Maratha activist Jarange-Patil ends 17-day-long hunger strike, says agitation is on

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s decision decision coincided with the start of the budget session of the state legislature in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Monday called off his 17-day-long hunger strike but four youths will go on a “chain fast” from Tuesday, continuing the agitation till the Maharashtra government starts issuing Kunbi caste certificates to extended family members of people who have such documents, allowing them to avail reservation benefits.

Jarange-Patil’s announcement came a day after he stepped up his attack on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, accusing him of trying to weaken the movement to demand reservation for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

“Fadnavis wants my sacrifice as I am firm on issuing of Kunbi certificates to Maratha community through the implementation of ‘sage soyare (close relatives)’ notification,” Jarange-Patil told his supporters in Antarvati Sarali, his ancestral village in Jalna district, on Sunday.

The activist has demanded that all Marathas be classified as Kunbi – a caste in Maharashtra under the OBC bloc.

The state government on February 20 enacted a legislation providing 10% quota to Marathas, a cluster of castes with numerous, mainly agrarian subcastes, under a separate category. But Jarange-Patil doubted whether this would stand legal scrutiny and reiterated his demand for reservation for Marathas under the OBC category by making close relatives by blood or marriage of those who already have Kunbi certificates eligible for reservation.

Kunbis are categorised as OBC in Maharashtra and the state government issued a draft notification extending reservation benefits to their close kin, which elicited 7 lakh suggestions and objections.

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