Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Sunday alleged that there was a plot to kill him and trigger unrest throughout his deliberate ‘peaceable’ march to Mumbai over the Maratha reservation issue. He mentioned he would “settle for loss of life however won’t give up”.
Jarange mentioned on Saturday that he and his supporters would depart for Mumbai on September 15. He plans to start an indefinite starvation strike at Azad Maidan within the state capital on September 19, demanding reservation for Marathas in jobs and training.
Jarange Patil alleges ‘conspiracy’ to kill him
Jarange, whose starvation strike entered its sixteenth day on Sunday, alleged that folks linked to the ruling events might be despatched into the march to trigger dysfunction and assault him. He made the declare whereas talking to supporters and media individuals on the protest website in Antarwali Sarati village in Maharashtra’s Jalna district, information company PTI reported.
“I’ll settle for loss of life, however I cannot give up,” he mentioned, including that the federal government nonetheless had eight days to settle the matter earlier than the deliberate protest in Mumbai.
“We should reply when somebody steps on the tail of a snake,” he added, warning that his supporters might problem some ministers politically.
The activist additionally claimed on Sunday that some BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLAs have been contacting his supporters and telling them not to participate within the march.
“There’s a conspiracy to shoot me throughout the march. They don’t need to kill Marathas, however need to goal me,” he alleged.
He advised those that have been scared that they didn’t have to hitch the march. He additionally made an emotional enchantment to his supporters to journey to Mumbai and, if obligatory, even participate in his funeral procession.
Why is he protesting?
Jarange-Patil desires Kunbi caste certificates to be issued to Marathas based mostly on 5.8 million paperwork collected by the federal government. Such certificates would enable members of the Maratha neighborhood to entry advantages underneath the OBC quota.
He has additionally sought the implementation of provisions within the Satara, Kolhapur and Bombay gazetteers to make it simpler to challenge Kunbi certificates.
The state authorities says 12 of the 15 calls for raised by Jarange-Patil have been met. Nevertheless, the activist maintains that the federal government has did not honour its commitments.
Jarange mentioned he would start his march to Mumbai on September 15, a day after the Ganesh competition begins. He and his supporters will first cease at Patoda in Beed, adopted by Shrigonda in Ahilyanagar the subsequent day and Hadapsar in Pune on September 17, HT reported earlier.
They’ll keep in a single day in Khopoli on September 18 earlier than reaching Azad Maidan at 11:00am on September 19.