Manoj Jarange is at the forefront of the campaign for reservations in jobs and education for Marathas.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Invoking legendary warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and rising slogans like ‘ek Maratha, lakh Maratha’, lakhs of people are converging at the doors of the Maha Yuti government with a determination to camp in Mumbai till the politically-dominant community get reservations in jobs and education.
Shivba Sanghatana founder Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is spearheading the campaign for the past six months and has become a face of it, said that he would not budge.
“There is no looking back now,” Jarange-Patil said in Lonavla in Pune.
Looking at the issues of traffic and security, the Mumbai police has denied permission to camp and address rallies at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
“We are committed to give reservation…I reiterate it today yet again. The government is committed to give reservation to the Marathas…a reservation that would pass the test of law and without affecting the reservation of the OBC,” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told reporters at Dare in Mahabaleshwar in Satara district.
Last minute talks with Jarange-Patil failed. “The government sent only some officials… We want the Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to come here and resolve the issue… We are prepared to cooperate with the government,” he said.
There are indications that Jarange-Patil would be requested to halt in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai, however, he does not seem to be convinced.
As a temporary measure, the Maratha marchers shall be put up at the Vashi APMC Market when they reach around midnight.