Maratha quota stir enters Day 5 as Jarange refuses IV fluids

Activist Manoj Jarange's indefinite hunger strike over the Maratha reservation issue entered its fifth day on Wednesday, September 2, with doctors expressing concern over his deteriorating health and Jalna district collector Ashima Mittal urging him to end the fast.

A medical officer who examined Jarange said his blood sugar level had dropped.

A team of doctors stationed at the protest site advised him to take intravenous (IV) fluids, but he refused, the doctor said.

Jarange began his latest indefinite hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district on August 29, demanding reservation for Marathas and the immediate issuance of Kunbi certificates on the basis of gazette records, among other demands.

He has also threatened to intensify the agitation and take it to Mumbai if his demands are not met.

As part of the Maharashtra government's efforts to persuade him to call off the fast, Mittal met Jarange at the protest site on Tuesday night and explained the steps taken by the government on the Maratha reservation issue.

Jarange, however, questioned whether the collector had come to defend the government's position and asked her not to get involved in the matter, saying the demands related to decisions at the state level.

He told Mittal that he respected her but would not accept her explanation on the issue.

Jarange also asked her not to visit him again in connection with the agitation, alleging that the government was unnecessarily sending her to negotiate with him.

Jarange has claimed that 58 lakh records establishing genealogical links between Marathas and Kunbis have been found and alleged that the government was trying to reduce the figure.

His main demand is that members of the Maratha community be recognised as Kunbis and receive the reservation benefits available to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in education and government jobs.

His other demands include reservation based on the Satara Gazette, withdrawal of police cases registered against quota protesters across Maharashtra, and government jobs and financial compensation for the families of those who died during previous agitations.

Jarange's earlier protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from August 29 last year had caused major traffic disruptions. The agitation was called off on September 2 after the state government accepted six of his eight demands and began issuing Kunbi caste certificates.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the government was open to discussing demands that were constitutionally and legally valid, but would not accept those contrary to Supreme Court orders.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said the Mahayuti government was committed to ensuring justice for the Maratha community without causing injustice to any other section.

Shinde said the government remained positively inclined towards providing whatever was legally permissible and fair, and appealed to Jarange to adopt a "constructive approach".

(With inputs from PTI)