Mumbai: Activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday asked the Maratha community to prepare for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls, saying it has no option but to get political power if it wants reservation in government jobs and education.
He asserted Marathas, who account for more than 30% of the state’s population, Muslims and Dalits would bring about a significant change after the state elections, comparable to the “wave” seen in the recent Lok Sabha polls, where the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) put up an impressive show.
Speaking to mediapersons at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna, Jarange expressed confidence Marathas would come to power in the state after the elections due in October.
He asked those aspiring to contest elections to prepare for the elections while hinting that a decision regarding their political entry would be taken at a meeting on August 29. Jarange predicted that new faces would emerge victorious.
The ruling BJP hit out at the 42-year-old activist, saying he always harboured political ambitions and has been hiding behind the Maratha quota demand.
The activist has been demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, though the state government enacted a law in February to provide them a 10% quota under a separate category. However, OBC leaders, including cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal, have opposed any dilution of the existing quota for backward communities.
While leaders are affiliated to their respective parties, the common people are with us, he claimed. Jarange accused Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of inciting Maratha leaders against him.
He alleged Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, had orchestrated a campaign against the Maratha quota, and claimed some leaders of the community, at the deputy CM’s behest, were trying to undermine the efforts to seek reservation.
Jarange also accused BJP leaders of attempting to incite communal riots but asserted the Maratha community would thwart it. “We will foil the efforts of Fadnavis to create unrest in the state. Maharashtra is a peaceful state where people of all religions and castes live harmoniously,” he insisted.
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Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, BJP leader and MLC Pravin Darekar hit out at Jarange, saying he just wants to keep the emotive issue of the Maratha quota issue alive till the assembly polls and is no longer raising concerns of his community.
