On the ninth day of his rigorous hunger strike without water and medication, Shivba Sanghatana leader Manoj Jarange-Patil has slammed the government for suspending Internet services in at least three districts of the state, here on Thursday.
"What will happen if the Internet is shut off? The voice of Marathas can never be silenced through oppression. The government should stop such tactics and restrain the savages…" said Jarange-Patil in a social media post.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is likely to reach out and speak with Jarange-Patil again in the day and send a delegation to meet the Maratha leader, to seek additional time to finalise the quotas which can stick in the courts, and without disturbing the existing reservation granted to other communities.
Late last evening, the Maratha leader toughened his stance on the quotas issue by going off water with a warning that "the government will have to face the consequences".
Appearing very weak, virtually immobile and weary, Jarange-Patil lies on a mattress on a stage in his village Antaravali-Sarati, with a band of his loyalists keeping round-the-clock vigil and anxious villagers turning up in small groups to boost his morale.
Jarange-Patil vowed that he will not back off from his hunger-strike till full quotas are given to the Maratha community under the 'Kunbi Caste' for which he has been agitating since August 29.
"The people of the state are strongly resenting the government's delay tactics… Though the documentary evidence is available, we are being denied the reservation,” he alleged.
He even alleged that the government is "trying to kill time" by seeking further extensions to fulfil the Marathas' demands, and declared that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar will have to bear the repercussions for their acts.
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