Maratha quota protest: Marathas will march towards Mumbai on Saturday, says Manoj Jarange

Manoj Jarange addresses his supporters on Friday. Pic/ Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Friday said that the Marathas will march towards Mumbai on Saturday and will stay in Navi Mumbai on Friday, the ANI reported.

Manoj Jarange on Friday made a fresh demand that the Maharashtra government amend its free education policy to include all Marathas until the benefit of reservation becomes available for the entire community, reported the PTI.

According to the ANI, Maratha Reservation activist Manoj Jarange said, "the Marathas will not go towards Mumbai today. They will stay in Navi Mumbai only. Jarange has asked the Maharashtra government to issue GR regarding the Maratha reservation by tonight. If by tonight GR is not issued by the Maharashtra government, Marathas will march towards Mumbai tomorrow morning."

Manoj Jarange heads to Mumbai

9 months agoWEBSTORY

Addressing a rally at Shivaji Chowk in Vashi area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra where he arrived in the morning with thousands of his supporters, Manoj Jarange said he will stay put in Navi Mumbai for the day, as per the PTI.

"I am taking a step backward," the 40-year-old activist said, adding that he had stopped having food from Friday and was taking only water.

"If an ordinance (to meet his various demands) is not promulgated tonight, I will come to Mumbai tomorrow," he said.

"I will take decision on going to Azad Maidan (in Mumbai) tomorrow at noon. Once I set out, there will be no turning back," the activist warned, according to the PTI.

The free education policy should be amended so that boys also get free education besides girls, and all Marathas should get free education "from KG to PG" (kindergarten to post-graduation) until the entire community gets reservation, he said.

He has sought data of the 37 lakh Kunbi certificates issued by the state government, Jarange further said. Kunbi, an agrarian community, falls in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, and Jarange has been demanding Kunbi certificates for all Marathas.

"The government has told me that 54 lakh Kunbi records (records showing that a Maratha person/family belongs to Kunbi community) have been found, of which 37 lakh certificates have been given. Who are these people? We need data," he said, according to the news agency.

"More than two crore Marathas will get OBC certificates after Kunbi records are found," Jarange said, adding that all Marathas should apply for the Kunbi certificate to avail of reservation. Once a person is established as belonging to the Kunbi caste, all his/her relatives should get reservation, he demanded.

Present government job recruitment should be carried out by keeping some seats reserved for the Marathas, he said.

He has also demanded withdrawal of cases registered against Maratha activists during the quota protests, he said, the news agency reported.

Manoj Jarange has asserted that he won't abandon his agitation midway till the community is granted reservation in government jobs and education, while Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar said the activist's demands have been accepted, as per the PTI.

(with ANI and PTI inputs)