My body is giving out: Manoj Jarange hints at cancelling Mumbai march amid deteriorating health

Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Wednesday indicated that he may halt his proposed march to Mumbai citing severe physical exhaustion as he continued his indefinite hunger strikeJarange Patil who is on the 18th day of his hunger strike addressed a large gathering at Patoda in Maharashtras Beed district at around 2 am He said the physical strain of travelling with large numbers of supporters could force him to stop the journey and either resume his sitin protest locally or return to Antarwali SaratiThousands of supporters including women had waited through the night to hear him speak after he arrived at the venue at around 130 amJarange says physical condition worseningAddressing the gathering Jarange Patil spoke about his deteriorating physical condition and said he had been struggling to move after stopping intravenous fluids on September 12Fighting for the children of my community has taken a toll on my body but I have taken on the government for you The government wants me to surrender but should I abandon our demand My community is greater than any government it is my father My community holds the power to bring down any government and install a new one he assertedJarange Patil said continuing a long road journey while on an indefinite hunger strike was becoming increasingly difficult He also urged supporters to avoid following his vehicle in large convoys saying the additional physical and logistical strain could force him to abandon the journeyProtester cites records in reservation demandJarange Patil also spoke about what he described as progress in the Maratha reservation movementHe claimed that 58 lakh archival records had been uncovered which he said could enable nearly 25 crore members of the community to access reservation benefitsAccording to Jarange Patil the immediate focus of the movement was to secure an official government gazette reflecting the demandHe also said documents relating to the movement had been preserved on pen drives while alleging that political attempts had been made to undermine the agitationJarange targets FadnavisJarange Patil directly criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claiming that he had countered political manoeuvres against the movementHe also accused Fadnavis of plotting against his life The allegation was made during his address to supporters and was not independently established in the reportThe activist also questioned the governments argument concerning fruit orchard owners in Western Maharashtra and their relevance to the reservation issueThe government claims Western Maharashtra has fruit orchards but dont OBC communities own orchards too Why do they have a reservation then he askedSupporters asked not to follow convoyJarange Patil told supporters not to follow his vehicle after he left Patoda Instead he asked them to travel directly to Khopoli where he has proposed continuing his agitationHe warned that if supporters continued to follow him in large numbers he could return to Antarwali Sarati or resume his hunger strike in PatodaHe also said he intended to communicate directly with the police regarding his movement and expressed a preference for travelling to Mumbai without a large public entourage provided his physical condition allowed him to continueThe proposed march comes amid heightened attention to Jarange Patils demand for reservation benefits for the Maratha community He has previously announced plans to stage an indefinite hunger strike at Mumbais Azad Maidan if his demands were not addressedJarange delivers message to familyDuring his address Jarange Patil also spoke about his family and what he described as his commitment to the reservation movementI have told my family to live with selfrespect I told my son to step up courageously if I give my life for the community Let one life be sacrificed for the cause but never let the dignity of our caste be lowered he saidFor now he has said he would prefer to proceed towards Mumbai without a large convoy while leaving open the possibility of halting the march or returning to his earlier protest site if his condition deteriorates furtherWith inputs from IANS