On Wednesday, activist Manoj Jarange called on the Maharashtra government to provide a clear statement regarding its readiness to grant reservation to the entire Maratha community. He also urged the government to explain why it requires more time to fulfill this quota demand. Jarange, who has been on an indefinite fast at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district to press for the Maratha quota demand, asked the state government how much time does it need to fulfil the demand.
Manoj Jarange additionally called upon the government to visit the protest site and engage in discussions with him. These comments came in the wake of an all-party meeting held by the government in Mumbai earlier in the day to deliberate on the Maratha quota issue. Following the meeting, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde appealed to Jarange to end his hunger strike and collaborate with the government. He explained that the state requires some time to prepare for the curative petition filed in the Supreme Court concerning the Maratha quota matter.
The government needs time for legal modalities to implement the reservation, Shinde said. Referring to it, Jarange said, I don’t want to know the details of what had happened during the all-party meeting. The government says they want time. They should tell us how much time it wants and also tell us what the problem is in giving reservation to the Maratha community. We will then think about it. The government should have realised it earlier and demanded more time, he said.
But the government starts asking for time after 8-10 days into my agitation. They should tell what they are going to do in detail. If they are just going to do it for the time being, then we will not spare even five minutes for the government, he said.