Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Saturday announced a protest in Mumbai on September 19 at Azad Maidan to press the demand for Maratha reservations.
Jarange Patil said that after installing the Ganesh idol on September 13, he and his supporters will leave his native place, Antarwali Sarati, in the Marathwada region, and march towards Mumbai.
“The minister Devendra Fadnavis and the police should halt our march. The court has permitted us to protest for our demand. It is our constitutional right. We will travel 100 km every day and reach Mumbai on September 19,” Jarange Patil said.
He said the protest in Mumbai would be indefinite. “The people who are joining the protest should join them so that we can meet at one designated route. No one should overtake anyone else. We have to follow the discipline. We have to hold the protest peacefully in a democratic way. We have no intention to hurt anyone. We are coming to Mumbai to press for our reservations. The police should not try to put up barricades anywhere either to stop or disrupt the Maratha community march. We want our right to be fulfilled,” Jarange Patil said.
Jarange Patil said that if the police attempted to stop them, they would sleep on the road but would not turn back. “We protested last time in Mumbai in a peaceful way, and the same pattern will be followed. The government should not also test the patience of the Maratha community. The government cannot afford to face the ire of the Maratha community. If the Marathas get alienated and express their voting differently, then the incumbent government will topple at any moment. This is the power of the Maratha community,” the Maratha quota activist said.
Earlier, a petition had been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking to halt the Maratha community’s march towards Mumbai. However, the court refused to do so, stating that it is the fundamental right of every citizen to protest for their demand. The court said that on mere apprehension, it would not halt the protest.