A delegation from the state administration promised to meet Manoj Jarange-Patil’s requests within a month, therefore, he stopped his indefinite hunger strike on June 8. Jarange-Patil is an activist who has previously started several agitations to get rights for Marathas. Jarange-Patil threatened to nominate candidates in all 288 Assembly constituencies in the next elections if the government missed the deadline.
In Antarvali Sarati, Jalna district, the activist had been on a hunger strike to demand that Marathas be given full reservations under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. He proposed legislation to grant OBC certificates to Maratha blood relatives who have submitted certification papers about Kunbi. These certifications may make it easier for Maratha sub-castes to be included in the OBC quota.
The state government published a notification to that effect on January 27, but the examination of recommendations and objections kept the procedure from being finished. These submissions totaling more than 800,000 were received in February and are presently being reviewed. After the procedure is finished, the government is supposed to send out a final notice that permits the granting of Kunbi certificates to blood relatives as well.
The protest by Jarange-Patil presented a grave danger to the ruling parties in the run-up to the October Assembly elections. It is thought that the convergence of Maratha votes against the incumbent Mahayuti alliance is the reason they lost seven of the eight seats in Marathwada.
In response, Jarange-Patil met with a delegation of two ministers, Shambhuraj Desai and Sandipan Bhumare, on Thursday afternoon. The group asked for an extension of two months to release the final notification. Jarange-Patil drew attention to the fact that the government had been given five months from the date of the draft notification on January 27 to act, yet it had not. By June 30, he insisted on sending out the final notification. However, the government delegation asked for at least one month’s notice, citing election-related tasks.
“Respecting the state government’s request, I am calling off the hunger strike,” Jarange-Patil stated. “You don’t have to wait two months to meet our request for Sage Soyare. By July 13th, the government must comply, or else there will be repercussions. In the Assembly polls, we want to run our candidates in all 288 constituencies.” He underlined that social peace came first and that they were not against the rights of OBCs.
Desai said that Friday will be the first meeting to move the process along more quickly. Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s deputy chief minister, had also urged the activist to break his fast on Wednesday.
According to Fadnavis, the government was in favour of Jarange-Patil’s request and has started the process of granting certification to Sage Soyares, the Marathas’ biological ancestors. “We will speak to the OBC leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal, and convince them that the notification was not against the OBC quota,” he stated. “The notice we sent out complies with the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court and does not cause the OBC any unfairness. We plan to have talks with the OBCs to resolve this matter. Under the direction of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, we have been making progress towards the demands made by the Maratha campaigners from the start.”
