Maratha community members hold ‘Rasta Roko’ event to express solidarity with Jarange over quota issue

Members of some Maratha outfits staged a road blockade on the nearby Pune-Solapur highway on Friday to express solidarity with activist Manoj Jalanji, police said. Manoj Jalanji has been on an indefinite fast since February 10, imposing quota requirements on the community.

They said the protest was held near Yavat. Members of various Maratha groups staged a ‘rasta roko’ protest on the Pune-Solapur road in the afternoon. But now the highway has been cleared and traffic has resumed. ” said Narayan Deshmukh, inspector of Yavat police station. Mayur Dorge, a member of the Maratha organization “Sakal Maratha Samaj”, said that although the hunger strike in Jalanji has entered on the seventh day, but the government was indifferent to his demands.

“To condemn the attitude of the state government and to support Jarange, we held a 45-minute rasta roko protest,” he said. Some Maratha organizations also staged protests in support of Jalanji near Kewal Road in Pimpri Chinchwad area near Pune city. Jalanji has been on a hunger strike in his hometown Antavalisarathy village in Jalna district of Maharashtra.

This is the fourth hunger strike observed in Jalanji in less than a year, demanding inclusion of the Maratha community among the Other Backward Classes (OBC) groups. The Maharashtra Legislature is scheduled to convene a special session on February 20 to discuss reservation and other demands of the Maratha community.

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