MUMBAI: Maratha quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange began his indefinite hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on Friday, vowing not to leave till the community's demands were met.
Accompanied by hundreds of vehicles, Jarange, who began his march from his village in Jalna district on Wednesday, was welcomed at Vashi by supporters as he entered Mumbai. Thousands of his supporters have already reached Mumbai.
The 43-year-old has been demanding a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
He said that this is a golden opportunity for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the other two deputy chief ministers to win the mind of the Maratha community by granting them Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations.
Jarange said that the state government has allowed them to protest for a day in Mumbai and later asked them to go back.
“How come one can do a protest and get a demand fulfilled in a day. If the government is ready to include the Maratha into the OBC, then we are ready to withdraw the protest. If not, then we have to stay back in Mumbai and press our demand.
This time, we have decided that unless and until our demands are fulfilled, we will not leave Mumbai. I am ready to face the bullet as well,” he said.
He said that CM and the two DCMs should look into their demand holistically.
“We are not against anyone, but we are firm on our demands. We are determined to fulfil our demands. The government cannot ignore the Maratha community, which is 35 per cent of Maharashtra. Therefore, they should see it as a golden opportunity to win the minds of the Maratha community by fulfilling our demand. If the government is not ready, then I am ready to face any consequences,” Jarange Patil.
The Jalna police allowed Jarange and his supporters to proceed with their march after imposing 40 conditions, directing them to avoid any law-and-order situations, not to cause disruptions to the movement of vehicles and desist from avoiding 'objectionable' slogans.
Mumbai police have allowed Jarange permission to stage peaceful protests at Azad Maidan on August 29 between 9 am to 6 pm. At 6 p.m., all protesters will have to leave the site, police said.
Police also stipulated that only five vehicles of protesters can head to Azad Maidan and the number of protesters there should not cross 5,000.
Over 1,500 Mumbai police personnel have been deployed at Azad Maidan to maintain law and order ahead of Jarange's agitation, officials said.
Security has also been beefed up at the nearby Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus where quota agitation supporters have arrived from Maharashtra's hinterlands, the railway police said.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, extending support to Maratha activist, said that the state government should be serious about the Maratha community's demands.
He said that earlier the BJP state government had only promised ahead of state polls, giving reservation to Maratha, and even issued the Sage-Soyare-Kunbi-Maratha draft copy to Manoj Jarange Patil.
“But, now the government is changing its word and is not ready to accept the demand of the Maratha community. The BJP-led central government should remove the cap of 50 per cent reservations and extend the reservations to the Maratha community. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is pressing this demand and even asking caste census that can bring a solution to the reservation issue,” Sapkal said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said the government must immediately hold a dialogue with Jarange and give justice to his community.
“The government must immediately hold dialogue (with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange) and give justice to the community,” Thackeray told reporters. There should be a respectable solution to the issue, the former CM said.
He said the responsibility of giving justice to the Maratha community lies with the government.
The protesters are not “terrorists” and they have come to Mumbai not for “rioting” but for justice, said Thackeray.
The Eastern Freeway and Sion-Panvel highway will be closed for all vehicular movement except emergency services on Friday in view of the protest.
The order was issued by the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) on Thursday evening, said an official.
Panvel-Sion Road, V N Purav Road, Eastern Freeway, P D'Mello Road, Wallchand Hirachand Marg, Dr Dadabhai Nauroji Road and Hajarimal Somani Road will be closed for all types of vehicular traffic except emergency service vehicles, said the official.
The order will be in force from 6 am on Friday till further orders, he added.
(With inputs from PTI)