Mumbai: Activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who had said that he would tour the whole state meeting fellow agitators between September 30 and October 11, on Wednesday said he would not rest until the Maratha community gets reservation in government jobs and educational institutes.
“I will not sit quietly until the Maratha community gets reservation,” Jarange-Patil said during an interaction with media at Jalna on Wednesday.
12-day statewide tour
He is scheduled to begin a 12-day statewide tour from Jalna on Saturday. He will tour Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Buldhana.
“I won’t be able to meet everyone. Hence, whoever wants to meet me is requested to come to the scheduled place and time,” he appealed to the members of the community.
“I broke the fast after the chief minister assured me that all steps would be taken to ensure that the Maratha community gets reservation. We have given 40 days to the state government to act on its promise. But the government should not kill time unnecessarily. We hear that the government has found 5,000 old entries of Maratha as Kunbis. Also, the Gaikwad report has said that Marathas and Kunbis are one. Then why not come out with the GR immediately?,” he asked government agencies.
The Jalna-based activist, who had been on the forefront of agitations seeking reservations for the Marathas, said that on October 14, when the time limit given to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be over, a grand statewide rally of Marathas is being planned at his village Antarwali-Sarate.
“The onus is on the government to ensure that it gives the Maratha community a reservation that passes the legal test and can be upheld in the apex court,” he said.
