Maratha reservation movement postponed, not ended: Manoj Jarange-Patil

Mumbai: In yet another show of strength, Manoj Jarange-Patil will visit the historic Raigad Fort on Tuesday and bow before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary Maratha warrior.

Jarange-Patil, who has left his village Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna, will be in Raigad on Tuesday.

The visit comes a day after Jarange-Patil said “…the movement not ended but postponed…” - hours after he withdrew the agitation in Navi Mumbai after the Maharashtra government issued a government resolution/notification widening the scope of issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas to avail them the facilities of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Senior BJP leader and Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Minister Narayan Rane, who was to address a press conference, cancelled it.

“The government should take note that the legacy and history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj should not be destroyed,” he posted on X. “Self-respecting Maratha Kunbi ‍will not accept this reservation. Apart from this, doing so will encroach on the OBC community,” he said.

Meanwhile, the OBC community under the leadership of Chhagan Bhujbal, the state’s Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister, is preparing for the February 1 protest outside the residences of MLAs, MPs and tehsildars.

“We will gather outside the residences of MLAs, MPs and tehsildars to protest against the current decision of the state government that is taking illegal ways to offer reservation benefits to the Maratha community,” he said.