Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday over his demand for a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category
File Photo
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) on Monday announced the suspension of all bus services to Mantralaya in south Mumbai due to heavy congestion in the area caused by the ongoing Maratha quota protest.
"Due to the huge crowd in Mantralaya and nearby areas due to the protest called by the Maratha community, the NMMT bus services on all routes leading to Mantralaya are being closed until the end of the protest," the civic transport body said in a statement.
This comes after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange vowed to stop drinking water from the fourth day of his hunger strike on Monday and brave "bullets" for reservation under the OBC category, demanding that the state government issue a GR based on the reservation based on available records.
The state government on Sunday said it will seek a legal opinion on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer on the Kunbi status- an OBC caste- for the Maratha community.
Jarange, however, remained unimpressed and said he won't budge from the protest venue in Azad Maidan till his demands are met, even if the Fadnavis government fires bullets at protesters.
He demanded that the government issue a GR on the Maratha reservation based on available records.
"The government should say that Marathas are a sub-caste of Kunbis. There are 58 lakh records that have been found, which show links of Marathas as Kunbis. Those who want a reservation will take it. Don't generalise Marathas as Kunbis if there is a legal issue," Jarange told a press conference on Sunday night.
He said no one can stop Marathas from getting reservations under the OBC category.
Forced to do a political tightrope ahead of civic elections, the government said the cabinet sub-committee will seek a legal view on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer regarding the Kunbi status for Marathas, which was a key demand of Jarange.
State Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha reservation issue, chaired two meetings on the quota issue during the day.
Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday over his demand for a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.
A day earlier, the quota leader refused to soften his stand after a delegation led by retired HC judge Sandeep Shinde met him.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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