We need to bring change if quota demands are not met, Jarange tells supporters

Beed: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday said there will be need to change the government if their demands are not met.

Assembly polls are likely to take place in Maharashtra next month. The term of the current assembly ends on November 26.

Addressing a rally on the occasion of Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra, at Narayangad in Beed, Jarange alleged a conspiracy is being hatched against the community and that it was being targeted.

"If we don't get justice for your children, for your community, for farmers, (then) we need to bring in change," Jarange said though he did not spell out his future course of action.

He warned the government to address the issues of all communities before the model code of conduct for the assembly polls comes into force. Jarange said the demand for reservation has been pending for last 14 months, adding not a single demand has been met so far.

"Our demand is that poor Marathas be given reservations. Every caste has taken benefits of Central and state facilities. Some claimed by giving quota it will hurt the reservation of others," Jarange said.

Conspiracies are being hatched to finish him and he is cornered from all sides, Jarange alleged.

Jarange is very popular among the Marathas, especially in Marathwada, a region known for its backwardness and a high suicide rate of farmers. He has been seeking reservation for Marathas by asking the government to include the community in the OBC segment.

The state government, however, has given separate 10 per cent reservation by bringing in a law in February.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he had given a call to his supporters not to vote for "those who acted against getting reservation to their community", a reference to the BJP and its allies. This resulted in caste polarisation in the region and the BJP-led NDA lost all its seats except Aurangabad.

"One must rebel against injustice. There is a need for an uprising. What sin have we committed that our community only got injustice," he asserted.

He urged his supporters to be patient because the community and farmers are on their path to victory.