“We will protest within the rules. We will protest until reservation is implemented. We will also follow the law. We also accept the government’s condition of five thousand people at the protest venue,” he said.
File Photo: IANS
Maratha reservation quota activist visited the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Shivneri Fort on Thursday, and moved towards Mumbai along with a large number of Maratha supporters to launch his protest at Azad Maidan on Friday.
“We cannot sit still unless justice is given to the Maratha community. The government has given us permission to protest. We appreciate the government for that. From the foothills of Shivneri Fort, we request Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to grant permission for the protest until our demands are accepted.
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“We will protest within the rules. We will protest until reservation is implemented. We will also follow the law. We also accept the government’s condition of five thousand people at the protest venue,” he said.
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Meanwhile, the protest venue of Azad Maidan has been turned into a fortress with hundreds of armed police personnel, plainclothesmen and wireless vans deployed near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) building.
In the letter issued by Mumbai’s Azad Maidan police station, Jarange-Patil has been informed that the police permission would be granted only for one day and that it would not be given on Saturdays, Sundays or government holidays.
“A maximum of 5,000 people can participate in the protest in the designated space of 7,000 square metres at Azad Maidan. Since other protesters also have permission to protest on the same day, their rights must not be affected,” the letter has stated.
The letter has specified that a protest march would not be allowed and that permission would be required for the use of microphones, speakers or any noise-making devices. The police have cautioned that traffic should not be disturbed or statements which may disturb peace or hurt sentiments should not be made. The letter has stated that the protest is allowed from 9am to 6 pm at Azad Maidan, which faces St Xavier’s College.
In a related development, Maharashtra’s OBC community held a meeting on Thursday and OBC leader Babanrao Taywade has announced that the National OBC Federation will start a chain hunger strike at the Constitution Square in Nagpur from Saturday and even consider marching to Mumbai if needed, demanding that Marathas must not be given OBC Kunbi caste certificates indiscriminately.
“A decision has also been taken in the meeting to create awareness in every district. Our demand from the government is that Maratha community members should not be given Kunbi certificates indiscriminately. We welcome the statement by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that OBC reservation will not be affected. We hope no decision will be taken under the pressure of Jarange’s agitation,” OBC leader Babanrao Taywade said.
Significantly, Jarange-Patil has demanded implementation of reservation for Marathas as Kunbis, which is a sub-caste covered under the OBC list and the formal notification of “sage soyare”, which is a Marathi term for “relatives from the family tree”, which widens the scope of the reservation quota.
Jarange-Patil has claimed that Marathas and Kunbis (who have an OBC identity) are the same and reservations must be implemented keeping this in mind. “Otherwise we will not leave Mumbai,” Jarange-Patil has stated.
Jarange-Patil has demanded the implementation of the Hyderabad Gazetteer and stated that it has been a year-and-a-half since the ordinance of “sage soyare” was passed. “Consider the sage soyare of the person whose Kunbi record has been found,” he demanded.
He has demanded the withdrawal of police cases against Maratha agitators altogether. “Cases were filed against us after we were beaten up by the police. Those cases have not been withdrawn yet,” Jarange-Patil said.
Later on Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Ten per cent reservation has been given to the Maratha community. Now they are asking for reservation under OBC Kunbi category. There are 350 castes in the OBC list. If there is social or job reservation, then it can be considered but political reservation will not be provided. The movement is becoming political. Some political parties are trying to benefit themselves by putting a gun on the shoulders of Marathas, but they will only suffer and not benefit”.
“I have a request to the Maratha and OBC communities. The government will consider the interests of both communities. There is no question of doing injustice to anyone. The OBC community should also remember that we will not allow injustice to be done to them. We have solved all problems of the Maratha community.
“We have given reservation and it has been upheld in court. In a democracy, we have the right to raise our issues and protest. As long as any protest is conducted in a democratic manner, we have no problem. We will solve the problem through discussion,” he added.
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