Maratha quota activist ends fast, claims Fadnavis trying to send him to jail
Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday withdrew his fast. He gave another deadline of August 13 to the Eknath Shinde government to provide reservation to the Maratha community under the OBC category. Referring to a warrant issued against him by a Pune court, Jarange alleged that Devendra Fadnavis wants to put him behind the bar. However, the BJP hit back saying the Maratha activist has lost his mental balance.
Jarange had restarted his fast on July 20. His health had deteriorated from Tuesday night. His blood sugar dropped to 60. Following this, he was given IV support after which he decided to call off his fast.
“I will not fast with IV (saline)....You (the government) wanted two months, accordingly I am giving the deadline till August 13. The government should fulfill the promises.”
A Pune court has issued non-bailable warrant against Jarange in connection with a 2013 cheating case after he failed to appear before the court. Jarange alleged that Fadnavis was behind the arrest warrant as he “is the home minister and also heads the law and judiciary department”. “He directs the police to approach the court for getting such warrants. He has made the police register a fabricated FIR against me,” he said.
However, Fadnavis refuted the allegations, saying the extreme reaction was because of the hunger strike. “Even last time, while ending his hunger strie, he said unwarranted things about my mother for which he later apologised. It could be the effect of the hunger strike,” he said.
Referring to alleagaitons regarding the arrest warrant, the Maharashtra deputy CM said, “It is a routine procedure. In case of a criminal case, if you do not appear (in the court) then a non-bailable warrant is issued against you. If you appear, then the warrant stands cancelled. The case was registered in 2013 when I was not in the government.”
While ending his fast, Jarange exhorted the Maratha community to defeat the BJP candidates in the state Assembly polls. Reacting sharply, BJP leader Pravin Darekar said his party has accepted the challenge thrown by Jarange. He alleged that Jarange’s focus has gradually shifted from issues related to the Maratha community to politics. “Jarange is working as Maha Vikas Aghadi’s proxy. He seems to have accepted a contract for carrying out a hit job against the NDA. His focus is politics rather than social issues. He also wants to keep the issue of Maratha reservation alive until the assembly polls so that the unrest would benefit MVA candidates,” the BJP leader said.
