Ongoing agitations over Maratha quota sponsored by BJP's Darekar, claims Jarange

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday said the Maratha community was not staging any agitations at present, claiming the protests seen in the state were sponsored by BJP MLC Pravin Darekar.

Talking to reporters in Jalna, Jarange accused Darekar of trying to break the Maratha agitation and fooling the youth.

"The Maratha community is not staging any protest in the state. If any agitation is taking place, it is sponsored by BJP MLC Pravin Darekar and Devendra Fadnavis. Protestors should stay with the community, or else they will be defamed," the activist said.

Jarange has been demanding the implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as ‘sage soyare’ (blood relatives) of Maratha community members and reservation to the latter under the OBC category. Kunbis enjoy quota benefits as OBCs. However, OBC members have stressed that their quota should not be diluted.

"The Maratha community is capable of questioning anyone. They can even go to Mumbai. Protestors who are agitating now should decide who they wish to support," Jarange said, while appealing to people to attend his rallies in western Maharashtra from August 7.

People from the Maratha community agitated outside former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's residence, Matoshree, on Tuesday, demanding that he clarify his stand on the quota issue.

Starting August 7, Jarange will hold rallies in Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara, Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik.