Manoj Jarange Refuses To Withdraw August 29 Hunger Strike Despite Maharashtra Ministers’ Appeal

Mumbai: Maratha activist Manoj Jarange has refused to cancel his planned hunger strike on August 29 at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district, despite a meeting with several Maharashtra ministers. The delegation, consisting of Shambhuraj Desai, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, and Uday Samant, urged Jarange to cancel the protest, but he maintained his position.

Jarange demanded that the government issue Kunbi caste certificates and validity documents to eligible Maratha community members by August 28 and also wanted criminal cases filed against protesters in previous Maratha reservation protests to be withdrawn. Jarange contended that Marathas should be granted reservation under the OBC framework based on historical records dating back to 1967.

He questioned the progress in examining these records and sought clarity on the number of valid Kunbi records identified from the documents reviewed. The government facilitated discussions between Jarange and members of the Shinde Committee on the certificate issue, but Jarange insisted that eligible applicants should receive their certificates before the deadline.

He also alleged that certain ministers, including Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Sanjay Shirsat, were obstructing the reservation process. The ministers denied these allegations and stated that they were working to resolve administrative hurdles and expected to address the outstanding issues within two to three days. Despite assurances from the government, Jarange declared that the hunger strike would proceed unless concrete actions were taken.