Saturday's announcement came as quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil embarked on a protest march to Mumbai from Jalna demanding OBC reservations for Marathas.
Maratha quota activist started from Jalna village Saturday after Eknath Shinde govt's failure to stop him, tells community it 'should not back down before getting reservation'.
Jarange-Patil says hunger strike will be held at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, where he will be joined by 'crores' of Marathas. SC is set to hear Maratha reservation issue on 24 January.
The agitation for the Maratha quota had turned violent, with protesters 'torching the homes of two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs' in Beed in October.
The Maratha quota protests have fractured old ties in epicentre Jalna. OBC and Maratha neighbours no longer chit-chat, children have been told to stop playing with each other.
NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who had grown muted after being embroiled in graft cases and serving jail time, is now making an aggressive bid to fill the OBC leadership void.
On 3rd leg of his Maharashtra tour in Thane Tuesday, the Maratha quota activist says they were 'protesting peacefully', suspects whether Shinde govt ‘wants to maintain law & order or not’.
Bhujbal questioned granting of OBC certificates to Marathas & criticised ministers and judges for pleading before Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil to end his indefinite fast.
Shinde govt has asked districts to look at land, birth & death records, among others, to identify Marathas who were once Kunbis & publish details before 2 Jan deadline for quota.
40-year-old Manoj Jarange, whose Maratha reservation agitation has kept Maharashtra on the boil, vowed to lead a 'massive' march to Mumbai if no decision was taken within two months.
From Sam Pitroda talking about inheritance tax to Goan candidate saying the Indian Constitution was 'forced' on Goa, Congress has been having its own foot-in-the-mouth moments.
Another addition to military cooperation has been the Strategic Space Dialogue, inaugurated in Paris in 2023. Last month, India participated as an observer to France’s AsterX.
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