Maratha quotas: Govt trying to cheat us, claims Jarange-Patil; Mumbai march on

Jalna (Maharashtra), Jan 18 (IANS) Toughening the stance on the Maratha reservation issue, Shivba Sanghatana leader Manoj Jarange-Patil on Thursday accused the Maharashtra government of trying to cheat the community with "last-minute promises" and reiterated that the Marathas will march to Mumbai from January 20.

Addressing media persons here, Jarange-Patil said he will start on his protest march from Jalna to Mumbai, as the government has not yet taken any final decision on the Maratha quotas issue pending since August 2023.

"Every time before we intensify our agitation, the government approaches us with different proposals trying to fool and trap the community. Some ministers are trying to dislodge our campaign, but we shall not be deterred by such tactics. Our pre-decided protest procession to Mumbai will be as per schedule from Jan. 20," he said.

Jarange-Patil reiterated his old demand to issue the Kunbi caste certificates to 5.40 million Marathas within two days and also accept the demand to give reservation to some categories of blood relatives of these beneficiaries.

"If this is done, then we shall go to Mumbai, but to felicitate and congratulate the government with ‘gulal’ and flowers," he said.

Justifying his stance, he said even for the latest protest march to Mumbai, government representatives have come to offer some purported solutions, but do not seem to do anything about it, and the same story is repeated for the past over six months.

The Shivba Sanghatana leader also cautioned the government against using any force to stop the Marathas marching from all over the state from January 20 onwards, and he himself is expected to reach there on January 26.

He was referring to the September 1 violence in Antarvali-Sarati and the police baton charge during his first phase of hunger strike which soon spread into attacks on private and government properties besides elected representatives in several districts thereafter, creating a major political issue in the state.

This time, Jarange-Patil has threatened an all-India agitation if the Maratha quotas are not given as promised by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on several occasions, including in the Maharashtra legislature.

However, the government’s assurances have led to strong objections from the OBC communities who they will oppose any moves to carve out Maratha quotas from the existing OBC reservations, and some groups plan to take out a rival protest rally in Mumbai next week.