As per his plan, Jarange Patil, along with his supporters, will begin his hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Friday. The protesters were demanding Kunbi (OBC) status to the Maratha community.
Despite the Mumbai Police issuing a notice to him denying him permission to hold a hunger strike in the city, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil announced he will reach Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on January 26.
As thousands of Maratha protesters marching with him started to reach Vashi Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) by bikes, cars, jeeps, tempos and trucks by Thursday evening, Jarange-Patil was still at Khandala at the time this report was written. The organisers said he was delayed as a result of a massive crowd gathering at his roadshow and was expected to reach Vashi after 12 am.
As per his plan, Jarange Patil, along with his supporters, will begin his hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Friday. The protesters were demanding Kunbi (OBC) status to the Maratha community.
In a notice issued under section 149 of the Criminal Procedure Code that enables the police to prevent cognisable offences, the police said, “Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and various financial institutions, international advocacy and other financial centers are working in Mumbai. Approximately 60 to 65 lakh citizens travel by train and other means of transport for jobs in Mumbai every day. If the Maratha protestors reach the city in their vehicles, it will have an adverse effect and the everyday transport system in the city will collapse.”
The Mumbai police suggested the protestors could gather at International Corporation Park Ground at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai after seeking permission from the concerned authority. The letter, undersigned by Azad Maidan senior inspector Nitin Tadakhe, further said that if the morcha did not adhere to the notice, they will be held in contempt of orders of the High Court and Supreme Court.
“As per the High Court, only 7,000 square meters area of Azad Maidan has been reserved for protest and its capacity is to accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 protestors, but if a large number of protestors come there, there will not be enough space for them to stop and there are no facilities to that extent. The rest of the ground comes under the school education and sports department which too has rejected permission to hold the rally,” the notice stated.
While refusing permission for the crowd to assemble at the Shiva ji Park ground in Dadar, the police said that since January 26 is Republic Day, the government programme of flag hoisting will be held at Shiva ji Park and there was a possibility it will be disturbed due to the agitation. The notice added that the Shiva ji Park ground did not have the capacity to accommodate such a large number of visitors. The police mentioned that as per the Bombay High Court writ petition in the case, the Court directed the police to ensure the protest does not cause any disturbance to the public in Mumbai.
Jarange Patil, however, said he was not aware of anybody denying the permission and that he will definitely go to Azad Maidan for an indefinite fast demanding Kunbi status to Marathas. “There is no question of going anywhere else. We will go to Azad Maidan,” he said.
Jarange-Patil said that the Maratha agitation will never disrupt any celebration planned on Republic Day and would instead celebrate the day. The organisers in Mumbai announced that a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark Republic Day will be held at Azad Maidan.
While Jarange Patil remained firm on marching towards Mumbai despite the police notice, he said the Chief Minister and two deputy Chief Ministers should personally come forward for a discussion to solve the issue and that he will continue to walk on to Mumbai until that time.
“The delegation came and it repeated what the government has said in the past. We are not walking in happiness or to enjoy in Mumbai. We too are suffering hardships, facing troubles and have no intention other than securing reservation for the Maratha community. I now make a final appeal on behalf of the community that the Chief Minister and both deputy Chief Ministers should come to discuss the issue and sort the matter in totality,” said Jarange-Patil while leaving Lonavala.
A delegation, led by senior government officials including divisional commissioner of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, had met Jarange-Patil earlier in the da to convince him not to go to Mumbai. It was conveyed to him that another delegation will meet him with more government decisions.
“Delegations come and go. They repeat what was said before. Therefore, these three leaders should come and hold discussions,” said Jarange-Patil.
Meanwhile, Navi Mumbai police met Jarange-Patil and requested him to change the route of his march since he will be staying at Vashi on Thursday night. “They spoke to me and told that a hospital is in the route and hence requested to change the route. I am not from here. I asked them to speak to our local organisers,” he said.
Police requested the organisers to change their route and travel from the old Pune-Mumbai highway. As per the new route, the march will come from Palaspe Exit to Belapur’s Killa chowk and from Palm Beach road to reach the Vashi APMC.
Mumbai organiser of the march Virendra Pawar said that after getting the police notice, the delegation along with its legal team held a meeting with officials at Azad Maidan police station. “We had given the letter seeking permission on January 1. We had also asked Sports department to give us the part of Azad Maidan. Today, the police gave us the notice few hours before arrival of Manoj Jarange-Patil and asked us to opt for Kharghar ground,” Pawar said. He added that they told authorities this was unjust and that they will proceed with the programme as decided earlier.
