Maratha quota leader Jarange says he will launch agitation from Saturday after meeting with Vikhe Patil
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Friday accused the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of discriminating against the Maratha community and forcing it to endure a severe ordeal, a day before he was scheduled to begin an indefinite hunger strike in Jalna. Jarange said he would begin the protest at 10 a.m. on Saturday and described it as the “toughest” and “unprecedented” agitation so far. He said he no longer trusted only verbal assurances from the government and would not withdraw until every demand was accepted in writing.
Jarange met state minister and Maratha quota sub-committee chairman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil in Antarwali Sarati and repeated his demand for a separate ministry for the Maratha community, similar to the ministry created for Other Backward Classes. Vikhe Patil outlined the steps taken by the state to issue Kunbi certificates to eligible Marathas so they can seek benefits under OBC reservation. Jarange, however, alleged that the Shinde committee formed to search archival and gazette records for Maratha links had no staff and that people appointed to read Persian, Urdu and Modi documents had not been paid and quit after a month.
Vikhe Patil said a standard operating procedure for issuing Kunbi certificates had been prepared and would be shared with Jarange. He said the government was committed to reducing delays in the certification process and added that he would meet the chief minister next week to discuss issues that needed faster action. According to him, nearly 58 lakh Kunbi records have been traced in Maharashtra since the committee was formed, and more than 12 lakh caste certificates have been issued on that basis. He said Marathwada alone received 3,08,898 applications for Kunbi certificates, of which 3,00,251 were issued and 427 rejected. He said 61,230 certificates have been distributed in Marathwada since the committee’s creation, with slower progress in districts such as Dharashiv, Parbhani and Hingoli, while Beed recorded the highest number of certificates.
Jarange announced that he would launch his fast on May 30 at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district, about 400 km from Mumbai, over what he described as the community’s pending demands. He said he would conduct the hunger strike without shelter in the scorching summer heat. Jarange is demanding that all Marathas be treated as Kunbis, a farming caste included in the OBC category. If classified as Kunbi, Marathas would become eligible for reservation in government jobs and education. OBC groups, however, fear that this would reduce their share of benefits.
Speaking to reporters, Jarange said previous hunger strikes had seriously affected his health, but he remained determined to continue the movement. He accused the government of delaying decisions on Maratha reservation for the past 10 months and failing to provide meaningful relief. He also said many Maratha students were still waiting for certificates and validity approvals, harming their education. Referring to cases filed against protesters during earlier agitations, he said an agreement had been reached to withdraw about 800 of 1,500 cases, and claimed the government now says only 64 remain. He also criticized police for detaining Maratha youths who waved black flags during the chief minister’s visit to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Jarange further accused Fadnavis of sidelining several BJP and alliance leaders politically, and said the ruling Mahayuti coalition had come to power because of large-scale Maratha support. Meanwhile, National OBC Federation chief Babanrao Taywade warned that any move affecting OBC reservation would trigger statewide protests, while saying the OBC community was in a “wait and watch” mode.
