Jarange-Patil “open to talks” but will still converge on Mumbai

On the fourth day of his march to Mumbai, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil said that he was open to talks with the government, which has been repeatedly appealing to Marathas to call off the agitation. Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday convened an urgent meeting of officials to review the steps taken for Maratha reservation, after which the government stated that Jarange-Patil would be convinced and would not need to come to Mumbai.

The Maratha activist and the thousands of protesters with him have reached Pune and are expected to reach Lonavala by Wednesday evening. On Tuesday, he declared that he was willing to speak to the government, although he reiterated his resolve to reach Azad Maidan on January 26. “We gave seven months to the government, believing its promises, but it did nothing,” he said. “It should not take us for granted. If it tries to play games with us, it will be the blunder of its life.” Jarange-Patil threatened that Marathas would be “all over on the streets of Mumbai and even the rest of the state” if the government failed to give his community reservation.

Shinde, after the urgent meeting on Tuesday, said that the government was hopeful about a solution emerging from the curative petition which is expected to be heard in the Supreme Court on January 24. “The State Commission for Backward Classes and the revenue machinery has been working overtime to collect data to prove the backwardness of the Maratha community,” he said. “We have appointed a battery of senior counsels and we will be able to convince the apex court.” If the SC does not entertain the plea, the government is expected to enact the law in a special legislature session in February. “We are determined to do this,” said Shinde.

School education minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said that the government was hopeful that the Marathas would not need to converge on Mumbai. “The Shinde committee under retired judge Sandeep Shinde has collated 57 lakh records related to the Kunbi sub-caste, based on which 37.94 lakh certificates have been issued to Marathas,” he said. “This has been an unprecedented exercise undertaken by our government.”

Kesarkar said that the blood relatives of Marathas with Kunbi records too were being considered for Kunbi certificates, and separate steps were being taken to ensure reservation for community members who did not have Kunbi records. “We are sure that Jarange-Patil and the protesters will consider this and take a positive stand,” he said.

The state government is planning to convene a special session of the state legislature in the second week of February, where it is expected to enact a fresh law for reservation to Marathas on the basis of the data collected by the State Commission for Backward Classes.