Grant quota to Marathas under OBC category by Tuesday or face consequences: Jarange tells govt

Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday issued an ultimatum to the Maharashtra government demanding a 10 per cent quota for the Maratha community under the OBC category by August 26 warning of protests otherwiseJarange added that he plans to travel to Mumbai on Wednesday and launch an indefinite hunger strike on August 29 if his demand is not met according to the news agency PTIThe BJP responded sharply accusing Jarange of acting as a proxy for NCP chief Sharad Pawar and selectively targeting Chief Minister Devendra FadnavisI can overturn the government if the quota is not given I will not listen to anyone once I leave Antarwali Sarathi village Jarange told reporters in Jalna district reported news agency PTIHe said the march to Mumbai will start on August 27 Ganesh Chaturthi dayOn August 28 we will go to the Shivneri Fort and then via Rajgurunagar Chakan Lonavala Panvel Vashi and Chembur we will reach Azad Maidan I will sit on a hunger strike on August 29 he said reported PTIHe reiterated demands for granting Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members and implementing the Hyderabad Satara and Bombay gazettesWe will not block traffic or create chaos in Mumbai We are going peacefully to get justice Reservation must come from the OBC quota not from the 10 per cent quota of the Economically Backward Class he said and alleged that the government had not implemented the sage soyare deaft notification for 18 monthsThe Marathi term sage soyare means through birth relations and through relations by marriageIf the government remains adamant it will be dangerous for the state and the country Those in power must not be stubborn Peoples resentment against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is growing because of his rigid stance If we are not given a reservation the government will face consequences Jarange addedJarange has been leading the campaign demanding that all Marathas be recognised as Kunbis an agrarian caste included in the OBC category thereby making them eligible for reservation in education and government jobsHe said the state governments move to include 29 castes in the OBC category has provoked the Maratha communityJarange claimed he called all 288 MLAs in Maharashtra including CM Fadnavis and Deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar over the phone two months ago and asked them to listen to cries of the poor Maratha communityHe appealed to doctors teachers bus conductors farmers and businessmen from the Maratha community along with common people to join the protest in MumbaiMeanwhile the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has accused Jarange of making foul remarks against the mother of Fadnavis a charge denied by the activistSaffron party leaders alleged Jarange harbours hatred towards Fadnavis and his familySenior BJP leader and MLC Pravin Darekar said Civilised Maharashtra will never forgive Jarange The Bombay High Court has banned DJs and highdecibel sound systems during social events and the responsibility for enforcement lies with the police but Jarange attacks the CMs mother over the issue reported news agency PTIObsessed with personal hatred towards Fadnavis he insulted his mother A person who uses such foul language cannot be a follower of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj On one hand he praises NCPSP president Sharad Pawar while on the other he abuses the Chief Ministers mother what kind of agitation is this he askedAnother BJP MLC Prasad Lad also slammed the quota activistState BJP media chief Navnath Ban claimed Jarange had crossed all limitsBan targeted Sharad Pawar 84 for not doing anything about Maratha reservation when he was Maharashtra Chief Minister a post he held multiple times and pointed out it was Fadnavis who as CM 201419 first gave quota to the community later struck down by the Supreme CourtHe Jarange has used inappropriate language against the mother of Chief Minister Fadnavis When Sharad Pawar was in power he never took any decision regarding Maratha reservation in education and jobs but Jarange praises Pawars energy at this age the state BJP media chief saidJarange however denied the chargeI did not use any abusive words against CMs mother If anything disparaging has been said I take it back he stated reported PTIWith PTI inputs