Jalna: Brahmin community activist Deepak Rannaware has announced that he will launch an indefinite hunger strike from Aug 29 at Mahatma Gandhi Chaman to press for various demands, including increased funding for the Parshuram Arthik Vikas Mahamandal.
Rannaware made the announcement at a press conference on Thursday.
He said the Parshuram Arthik Vikas Mahamandal was established two years ago, but only around ₹8-10 crore has so far been sanctioned. He demanded that the government allocate ₹1,000 crore to the Mahamandal.
Rannaware also alleged that only eight to 10 proposals had been sanctioned due to stringent conditions imposed by the government. He said he had staged agitations twice for the establishment of the Mahamandal.
Even after its formation, only a few employees had been appointed and no non-government members had been included, he claimed. “The Mahamandal has become merely a showpiece,” Rannaware alleged.
Among his other demands are increasing the annual income limit under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category from ₹8 lakh to ₹15 lakh, establishing coaching centres for Brahmin students preparing for competitive examinations, and providing free education to boys and girls from the community.
He also demanded legislation to provide protection to members of the Brahmin community against alleged abuses and caste-based slurs, on the lines of provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Rannaware further demanded a monthly allowance of ₹10,000 for Brahmin community priests (purohits).
Sanjay Deshpande, Arvind Deshpande and Subhash Mevnakar were present at the press conference.
