BJP MLC Lad meets Jarange with appeal to drop hunger strike from May 30

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: BJP MLC Prasad Lad, who has frequently traded barbs with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange in the past, visited Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district on Friday and urged him to not begin his indefinite fast from May 30.

Jarange has warned govt of an intensified agitation over pending demands like implementation of GRs linked to Satara, Kolhapur, Aundh, Pune and Miraj princely states on the lines of the 1994 policy, dissolution of the Maratha sub-committee, extension of the Shinde committee’s tenure for verification of records, and immediate disbursal of pending corporation refunds.Hours before the meeting, tension prevailed in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after two people allegedly attempted to enter the hotel where Lad was put up. Sources said his personal assistant received a threat call. Police detained Yogesh Shitole Patil and Ganesh Ugale, both Maratha activists, who blamed Lad and Jarange for misleading the community. They were released after Lad left in the evening. The MLC said some people had abused his mother which was hurtful.

Addressing a gathering at Antarwali, Lad said Jarange had carried forward the Maratha reservation movement that began in 1981 and played a major role in securing reservation for the community. “I thank Manoj dada for his fight and have requested him to understand chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. In the last 70 years, no Maratha leader has done what Fadnavis has for the community. I am here like a younger brother and a mediator. Give me time. I will raise all your issues before govt and try to find a way out,” the MLA said.

Jarange reiterated his demands, including issuance of Kunbi certificates to all eligible Marathas in Marathwada before May 29, withdrawal of cases against agitators, restarting all SARATHI schemes, validation of Kunbi certificates already issued, jobs in MSEDCL and MIDC for kin of deceased agitators, and formation of separate ministries for Maratha and Kunbi communities.

He said scholarships for nearly 80,000 students were pending and officials were deliberately withholding Kunbi certificates despite the Hyderabad GR being issued. He added that the CM, despite not being a Maratha, had taken steps for reservation. “But if he is supreme and ministers have no authority, then the responsibility for not issuing the certificates also lies with him,” he added.