OBC leaders warn of chain hunger strike and possible Mumbai protest; however, in an attempt to pacify both sides, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured that while justice will be given to the Maratha community, the rights of other communities will not be compromised
Maratha reservation supporters arrive at Azad Maidan ahead of activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s protest. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE
Maratha activists will reach Mumbai today to press for their demand of reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota. At the same time, OBC leaders have threatened to take to the streets in Mumbai if their share of the quota is affected. However, in an attempt to pacify both sides, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured that while justice will be given to the Maratha community, the rights of other communities will not be compromised.
On Thursday, Manoj Jarange, along with several thousand supporters, visited the birthplace of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Shivneri Fort in Junnar, near Pune district. Speaking to the media there, Jarange claimed that except for one, he had accepted all the terms and conditions laid down by the police for holding a protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
“The condition of restricting the protest to a single day, with a time limit until evening, is what I do not agree with,” Jarange said. He urged the government to use the time still available to consider the Maratha community’s demand for reservation.
Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister
A day after the Bombay High Court stated that Maratha activists cannot hold a protest at Azad Maidan without prior permission, the Mumbai police granted Jarange permission to hold a meeting on August 29 from 9 am to 6 pm in a designated 7000-square-metre space in the maidan. The police imposed restrictions, including a cap of 5000 attendees, a ban on the use of loudspeakers, and a prohibition on cooking or serving food. In addition, the police restricted the protest to daytime hours only.
The Maratha quota activists also warned Maratha politicians that if they failed to unite and support the agitation, the community would not forgive them in their political careers. Jarange has demanded that Kunbis and Marathas be treated as one and that all Marathas be granted reservation under the OBC quota. He has also announced an indefinite hunger strike until his demands are met by the government.
Meanwhile, OBC leaders have strongly opposed Jarange’s protest and demands. In Nagpur, OBC leaders held a meeting and unanimously decided to begin a chain hunger strike to counter the Maratha agitation. “Despite our opposition, if the OBC quota is altered, community leaders will also protest in Mumbai,” they warned.
Speaking to the media in Mumbai, Chief Minister Fadnavis said that it was he, in 2014, who had first granted reservation to the Maratha community. “While doing justice to the Maratha community, the rights of other communities will not be affected,” Fadnavis said.
Ruling party leaders have been urging Jarange to reconsider his protest, stressing that any provision of reservation must be framed in a manner that will withstand legal scrutiny in court. In a veiled attack on the Opposition (Shiv Sena UBT, Congress, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP), Fadnavis alleged that some groups were instigating Jarange. “I would like to state that those people (the Opposition) are doing nothing but damage to themseleves,” he added.
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