Even as Maratha quota agitators staged road blocks in a number of villages under the direction from Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Saturday, the activist claimed that the government was making attempts to frame him in a case and get him arrested.
“Attempts are underway to trap me and get me arrested. But I am going to foil these with the help of the Maratha community,” Mr. Jarange-Patil said, speaking in Antarwali-Sarati village in Jalna district.
The activist, on his fourth hunger strike for seeking reservation for the Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, alleged that several people were “working in the background” to trap him.
Mr. Jarange-Patil said that his agitation had been going on for the last 15 days (since February 10), but the government was apparently not bothered.
“I am sustaining on saline, my chest is hurting but the government is still not coming here…They are giving excuses. If they come here, we will welcome them…But it seems the government is trying to escape. It is working against the interests of the Maratha community,” Mr. Jarange-Patil said.
Several of Mr. Jarange-Patil’s ‘associates’ have recently come forward and bitterly censured him for his stubborn stance, while claiming to expose the activist as a ‘fraud’ and a prima donna whose staged hunger strikes and meetings were reportedly sponsored by big name politicos.
Despite the government recently passing a bill providing a separate 10% reservation to the Maratha community in education and government jobs, the activist has maintained his intransigent attitude, insisting that the Marathas be given reservation only under the OBC category as the separate reservation exceeded the constitutional 50% ceiling and would not stand judicial scrutiny.
Mr. Jarange-Patil further warned the Shinde government that if protestors staging rasta rokos were arrested or if cases were filed against them, the Home Ministry (under Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis) would have to face the consequences.
He has appealed to the Maratha community to gather at Antarwali-Sarati on Sunday to take a final decision on the next course of their agitation.
