Fasting Maratha quota activist Jarange sets Sept 12 deadline over Mumbai protests, Fadnavis reacts

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday reached out to fasting Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who has warned of marching to Mumbai if the government fails to act on his demand for Kunbi (OBC) caste certificates for all eligible Marathas by September 12.

Fadnavis said the government is open to discuss legally viable demands that are constitutionally valid, and not violative of the Supreme Court's orders.

On the second day of the indefinite hunger strike in Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, Jarange targeted Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who belongs to the Maratha community, rebel Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Jadhav, and state minister Sanjay Shirsat over a farmer event being held in Parbhani city in the Marathwada region.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis said representatives of the government are attending the Parbhani event to discuss the demands of demonstrators.

"Earlier also we found a way to address their issues, and we are going forward to resolve their demands. Similarly, Eknath Shinde is also very sensitive to these issues from the very beginning," he said.

The chief minister underlined the government's commitment to discuss and resolve legally viable demands that are constitutionally valid, and not violative of the Supreme Court's orders.

Earlier in the day, reacting to the Parbhani event, Jarange questioned the need to hold the programme, which he said was arranged to mock the Maratha community.

Opposing the event, Jarange claimed he had sought an explanation from MP Jadhav, hinting at a strong reaction.

Targeting Shirsat, Jarange alleged that genuine caste certificates had been cancelled, causing hardship to members of the Maratha community.

"Why are you bringing Shinde here to dance on our chests? Why hold this programme now in the name of farmers? It could have been organised later," he asked.

Jarange, who had held multiple fasts in the past, has been demanding that eligible Marathas be recognised as Kunbis, an agrarian community that enjoys reservation benefits in education and government jobs under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.

"The Maharashtra government should declare all Marathas as Kunbi," the activist told reporters.

Jarange said that if the government failed to accept the demands, he would march to Mumbai and intensify the agitation.

A meeting of the Maratha community's core committee, led by him, would be held in Antarwali Sarati on September 12 to decide on a hunger strike in Mumbai.

"If the government accepts our demands by September 12, there will be no need to hold the proposed fast in Mumbai," the activist said.

Jarange is demanding immediate issuance of Kunbi certificates to eligible members of the Maratha community based on 58 lakh historical records, asserting that the community will not grant any further time.

He has also demanded that caste certificate verification be suspended, arguing that there is no need for it in cases covered by the historical records.

The activist has urged the state government to issue reservation based on the Satara Gazette, withdraw all police cases registered against quota protesters across Maharashtra, and provide government jobs and financial compensation to the families of those who died during the previous agitations.

He alleged that certificates of Maratha community members had been cancelled and he would not remain silent over the issue.

"I never go to attack anyone. But our Maratha community's rightful certificates have been cancelled. Hence, cancel the programme immediately; otherwise I will come there," he said.

Meanwhile, Maratha Kranti Morcha state coordinator Dr Sanjay Lakhe Patil claimed Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had suggested that caste verification committees were unnecessary as such bodies did not exist elsewhere in the country.

This could create confusion and resentment among Maratha youth and members of other communities, Lakhe Patil told PTI.

Calling the reported suggestion "shocking, unconstitutional and illegal", he said the concept of caste scrutiny committees was not confined to Maharashtra, referring to a Supreme Court judgment in which directions were issued for setting up independent scrutiny committees to verify caste and tribal certificates.

On August 25, the state government gave a one-year extension to the committee, headed by High Court Judge Sandeep Shinde (retired), to scrutinise Kunbi records of the Maratha community till June 30, 2027, citing “incomplete work to discover the Maratha-Kunbi genealogy in some districts”.

NATIONAL JALNA/NAGPUR