Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange staged a protest demanding reservation for the Maratha community in Maharashtra. The state government also convened the state assembly and passed a bill to provide 10 per cent reservation to the Maratha community. But Manoj keeps saying that he will fight till the Maratha people are included in the OBC category.
Speaking to reporters at the venue of the protest in Jalna, Manoj said, "Some people in authority are getting pressured to make false allegations against me. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is behind this conspiracy.
The government is going all out to defame us. The government wants me to die through hunger strike. They are conspiring to kill me by poisoning me through saline. That is why I have stopped taking IV fluids. Fadnavis wants to eliminate me in an encounter.I am ready to march to Fadnavis' Sagar Bungalow. This government is trying to defame the Maratha community through political tactics. I will not rest till the Maratha people get the OBC certificate. Fadnavis is the only obstacle in its implementation.
Fadnavis thinks no one should become more popular than him. The court has allowed us to protest peacefully. Then why should the police file a case against us? Fadnavis is responsible for this," he said.
Fadnavis, however, has denied the allegations. "The government knows who is behind Manoj's claims. I will disclose them at the right time. I don't know what kind of sympathy he is trying to earn through this."
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has also warned them not to test their patience on this issue. Eknath Shinde said, "Those who are protesting against the government again and again should not test the patience of the government and create law and order problems. I wonder why Manoj is speaking like Sarath Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray."