Manoj Jarange
“I have told my supporters to start moving towards Mumbai one by one before Sept 12. I have also asked the supporters in Mumbai to seek police permission for protests till Sept 30,” Jarange said as his indefinite hunger strike entered its third day on Monday. Use ganimi kava (guerrilla strategy) to reach Mumbai quietly and strategically. Amid speculation that a delegation of ministers could reach out to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, no formal initiative was made by state govt till Monday night. Political observers indicated that Jarange’s repeated use of abusive and objectionable language against several party members might have contributed to govt’s reluctance to initiate immediate talks. At the launch of his latest agitation (11th in three years), Jarange had targeted chief minister Devendra Fadnavis , deputy CM Eknath Shinde and other senior politicians. He had also made controversial remarks about BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation.
“An official, possibly from Parbhani, Nanded or Latur, however, conveyed false information to Shinde that I had withdrawn my opposition to the programme,” Jarange alleged. Meanwhile, a day after opposing a public programme of deputy CM Shinde, which was eventually held, Jarange claimed that Shinde had initially been willing to cancel the event.