Manoj Jarange ends 20-day fast, gives Maharashtra government three months to consider demands

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday called off his 20dayold hunger strike but warned that he would take the agitation to Mumbai if the Maharashtra government fails to consider his reservation demands within three monthsJarange announced the decision after meeting a government delegation at Patoda in Beed district The delegation included ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Dada Bhuse MLC Prasad Lad MLA Suresh Dhas and senior government officials PTI reportedThe development came days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government would not tolerate any intimidating tactics and questioned the timing of the agitation during the ongoing Ganesh Chaturthi festivalGovernment delegation briefs Jarange on quota measuresDuring their meeting with Jarange in Patoda where the activist had halted on his way to Mumbai the delegation members informed him about the steps initiated by the state government on the Maratha reservation issueVikhe Patil suggested that Jarange depute three representatives to monitor the progress of the official process concerning his demandsldquoIt will take around three to four months to act on the Kolhapur and Satara gazettes after a written comment is received from the Advocate Generalrdquo the minister said urging Jarange to call off his hunger strikeJarange seeks recognition of historical recordsJarange said he remained firm on his demand for ldquoofficial recognitionrdquo of historical administrative records including the Hyderabad Gazette Satara Gazette and Aundh Gazette so that Marathas can establish their Kunbi lineage and claim reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes OBC categoryldquoThe government should give in writing that not a single lsquoKunbirsquo record will be ignored The chief minister should sign that paperrdquo he said PTI reportedJarange said he would take his protest to Mumbai if the government reneged on the assurance given to himldquoIf we are betrayed in the next three months then we all will directly go to Mumbai along with our kids and womenrdquo he said while asking the more than one lakh Marathas who had already travelled to Mumbai to return to their homesJarange had planned Mumbai marchJarange who had set out from his village of Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district was scheduled to reach Mumbai on September 19 after passing through Ahilyanagar Pune and Khopoli in Raigad districtLast year Jarangersquos hunger strike at Azad Maidan brought parts of south Mumbai to a standstill as thousands of his supporters gathered in the cityThat agitation was called off on September 2 2025 after the government accepted six of his eight demands and initiated steps towards issuing Kunbi classification certificatesWith PTI inputs