Maratha quota agitator Jarange Patil calls off fast after midnight deal

Maratha reservation agitator Manoj Jarange Patil called off his indefinite hunger strike around 1:15 am midnight on Sunday after a Maharashtra government delegation assured him that several key demands of the Maratha community have been accepted.

However, Jarange-Patil warned that he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike again if the government went back on its word.

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The development came after late-night discussions between Maratha reservation “experts” and Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and BJP MLA Prasad Lad met Jarange Patil at around 10.30 pm on Saturday and agreed to incorporate the key demands as amendments in a draft proposal.

Discussions between the Maratha quota activist and the government delegation lasted for more than two-and-a-half hours and the delegation assured Jarange-Patil that formal government orders addressing key demands of the Maratha community will be issued by June 2 (Tuesday).

Speaking to media persons at Galaxy Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Sunday, Jarange-Patil said, “Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil came with a draft proposal. Discussions were held on it throughout the day and continued late into the night. The draft was placed before experts and members of the Maratha community, following which we submitted our suggestions. The government has agreed to issue the necessary directions and orders. We were told that work on the process would begin from Monday. A period of one month has been given for implementation. If there is no satisfactory progress after that, I am free to resume my agitation”.

Jarange-Patil told media persons that the government could take another month to decide on the Satara Gazette issue, but emphasised that the process of issuing Kunbi OBC caste certificates to eligible Marathas should continue.

The government has agreed to provide access to 58 lakh historical records, issue Kunbi caste certificates to those Marathas whose records establish eligibility, as well as convene meetings under divisional commissioners within 15 days to address caste validity-related issues.

Accepting another key Maratha demand, the government also agreed to grant a one-year extension to the Justice Shinde Committee, establish helplines in district collectorates for assistance with certificate validity matters, launch a dedicated helpline under the Maratha reservation sub-committee headed by Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil as well as set up a Maratha Reservation Cell in the Maharashtra State Secretariat Complex (Mantralaya).

Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who heads the Maharashtra cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation, and BJP MLA Prasad Lad camped in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar since Friday.

After Jarange-Patil began his indefinite hunger strike on Saturday morning, Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil held multiple meetings with officials from the divisional commissionerate and the state’s political leadership. By around midnight on Sunday, Vikhe-Patil and Prasad Lad met Jarange-Patil as part of a government delegation and handed over a 12-point proposal of assurances to him, which satisfied the Maratha activist.

Jarange-Patil had sought Kunbi OBC caste certificates for all Marathas on the basis of 5.8 million Kunbi caste records found in the state, withdrawal of cases registered against protesters over the last three years, a separate Maratha ministry to address community demands, financial assistance to families of Maratha protesters who lost their lives during the agitation, and expediting the issuance of caste validity certificates, among others.