Maratha reservation movement leader Manoj Jarange on Thursday accused the Maharashtra government of trying to fool Marathas, but said his community will not fall into any trap. Jarange also said that he and members of the Maratha community will start their protest march to Mumbai on January 20 as previously decided as the government has not yet found a way out on the reservation issue. He reiterated that the government should issue reservation. Kunbi caste certificate to 54 lakh Marathas immediately.

“The government comes to us only 2-3 days before every movement. They are trying to trap and fool the Maratha community. But Marathas will not fall into any trap and we will go to Mumbai on January 20 as decided earlier as no way has been found yet,” he told reporters. “We will go to Mumbai with members of the Maratha community to press for our reservation demand,” he said.

Jarange alleged that the government and some ministers were trying to hatch a conspiracy against the Maratha movement. “Every time, a few days before the agitation starts, the government presents some solution to us. But what do they do during the period given to them? The same things have been going on for the last seven months. This time the government and some ministers are trying to conspire against the movement. But the Marathas will not let this happen,” he said, demanding that the government give Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas on the basis of evidence in the next two days, which should also be given to the relatives of these beneficiaries. “If they do so in the next two days, we will go to Mumbai to congratulate the government,” he said.

He warned the government that it should avoid what it did in his native village Antarwali Sarti in Jalna district. Violence had broken out in Antarwali Sarati on September 1 last year when protesters refused to allow officials to shift Jarange, who was reportedly on a hunger strike demanding Maratha reservation, to hospital. The police resorted to lathi charge and released tear gas shells to disperse the violent mob. Several people, including 40 police personnel, were injured in the violence and more than 15 state transport buses were set on fire. Jarange said, “If reservation is not given, there will be a nationwide agitation.” People of Madhya Pradesh and other states are saying that they want to participate in the movement on January 20. He said, the government claims that documentary evidence of Marathas being Kunbi was not found on a large scale. “So what are the officials and the government doing?…Why do we need such officials?” He asked.

Meanwhile, a special drive to hand over Kunbi caste certificates has been launched in 15 villages in Maharashtra’s Latur district, where the evidence was found, an official said. This campaign is being run in the villages where evidence has been found. We have provided them the list of documents to be submitted to get the certificate, an official of the Latur district administration told reporters.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)