Maratha quota: Activist Manoj Jarange-Patil launches another indefinite hunger strike
This is the sixth protest held by Jarange-Patil in the past year to demand reservations for the community in education and government jobs.
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Activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Tuesday launched another indefinite hunger strike to demand reservations in government jobs and education for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes category, PTI reported.
This is the sixth indefinite hunger strike by Jarange-Patil over the past year.
He started the protest at midnight in the Antarwali Sarati village in Maharashtra’s Jalna district, about 75 kilometres from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Jarange-Patil told reporters that the Maharashtra government was intentionally withholding reservations for the Marathas. The community was giving Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “one more chance” to meet their demands, he stated.
Jarange-Patil’s latest hunger strike comes just months ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra.
The Maratha agitation over the past year had contributed to the defeat of several candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, according to political analysts.
The alliance won 17 of the 48 seats in the state. In the 2019 general election, the BJP-led alliance at the time had won 41 seats.
The Maratha community’s long-standing demand for reservations in education and government jobs resurfaced last year with protests led by Jarange-Patil. The agitation witnessed violence, suicides and the resignation of legislators.
On February 20, Maharashtra’s legislature passed a bill that provides for a 10% quota in education and government jobs for the Maratha community. The quota will...
