Maratha Leader Breaks 17-day Fast, with a Glass of Juice from CM

The Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil finally broke his 17-day long hunger strike by accepting a glass of juice from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, at the Antaravali-Sarati village, here on Thursday morning.

Jarange-Patil received Chief Minister, Union MoS for Railways Raosaheb Danve-Patil, state Minister Girish Mahajan and other leaders when they landed here this morning, a day after their scheduled arrival (Wednesday).

On reaching, Shinde went straight to the agitation marquee, stepped on the make-shift stage where the Maratha leaders are protesting since the past over two weeks, and held a brief discussion with Jarange-Patil.

Probably coaxed by the Chief Minister to break his indefinite hunger strike, Jarange-Patil smiled, glanced at his supporters and others, and then accepted a glass of orange juice from Shinde's hand, smiled and hesitatingly sipped it, signalling the end of his long and tiring fast.

At this, the gathering including many Marathas cheered and clapped and the visiting dignitaries folded their hands in acknowledgement, as the worst of the political crisis seemed to have blown over.