Activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday announced victory after the Maharashtra government’s cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota accepted most of his demands, including giving Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas, on the fifth day of his indefinite fast, triggering celebrations among his supporters at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, where he has been on a hunger strike since 29 August, demanding a 10 per cent quota for the Maratha community in government jobs and education under the OBC category.
“We have won,” Jarange told the Maratha quota stir protesters after his meeting with the state government’s cabinet sub-committee headed by minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, as reported by news agency PTI.
Vikhe Patil met Jarange in the afternoon with other members of the committee – Shivendrasinh Bhosale, Uday Samant, Manikrao Kokate – at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, the site of the activist’s hunger strike, and discussed with him the draft finalised by the committee.
“The Maharashtra government has promised to withdraw cases against Maratha quota agitation protesters,” Jarange told reporters, as per PTI. He further said the state had “promised to pay compensation to kin of Maratha quota stir victims in a week.”
The activist has also set a two-month deadline for the government to issue a government resolution (GR) recognising Marathas and Kunbis as the same community.
Celebrations erupted at Azad Maidan after Jarange declared “victory” and ended his five-day fast, as per PTI.
High Court Orders Protesters to Vacate Azad Maidan
In a major development, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed Jarange and his supporters to vacate Azad Maidan or face action. According to news agency ANI, the court also observed, “Respondent number 5 (Manoj Jarange) may be held responsible for aiding and abetting people coming to Mumbai beyond a certain number of 5,000. Tomorrow, the matter will be taken up at 1.00 pm. But by this order, we must indicate that this court will pass any order and against anyone to keep the majesty of the law. Any breach of the order passed by this court will not be tolerated.”
On the request of Jarange’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, the court adjourned the matter till Wednesday, subject to compliance with earlier directives.
Attorney General Birender Saraf told the court, “We have followed all the procedures through the police, and we have provided a list of the violations committed by them. So I request that my learned friend (Maneshinde) give an undertaking that they will leave Mumbai completely and go out. It will have an impact only if his clients and their supporters leave Mumbai and go out. Ganeshotsav is going on and thousands of people pin roads, and we have to maintain law and order also with police personnel.”
The bench, however, pulled up the Attorney General, stating, “You should have come to us on the very second day and have said that the number of people is more than 5000. You let this situation come to this point. We will pass an order against you also, as you are also in breach of our orders.”
The matter has now been adjourned till Wednesday, with the court stating, “We are adjourning the matter till tomorrow, and we expect that something will come out of it.”
Advocate Maneshinde also informed the court that “Manoj Jarange has issued a statement appealing to his supporters not to create any traffic problems and not to gather in numbers exceeding 5,000.”
Police Clear Protest Area Amid Tensions
Earlier, Mumbai Police began clearing vehicles belonging to protesters parked around Azad Maidan following the court’s order. Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Mundhe, along with a large police team, was seen urging protesters to remove their trucks and tempos parked along Mahapalika Marg near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters.
Protesters resisted, arguing that the vehicles carried essentials such as food and water. Heated exchanges followed, with riot police called in to manage the situation. At certain points, police personnel were gheraoed by protesters, PTI reported.
Officials later assured agitators of alternative parking arrangements, requesting them to move some vehicles to Navi Mumbai.
Doonited Affiliated: Syndicate News Hunt
This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been modified or edited by Doonited
