Jarange Patil Says Maratha Protesters Will March to Mumbai, Date to Be Announced on September 12

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil has said his supporters will march to Mumbai, with the date for the proposed march to be announced on September 12 once they assemble at Antarwali Sarathi. His indefinite hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community entered its 13th day on Thursday.

Speaking to media persons at Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna district, Mr. Jarange Patil said he was not waiting for a government delegation to visit the protest site, but for supporters to gather before deciding the next course of action. He added that he would watch whether the camps organised to issue Kunbi certificates were meant to facilitate the process amid the ongoing agitation or to cancel certificates already issued.

Mr. Jarange Patil and his supporters have been staging protests across the state, demanding that the government issue certificates based on Kunbi entries in the Hyderabad and Satara Gazette records to eligible members of the Maratha community, and validate those certificates instead of cancelling them.

As the agitation continued, Mahayuti minister Uday Samant said every step was being taken to resolve the issue before September 12. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the government had set up camps to facilitate the process of issuing certificates, adding that the steps were being carried out to give reservation under the OBC category based on the government's standard operating procedures.

A day earlier, Mr. Jarange Patil accused Maratha quota sub-committee chairman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of betraying the community by being a sweet talker. He also criticised Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and targeted Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat, saying that while he had been respectful towards Mr. Shinde over the past three years, the Deputy Chief Minister was now speaking in favour of his party, and that relations had soured because of Mr. Shirsat.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut attacked the Mahayuti alliance, alleging that the government wanted to kill Mr. Jarange Patil and that it had used him for political gain.