Amruta Fadnavis Invites Jarange for a Meal; Activist Says He Will Visit at Bhaubeej

Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has described Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil as her brother and invited him to a meal at the family home. The invitation was extended to reporters in Nagpur on Wednesday night.

Jarange, whose hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district entered its 13th day on Thursday, said the present moment was not right for such a visit. If his "sister" was reaching out with affection and compassion, he said, he would meet her during Bhaubeej, the festival after Diwali that celebrates the bond between a brother and a sister.

"If the brother is agitating, the sister should not call at this moment for food. The brother will have a problem. The sister should think about it and call me on Bhaubeej... will go with a saree (for her), and this is my word," he told reporters at his protest venue.

He added that a gesture made with good intent should not be questioned repeatedly. "If you are calling me from the battlefield, then I have to accept defeat. If someone is saying something with a good feeling, there is no need to take it otherwise every time. But this is not the time to go on her invitation because the brother is currently fighting for the kids of poor people. Will definitely go during Bhaubeej," he said.

Jarange has been pressing for reservation for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes category. He has also sought implementation of the Hyderabad and Satara Gazette records and the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to eligible members of the community.

Asked whether government representatives had come to meet him, Jarange said he had not waited on anyone during three years of agitation. "I am agitating on my own capacity. The (government's) delegation will behave according to the way they are guided. It is ok when there is one guide. If guides from various thought schools come together, it creates a mess," he said.

He reiterated that he would go to Mumbai to press his demands and would announce the date on September 12. "I am definitely going to Mumbai and will declare the date on September 12. Nothing will be hidden," he said. A five-day protest he led at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from August 29 last year caused severe traffic congestion and was called off on September 2 after the state government accepted six of his eight demands.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that the government would grant whatever is permissible under the Constitution but would not take from one community's share to give to another. "We will do everything that is possible. We have never closed the doors for dialogue. A government finds a solution through discussions, and the entire process is moving forward in that spirit," he had said.

Amruta Fadnavis also said on Wednesday that festivals are inclusive and that there is nothing wrong if a Muslim person attends the celebrations. Her remarks followed state minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane backing a VHP call to bar Muslims from Navratri events.