Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Maratha quota activist Jarange Patil's allegations of receiving death threats from Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. This decision came after BJP MLA Ashish Shelar demanded an investigation into the matter.
On Sunday, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange said he would march to Mumbai and protest outside the residence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who he accused of trying to kill him.
The announcement, made at the end of a speech of more than one hour in Antarwali Sarati in Jalna in which Jarange made several allegations against Fadnavis, took his supporters by surprise. Asked about Jarange’s statements later, Fadnavis just said "I did not hear what he spoke". "Some people are being lured and pressured to make false allegations against me. Fadnavis is behind these conspiracies. He wants to kill me. I am ready to march to Sagar bungalow (Fadnavis’ official residence in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill) right away," Jarange said.
The announcement led to chaos at the site, where the activist’s supporters had gathered in large numbers. Even as some of them tried to take away his microphone, Jarange said he would march to Mumbai alone and all he needed was a stick for support. He said allegations against him were levelled once the Maratha quota bill was passed in the Maharashtra legislature on February 20. "How come these people realised my so-called mistakes now and began speaking about them," Jarange asked.