Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil called off his hunger strike Wednesday, the eighth day of his protest, and accused Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of trying to get him killed in the jail.
Jarange-Patil further set a new deadline of 13 August to the Mahayuti government for accepting the quota demands of Marathas.
“Fadnavis has launched a campaign to trap me in a case and put me in jail. He has given the task to 10-15 leaders. They want to put me in jail and get me killed by their men in jail,” Jarange-Patil told the media, referring to a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him by a court in Pune.
The quota activist also alleged that Fadnavis was behind the arrest warrant as he “is the home minister and also heads the law and judiciary department”.
“He directs the police to approach the court for getting such warrants. He has made the police register a fabricated FIR against me,” Jarange-Patil alleged.
Later, Fadnavis refuted the allegations, saying the extreme reaction was because of the hunger strike. “Even last time, during the end of his strike, he said unwarranted things about my mother and for which he later apologised. So let’s assume that his anger has sprung out of his hunger strike,” he added.
The deputy chief minister further said that he has nothing to do with the Pune court’s non-bailable arrest warrant against Jarange-Patil. “It is a routine procedure. In case of a criminal case, if you do not appear (in the court) then a non-bailable warrant is issued against you. If you appear, then the warrant stands cancelled,” he explained.
Fadnavis’s party colleague Pravin Darekar, however, took offence to the allegations. Jarange-Patil, he said, has “lost his mental balance.”
“He is making wild allegations. The Maratha community has lost faith in him. We will not keep quiet. We will give a befitting reply to him,” the BJP MLA told the media.
Unsatisfied with the Mahayuti government’s inaction over the ‘sage-soyare’ clause and giving reservation to Marathas under Kunbi, Jarange-Patil had restarted his fast 13 July.
Alleging that Fadnavis is behind setting up the SITs and sending the ED to everyone’s doorstep, Jarange-Patil announced that he would not appear before the court.
“I have not taken anyone’s money. If the courts and police are listening to Fadnavis, I will not respond to the warrant. He is the one who is behind the setting up SITs and sending the ED after different leaders. He gets warrants issued against them and even gets them cancelled. He decides who should go to jail and who should come out,” the quota activist said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)