Manoj Jarange-Patil breaks hunger strike, gives govt a month to meet demands

Manoj Jarange-Patil, the activist who has launched a series of agitations to obtain rights for Marathas, has ended his indefinite hunger strike that began on June 8, following assurances from a state government delegation that his demands will be fulfilled within one month.

Should the government fail to meet the deadline, the activist warned, he will field candidates in all 288 Assembly constituencies in the upcoming polls.

The activist had been on a hunger strike in the village of Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna district, demanding blanket reservation for Marathas in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. He sought a law to issue OBC certificates to blood relatives of Marathas who have produced documents for certification as Kunbis. The inclusion of Maratha sub-castes in the OBC quota could be facilitated by these certificates.

On January 27, the state government issued a notification to this effect, but the process remained incomplete due to the scrutiny of suggestions and objections. Over 800,000 such submissions were received in February and are currently under review. The government is expected to issue a final notification once the process is complete, allowing the issuance of Kunbi certificates to blood relatives as well.

Jarange-Patil is also demanding the Kunbi certificates be issued to Marathas on the basis of an affidavit by applicants, free education to Maratha students and keeping the quota vacant in the ongoing recruitment in government jobs till the state’s new legislation on Maratha reservation comes into effect. He has also pushed for the withdrawal of the criminal cases lodged against Maratha protesters in the last eight months.

Threat to Assembly polls

Jarange-Patil’s protest poses a serious threat to the ruling parties ahead of the October Assembly polls. The ruling Mahayuti alliance lost seven out of eight seats in Marathwada, largely on account of the consolidation of Maratha votes against them.

On Thursday afternoon, a delegation of two ministers, Shambhuraj Desai and Sandipan Bhumare, met with Jarange-Patil requesting a two-month extension to issue the final notification. Jarange-Patil pointed out that the government had already been given five months since the draft notification on January 27 but had taken no action. He demanded the final notification be issued by June 30, but the government delegation cited election-related duties and requested at least one month’s time.

“Respecting the state government’s request, I am calling off the hunger strike,” Jarange-Patil said. “There is no need for two months to comply with our demand for Sage Soyare. The government should comply by July 13 or face the consequences. We will field our candidates in all 288 constituencies in the Assembly polls.” He emphasised that they were not against OBC rights and prioritised social harmony.

Desai announced that the first meeting to expedite the process would be held on Friday. The minister also said that he has spoken with deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister about Jarange-Patil’s objection to the special investigation team (SIT) probe into the violence that broke out during the Maratha protest last year. The announcement of the SIT by Fadnavis in February this year had irked Jarange-Patil and members of Maratha community.

The government viewed Jarange-Patil’s demands positively, said Fadnavis, adding that it had begun the process of issuing certificates to Sage Soyares—relatives by blood and marriage—of Marathas. “We will speak to the OBC leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal, and convince them that the notification is not against the OBC quota. The notification we issued is as per the parameters given by the Supreme Court and does not lead to any injustice to the OBCs. We are going to hold discussions with the OBCs and find a way out. We have been taking positive steps towards the demands by the Maratha activists since the beginning under the leadership of chief minister Eknath Shinde,” he added.

OBC community to protest

Meanwhile, OBC community organisations are irked with the government stand and have decided to oppose the notification.

“The law enacted in 2000 for the verification of the documents for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs has common provisions and they cannot be tweaked for a single community,” said Chandrakant Bavkar working president of the OBC Janmorcha. “We have already registered over 1.5 million suggestions and objections upon which the government has not acted in the last five months. The proposed notification for the Sage Soyare is against the legal provisions. The definition of the Sage Soyare is open-ended and hence it could be subject to the interpretation of the officer issuing the certificate. We have decided to oppose the government move by protesting outside district headquarters across the state on June 18.”

Although the state government has assured Jarange-Patil it will issue the notification for Sage Soyare, it has been challenged in the court, and now the government has no power to issue it, added Bavkar.

Another OBC leader, Laxman Hake, has begun an indefinite hunger strike in Vadigrodri village, four kilometres away from Antarwali Sarati, to oppose the inclusion of Marathas in the OBC quota.

Meanwhile, most of the newly elected MPs from the Marathwada region have been meeting Jarange-Patil and expressing their support to his agitation. Out of the eight Lok Sabha seats in the region, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi coalition won seven, while chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena bagged one constituency. The BJP drew a blank.

On Thursday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Sanjay Jadhav and Nagesh Ashtikar wrote a letter to the governor, Ramesh Bais, requesting him to force the state government to take necessary steps so that Jarange-Patil will end his hunger strike.