After meeting govt delegation, Manoj Jarange calls off hunger strike on 20th day of agitation, gives govt another three months

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday morning called off his indefinite hunger strike on its 20th day after a government delegation held talks with him at Patoda in Beed district and sought three months to address his key demands. This was Jarange’s 11th agitation over the past three years.Cabinet ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Dada Bhuse, along with BJP MLA from Ashti Suresh Dhas and BJP MLC Prasad Lad, reached Patoda around 5.40am to discuss Jarange’s demands on behalf of the govt. Following the talks, Jarange announced that he was suspending his fast for 90 days, saying there had been positive discussions on his five main demands.Jarange said the suspension of the hunger strike did not mean the end of his agitation. He gave the government three months to issue the necessary government resolution and implement the Gazetteer-related measures. He also demanded a written assurance that not a single record would be deleted from the nearly 58 lakh records identified in the process of establishing Maratha-Kunbi links.“If the government betrays us, we will go to Mumbai,” Jarange warned, while appealing to over 1 lakh of his supporters who according to him had travelled towards Mumbai, to return home. He said he was prepared to trust the government for three months following the discussions at Patoda.Before announcing the suspension of his fast, Jarange also said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was not his enemy and indicated that he would continue to maintain affection for Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, while making it clear that he would not compromise on the demands of the Maratha community.After ending his fast, Jarange left Patoda for a private hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, where he had been undergoing treatment periodically for the past three years.Stay updated with the latest Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar news. Download the TOI App.