Jarange is ready for talks, but says CM’s 1-day permit for stir an insult to Marathas | Mumbai News

Pune: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has insulted the community by granting one-day permission for their agitation and demanded that the state govt withdraw all conditions set for their protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.Jarange, who has cranked up pressure on the state govt, said the indefinite hunger strike would begin at Azad Maidan from Friday. “We have told Maratha protesters to maintain peace during the agitation, but if the govt tries to use force to scuttle it, the entire community across the state will be on the streets. Govt should not take us lightly,” Jarange told reporters on Thursday after paying homage to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at his birthplace in Shivneri fort in Junnar. He then started for Mumbai.The activist said he was ready for a dialogue. “We are ready to speak to a govt delegation. If it accepts our demands, we will go home without any protest. The chief minister has this opportunity to win the hearts of the Maratha community, and he should make the most of it,” Jarange said.Cabinet minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who is heading the subcommittee to study reservation for Marathas, on Thursday said he tried contacting Jarange before he started for Mumbai but could not speak to him. “He should have given govt some time for a discussion. Since he is on his way there is no scope for a meeting midway. We will be ready to meet him in Mumbai since he is ready for talks,” Vikhe Patil said. Mumbai police’s conditional permission for the agitation at Azad Maidan is from 9am till 6pm on Friday, and protesters must leave the site after the stipulated deadline.Jarange said, “This one-day permission shows Fadnavis’s narrow-minded approach towards the Maratha community. When police approved the agitation, it was clear that the govt was the authority permitting the protest. The CM should have given indefinite permission but he insulted the sentiments of the Maratha community.”The quota activist stated that all conditions must be withdrawn, and his agitation would be peaceful. “The CM must not stop protesters at Azad Maidan. The entire community has much expectations from us, and one wrong move will create problems for the whole community,” Jarange said.