20 and begin his indefinite hunger strike on January 26.

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange said he would launch an indefinite fast for quota in Mumbai on January 26. (HT PHOTO)

The Maratha activist has also decided to make the march a “hybrid” one, where the protestors accompanying him will walk as well as use vehicles in order to reach Mumbai within the specified time of seven days. For Mumbai, this means that traffic will come to a grinding halt, given that the number of people with Jarange-Patil could well be several lakhs.

The activist has been demanding reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and education. He has held several hunger strikes in the past few months while the government has been bending backwards to pacify him. After he was convinced by a government delegation comprising senior ministers and retired judges to wait till December 24, he declared that he would give the government one last chance to fulfil his demand by then. On December 26, he announced that he would begin to march to Mumbai on January 24 and embark on a fast unto death at Azad Maidan after reaching the city.

On Monday, Jarange-Patil spelled out the details of his new plan. The protestors will start their day by walking for three to four hours, and after lunch will travel in their respective vehicles for the rest of the day. The march will cover over 400 km in seven days.

On the first day, the distance covered will be 82 km from Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna to Shirur in Beed district. The protestors will reach Karanji Ghat in Ahmednagar on the second day, Ranjangaon in Pune on the third, Chandan Nagar in Pune on the fourth, Lonavala on the fifth and Panvel by the end of the sixth day. On January 26, they will start walking either from Panvel or Chembur to Azad Maidan or Shivaji Park to start their indefinite hunger strike.

Jarange-Patil proclaimed that this was the “final struggle” for Maratha reservation. “This is our final step, and all the calculations of the state government over the number of protestors participating in the protest are going to fail,” he said. “We will not move from there (Azad Maidan or Shivaji Park) till we die.”