Jarange-Patil suspends Maratha quota stir till March 3 due to Board exams

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Maharashtra), Feb 28 (IANS) Shivba Sanghatana leader, Manoj Jarange-Patil, on Wednesday announced that he was suspending the Maratha agitation for quotas till March 3, in view of the ongoing Board examinations in Maharashtra.

Till then, only sit-in protests would be held and all other forms of agitations have been withdrawn, Jarange-Patil said.

He also appealed to the Maratha community to wait and watch what steps the Maharashtra Government was taking to fulfil their demands, including formalisation of the ‘Sage-Soyare’ (family bloodline) issue.

Jarange-Patil, who is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital here after calling off his 17-day-long hunger strike on Monday, urged his supporters not to get misguided on the issue.

He accused the authorities of indulging in harassment tactics and trying to remove his marquee in Antarwali-Sarati Village in Jalna, and called upon his followers to send emails to the President of India and the Governor apprising them of the alleged repression.

Referring to the Special Investigation Team probe ordered by Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar into the seven-month-long agitation and related issues, an irked Jarange-Patil warned, “I will not budge till the quotas are given as promised. If the government arrests me, I will go on a fast unto death in jail. We will not retreat till the quotas are implemented.”

After his outbursts against Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other ministers, Jarange-Patil finds himself isolated, with many Opposition leaders, too, flaying his comments and demanding a probe.

Other BJP leaders have called for a detailed investigation into the agitation, the ‘mastermind’ behind it, the funding for the statewide campaign, narco-test and arrest of Jarange-Patil.

However, Jarange-Patil – who on Tuesday apologised for using abusive language against Fadnavis – has said the government is free to conduct any probe as he has done nothing wrong, and his mission was to ensure reservation for the Marathas.