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Will restart hunger strike if Maratha quota demand not met by Wed: Activist
He also called upon people from the community to not let leaders of any political party enter any village till the demand is met.
Maratha rights activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Sunday said he will restart his indefinite hunger strike at Antarwali Sarathi village in Maharashtra’s Jalna district from Wednesday if the state government does not allow reservations for the Maratha community by then.
He also called upon people from the community to not let leaders of any political party enter any village till the demand is met. Community leaders will also start relay hunger strikes from October 25 at zilla parishads (district councils) to press for their demand to include Marathas in the state’s Other Backward Classes list, he said.
“If the state government fails to take a decision on Maratha reservation, then on October 25 I will again sit on an indefinite hunger strike to give justice to my community,” Jarange-Patil said, ratcheting up the agitation for Maratha reservations ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.
READ | Maratha quota: Jarange-Patil warns state govt to act on assurance before deadline ends on October 24
“Not a single politician from Maharashtra will be allowed to enter our villages until the reservation issue is resolved. Come to our village only after giving reservation,” he said. “I request the community not to resort to violence. We will not support it. We will push them out peacefully.”
Marathas are a politically significant community comprising around 32% of Maharashtra’s population. The demand for reservations poses a challenge to the three party coalition government in the state.
Responding to Sunday’s announcement, chief minister Eknath Shinde said his government was committed to provide reservation to the Maratha community that will stand in the court of law. “The state government is making all the efforts to provide reservation to the community,” Shine said in a statement issued by the chief minister’s office.
“We have submitted a curative petition that was accepted by the apex court on October 13,” he said in the statement. “It is a comforting development; we will put our side effectively.”
READ | We want inclusion in OBCs as their current quota is excessive: Jarange Patil
Over 500 villages have banned entry of politicians. With the latest development, the number is likely to increase.
This is the second time Jarange-Patil will go on an indefinite hunger strike. Last month, he went on a 17-day hunger strike, but called it off on September 14 in the presence of Shinde and other ministers after they sought 30 days to resolve the issue. Jarange-Patil gave the government 40 days to fulfil the demand for reservation.
The state government has formed a committee under retired judge Sandeep Shinde on September 7 to decide the methodology to issue Kunbi certificates to community members. The committee is yet to submit its report to the state government. Kunbis are a subcaste of Marathas; they are entitled to reservation under the OBC category.
The demand for quotas by Marathas is decades old, but in 2018, the state government granted 16% reservation in the face of widespread protests. It was slashed to 13% in jobs and 12% in education by the Bombay high court. In 2021, the Supreme Court quashed the move.
In the backdrop of suicides by a few Maratha youth demanding reservation, Jarange-Patil also requested the community not to take any extreme step. “No one should commit suicide as I need all of you,” he said. “I’m ready to risk my life as we need to get justice for the community that has been facing injustice for a long time now.”
Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said there is no need to divide the Maratha community over upper and backward subcastes. “If the community is coming together in such a large number, then discussing subcaste and creating hurdles in the way of their demands would be inappropriate,” the veteran opposition leader said.
He was reacting to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narayan Rane’s remarks, in which the latter said that the Marathas would not take Kumbi certificates.
Former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan questioned the timing of a government advertisement published in newspapers which mentioned the implementation of 10% reservation for economically weaker sections and other benefits provided to the Maratha community.
“It is an unfortunate advertisement. Is the government indicating the Marathas to focus on getting reservation under the EWS category?” he asked.
Jarange-Patil, too, criticized the government over the advertisement. “It is not accepted. Who has asked the government to calculate what has been spent on our community? Did they do the same with other communities?” he said, questioning the move.
