Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Thursday withdrew his fast-unto-death following an assurance from the Maharashtra Government that all his demands would be met, and gave a month to meet the demands of the community.
Jarange-Patil, who had been fasting for the last six days, withdrew his fast after Maharashtra Minister Shambhuraj Desai and newly-elected MP Sandipan Bhumre met him at Antarwali-Saraati in Jalna district. Jarange-Patil had restarted his fast, demanding the implementation of the “sage-soyre” law and rejecting the Maharashtra Government’s 10 per cent reservation for the Maratha community.
”The government will have to meet our demands till July 13, otherwise, we will field candidates in the ensuing Assembly elections… We will come to power and then ensure reservation for the Maratha community,” Jarange said while addressing the crowd in front of his stage.
For more than an hour, the government delegation held discussions with Jarange-Patil, who initially set a deadline of June 30 for meeting the Maratha community’s demand. But after repeated requests from Desai, Jarange-Patil relented and gave a deadline of July 13.
“The government is committed to resolving the demands raised by the activist. Tomorrow, I will convene a meeting of officials to resolve some of his demands, especially those relating to the withdrawal of cases against Maratha agitators,” said Desai.
On Wednesday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed to Manoj Jarange-Patil to withdraw his protest. After the appeal, the activist said he had faith in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis, who he has been targetting, was not their enemy.
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