Activist Manoj Jarange said on Thursday that this is the “right opportunity” for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to win the Maratha community’s demand for reservation.
Jarang made this comment when he reached Pune before the agitation in Mumbai on Friday demanding Maratha reservation.He also said that the government has humiliated him and the Maratha community by allowing only one day performance in Mumbai.
Jarange left his supporters from Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on Wednesday. The village is 400 km from Mumbai. He is about to start an indefinite hunger strike, but he has agreed to meet the representatives of the government near Pune on the way. 43 -year -old Jarange is demanding 10 percent reservation to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
Jarage said to reporters in Shivneri, I once again appeal to Chief Minister Fadnavis Saheb that this is the right opportunity for him to win the hearts of the Maratha community. He said, if you meet the demands, then the people of the Maratha community will not forget you till your last breath. The time is not over yet. You are not our enemy. We urge you to give up a tough stand towards the Maratha community.
Jarang told Fadnavis not to stop the people of the Maratha community from going to Azad Maidan. If the Chief Minister can allow for a day, they can also allow it to change the performance duration. He said, if you are allowing one day for performance, then fulfill the demand for reservation in a day. Only one day is not enough for performance. We urge the government to withdraw all the conditions laid for the demonstration. Jarang said that the government has humiliated him and the Maratha community by allowing only one day.
He said, I request the Chief Minister not to put any condition like a day’s performance or a limit of 5,000 protesters. Now I will not go back, even if they shoot me. Jarang also appealed to his supporters not to perform peaceful demonstrations and not to come out.
Earlier in Jalna, Jarang had told that he had received a call from Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, in which it was told that a team of the government would arrive in Shivneri for talks with him. However, Vikhe Patil, the minister and head of the Cabinet Committee on Maratha reservation, said on Wednesday that the state government has not taken any decision to talk to Jarang. Jarang assured that his supporters would perform peacefully and do not obstruct Ganesh festival.