Maratha quota protest enters 4th day; Jarange vows to stop drinking water

Marathi activist Manoj Jarange vowed to stop water intake from the fourth day of his hunger strike at Azad Maidan, demanding OBC quota for Marathas. The Maharashtra government seeks legal advice while traffic disruptions and business concerns grow amid the ongoing protest.

Mumbai: Activist Manoj Jarange has vowed to stop drinking water from the fourth day of his hunger strike on Monday and brave “bullets” over his demand for reservation to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

He has demanded the government issue a GR based on the reservation based on available records.

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For its part, the Maharashtra government on Sunday said it will seek a legal opinion on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer on the Kunbi status- an OBC caste- for the Maratha community.

Jarange, however, remained unimpressed and said he won’t budge from the protest venue at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai till his demands are met, even if the Devendra Fadnavis government fires bullets at protesters.

He has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at the Azad Maidan from Friday over his demand for a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the OBC category.

Asserting he will not leave Mumbai till his demands are met, Jarange on Sunday said, “The government has records of 58 lakh Marathas as Kunbis.”

“From tomorrow (Monday), I will stop taking water as the government is not accepting the demands. But I am not going back till the quota demand is met. We will get the reservation for Marathas under the OBC category no matter what,” the activist told his supporters.

“The government should say that Marathas are a sub-caste of Kunbis. There are 58 lakh records that have been found, which show links of Marathas as Kunbis. Those who want a reservation will take it. Don’t generalise Marathas as Kunbis if there is a legal issue,” Jarange told a press conference on Sunday night.

No one can stop Marathas from getting reservation under the OBC category, he claimed.

With Maratha protesters occupying Azad Maidan and various surrounding areas and government and private offices reopening on Monday after the weekend, police have cautioned motorists about occasional disruptions in traffic movement towards south Mumbai in the morning hours.

“Azad Maidan: Expect slow traffic and occasional disruption tomorrow (Monday) morning while commuting towards south Mumbai due to ongoing agitation. Keep following directions given at traffic junctions to minimise”, the Mumbai Traffic Police posted on its official social media handle.

Traders have also raised concerns over the ongoing Maratha agitation and sought intervention by the government or the High Court to restore normalcy and protect businesses in south Mumbai from long-term damage.

Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association president Viren Shah said the massive gathering at Azad Maidan has thrown south Mumbai into complete chaos and affected weekend sales across shops and markets.

“Mumbai feels hijacked,” he said.

Forced to do a political tightrope ahead of civic elections, the government said the cabinet sub-committee will seek a legal view on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer regarding the Kunbi status for Marathas, which was a key demand of Jarange.