'If he is touched...': Dipke warns govt over removing Manoj Jarange Patil like Wangchuk

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke met Manoj Jarange Patil as the Maratha quota activist’s indefinite hunger strike entered its 14th day on Friday, warning the state government that people from across Maharashtra would descend on the protest site if Patil is harmed.

Dipke dared the government to forcibly remove Patil from the protest site, as the Delhi Police did with Sonam Wangchuk, which galvanised the student protest against exam irregularities at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and forced the then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign in July. He warned that the government would face the consequences.

Patil has been on an indefinite hunger strike since August 29 at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna over 15 demands related to Maratha reservation. He has called a march to Mumbai to press for the fulfilment of his demands. Patil is scheduled to meet representatives of the Maratha community on Saturday to decide the date of the march.

Dipke, who is from neighbouring Hingoli district, said the government has still not inquired about Patil’s condition. “It is difficult to understand what is happening in our state and country. The people who have been elected meet everyone except the people who elected them. The government is not ready to speak with Manoj Jarange Patil. Does the government intend to leave social workers like him to die?” Dipke asked after meeting Patil.

Dipke said Patil is fighting for better education and employment opportunities for his community. He added that had the government provided adequate education and employment opportunities, he would not have needed to sit on a hunger strike. “This is your failure. You have left the people to fend for themselves. If the government had done its job and provided the necessary facilities, Patil would not have had to go on hunger strike,” he said.

He added that the government should not attempt to do to Patil what the Delhi Police did to Wangchuk, who was forcibly removed from his hunger-strike site. “This is Maharashtra, and such a thing will not be tolerated here at all. If he is touched, the entire Maharashtra will come here. The government has only made empty promises. I challenge the government to name a single district in Maharashtra where government schools in rural areas are functioning well and where there are sufficient employment opportunities,” he said. He appealed to the government to talk to Patil and listen to his demands.

On Tuesday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government had fulfilled most of Patil’s demands that would benefit the community. Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil earlier said the government had taken “unprecedented” measures, including facilitating Kunbi certificates for the eligible Marathas to be included in the Other Backward Class category. He said they implemented reservation benefits and funded welfare schemes.

Minister Patil, who heads the Cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation, said over 350,000 Maratha youths had benefited from the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes quota. He added that a similar number had obtained Kunbi certificates.