Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil, on Friday, announced a march to Mumbai as part of the Maratha quota agitation. Prior to the march, Jarange has called for a meeting on Saturday at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna and appealed to members of the Maratha community from every village in Maharashtra to attend it. The meeting is likely to be decisive for Jarange's agitation, as the date of the Mumbai march and the future course of the agitation are expected to be decided in the meeting.
Jarange Patil has been on an indefinite hunger strike since August 29 at Antarwali Sarati over 15 demands related to Maratha reservation. Earlier, the state government held talks with him through ministers Uday Samant and Prasad Lad, but he was reportedly dissatisfied with the government's response. Meanwhile, Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the Cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation, had told reporters that over three lakh Maratha youth had benefited from the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes quota and received Kunbi certificates.
Minister Patil, on August 8, said that no government delegation would be sent to Jarange Patil for further talks. According to the minister, the government has already fulfilled its responsibilities. Jarange responded by saying, "No one is inviting you here. Do not come to Antarwali Sarati."
In August, during Jarange Patil’s indefinite fast, he set September 12 as the deadline for the government to meet all the Maratha quota demands. He demanded that all eligible Marathas be recognised as Kunbis to receive reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. He has also demanded employment and financial compensation for the families of protesters who died during previous agitations, as well as the withdrawal of all police cases registered against quota protesters across the state.
On Saturday, Jarange Patil will reportedly meet representatives of the Maratha community and protesters to decide the date of the march. He told supporters that everyone should witness the strength of the Maratha community.
Meanwhile, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke met Manoj Jarange Patil on Friday. Dipke warned that if the state government forcibly removed Jarange from the protest site, people from across Maharashtra would join the agitation.
Dipke accused the state government of not providing adequate education and employment opportunities to the Maratha community. He said, "If the government had done its job and provided the necessary facilities, Patil would not have had to go on a hunger strike." Furthermore, he challenged the state government to "name a single district in Maharashtra where government schools in rural areas are functioning well and where there are sufficient employment opportunities."
