Demanding full reservation for Marathis, Jarange threatens to abstain from drinking water soon

Mumbai: Please don’t give Marathas a ‘half-reservation’, what the community wants is ‘full-reservation,” said Manoj Jarange-Patil, the face of the Maratha reservation demand campaign, hours before the all-party meeting in held in Mumbai on Wednesday.

“How many days, the government needs for giving reservation to the Marathas,” Jarange-Patil said in Antarwali Sarathi village in the Ambad tehsil in Jalna district on Wednesday even as his fast-unto-death entered the eight day.

From Wednesday evening, Jarange-Patil, who is in his forties, has decided not to even take water. He had already refused medicines and medical examinations by doctors.

"They must call a special session and give reservation to the Marathas,” Jarange-Patil said a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to him over phone for nearly 30 minutes.

Jarange-Patil has expressed resentment with the state Cabinet’s decision to grant Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas in the Marathwada region, saying, “…please don’t be selective in granting reservation..give Kunbi caste certificates to all Marathas.”

The Kunbi caste certificates would enable them to get reservation under the OBC quota.

The all-party meeting would be held in Mumbai, in which top leaders of the state would attend.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would be present in the meeting, however, it is not yet known whether Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar would attend - as he is recovering from dengue infection.

Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress and his counterpart in Council Ambadas Danve of the Shiv Sena (UBT) have been invited to attend.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said their party head Uddhav Thackeray has not been invited for the all-party meeting.

”Leaders with just one or no MLA have been invited for the all-party meeting, but a party with 16 MLAs and six MPs has not been extended an invitation because Shiv Sena (UBT) has become an eyesore to them," Raut said in a post on X.