Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange says he is ready to call off protest, but with conditions

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday (September 12) expressed his willingness to terminate his indefinite hunger strike. However, he said that he would remain at the protest site until the state government starts issuing Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community residing in the Marathwada region

He also said that he is giving one month's time to the Maharashtra government so that the state-appointed committee prepares its report over the Maratha reservation.

Jarange, aged around 40, has been on an indefinite hunger strike since August 29 at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district of central Maharashtra, more than 400 kms from here, demanding reservation in jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category for the Maratha community.

The state government has set up a five-member panel headed by Judge Sandeep Shinde (retired) to determine the Standard Operating Procedures, including legal and administrative framework, for giving caste certificates to Maratha community members referred to as Kunbis (part of OBCs now) in Nizam-era documents. This will allow Marathas from the Marathwada region to avail quota benefits under the OBC category.

Marathwada region comprises eight districts - Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.

Addressing a gathering at the protest site on Tuesday afternoon, Jarange said, "I am ready to give the state government one month's time so that the committee prepares a report. I have made it clear to the state government that whether its report is positive or negative, it will have to start issuing Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community." "I am walking two steps backwards so that the defamation of my community stops. I am ready to withdraw my fast, but I will not vacate this place," he said.

We have given 40 years to the state government, but it never addressed our woes. If the state government does not implement its own promise, it will fall flat on its face, said Jarange, who has become the face of the Maratha quota protest.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday presided over an all-party meeting in Mumbai held in the backdrop of the ongoing Maratha quota agitation led by Jarange.

Shinde later said all parties attending the meeting passed a resolution requesting Jarange to withdraw his fast.

The CM announced the withdrawal of police cases filed against pro-Maratha reservation protesters in Jalna district, the epicentre of the latest round of stir on the issue.

He also announced the suspension of three police officials involved in lathi-charge on quota agitators in Jalna earlier this month.

On Tuesday, state minister Sandipanrao Bhumre and Shiv Sena leader from Jalna Arjun Khotkar met Jarange and shared the resolutions passed at the all-party meeting. Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide also met and requested him to withdraw his fast.

However, Jarange maintained that he would continue his protest as there has been no concrete decision from the state government over his demand for quota for the Maratha community.

"I will continue my fast until the state government comes with an order offering reservation to the Maratha community. I would be the only protester who forced the state government to take back its faulty order. I want a permanent solution to this mess," Jarange told reporters earlier in the day. 

(With agency inputs)