Jalna (Maharashtra): Protesting Shivba Pratisthan leader Manoj Jarange-Patil on Tuesday said he was willing to call off his 15-day long hunger strike provided the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his entire cabinet was present in Antarvali-Sarati village.
He also demanded that the royal descendants – Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale and Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje Bhosale – should mark their presence along with Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar and all cabinet ministers.
“I am ready to break my hunger strike, but I will continue the agitation from this very location… I will not step into my home or see my children till the Maratha reservations are granted by the government,” declared Jarange-Patil before the media this evening.
Allowing the government a month’s time to decide on the quotas, he said from the 31st day thereafter, the authorities should start issuing the Kunbi Caste certificates to the Marathas.
“I want all this in writing from the government… However, if the government fails to concede my demands, then on October 12, we shall organise a mammoth public rally with Marathas coming from all over the state… It will be such a massive gathering that the government would shudder at the very mention of the ‘Maratha’ name,” warned Jarange-Patil.
He reiterated that the government should take back all cases registered against the protesting Marathas in the past few days, suspend the police officers who ordered the crackdown on the community here on September 1 – conditions which were already conceded and announced by the CM late on Monday.
Jarange-Patil also threatened that if the quotas were not granted, then they would launch a relay hunger-strike in the same village as he did not want the agitation to lose steam and the Marathas their dignity.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shiv Pratishthan leader Sambjhaji Bhide went to Antarvali-Sarati village to express full support to Jarange-Patil’s quotas crusade and declared that “there’s no turning back” now.
(IANS)
