Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: Maratha reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange-Patil withdrew his hunger strike on Wednesday following pleas by the community and a poor response from the political class.
However, he vowed to continue the quota agitation for the set of demands for the community.
“Those responsible for harassing the Maratha community will not be spared," Jarange-Patil said and appealed to Marathas to refrain from attending any political meetings.
The statement is significant as it comes just ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, slated to be held around mid-November.
The three main demands of Jarange-Patil include a provision for reservation to the Marathas as Kunbis under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, the implementation of draft notification of ‘sage-soyare’ (a Marathi term for ‘relatives from the family tree', which widens the scope of the quota) and the withdrawal of cases against the agitators.
Jarange-Patil broke the fast around 4.30 pm after he was offered water by a group of his supporters.
From the Antarwali Sarati village of Jalna district in Amber tehsil, Jarange-Patil is being shifted to a hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
The activist had started his fast on September 17.
“We will deal with those who have hurt the Maratha community,” said Jarange-Patil.
“I had decided to call off the fast keeping in mind the sentiments of the Maratha community and their requests ... I will continue to fight for the cause of reservation,” Jarange-Patil, weak from the fast, said in feeble voice.
The September 17-23, 2024 hunger strike of nine days was the seventh one by the activist.
The previous six hunger-strikes that he had undertaken are were from August 29-September 14, 2023 (17 days), October 25-November 2, 2023 (nine days), January 26-27, 2024 (one day), February 10-26, 2024 (17 days), June 8-13, 2024 (eight days) and July 20-24, 2024 (five days).