Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil begins fast unto death, says will contest Assembly polls if…

Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil has on June 8 begun his fast unto death, according to an ANI report. The Police have not permitted him for the fast, it added.

Jarange Patil told ANI that if the Maratha reservation is not provided this time, he will contest the Maharashtra Assembly Elections.

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Warning in April

Earlier on April 14, Patil had warned that he would go on a hunger strike in June if the Maratha reservation issue is not resolved by the state government, as per a separate ANI report.

"If the Maratha reservation issue is not resolved in the coming months, I will once again go on a hunger strike on June 4th," he said.

Jarange Patil had criticised the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government aka mahayuti, alleging that he “duped his community”. He also accused the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of “doing nothing” for the reservation while they were in power.

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“We have been misled by the state government. Mahayuti has not given us Maratha reservation...When MVA was in power, they did nothing for the Maratha reservation,” he said.

SIT Investigation

In March, the Maharashtra government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate allegations of conspiracy and violence during the Maratha reservation agitation in the state.

Before that in February, the state government, had approved a Bill to extend 10 per cent reservation to the Marathas during a special assembly session. The Bill was based on a report submitted by the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission (MBCC).

This Bill was opposed by Jarange Patil, who has demanded that the Maratha reservation be given under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

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On the other hand, Jarange Patil's Maratha reservation campaign is accused of receiving financial support from ‘political associates’, and it is alleged that he made inflammatory remarks during the course of the campaign, ANI reported.

The state government had indicated that if Jarange Patil's agitation for the Maratha Reservation is politically motivated, funded, and intended to cause unrest, a comprehensive SIT inquiry would be conducted to assess its implications on law and order in the state.

(With inputs from ANI)