NEW DELHI: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Monday finally ended his 17-day-long hunger strike and said that he will visit the members of the community in villages after spending time in the hospital. “I will be in the hospital for a day or two and then visit each village to meet the members of the Maratha community,” he said.Demanding the reservation for the Marathas in government jobs and education, Patil, who has been on hunger strike since February 10, said that the bill guarantees 10 per cent reservation for the community falls short of fulfilling their demands.Earlier today, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole demanded the revelation of the talk between the CM Eknath Shinde and Patil.Meanwhile, Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil claimed that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was conspiring to eliminate him (Manoj Patil) by poisoning him with saline.Earlier this month, in an extraordinary event, the Maharashtra Assembly passed a bill for a separate 10% Maratha quota at a special session echoing the 2018 Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act by the previous government. This marks the third legislative attempt for Maratha reservation in a decade, following the Supreme Court’s 2021 rejection due to the 50% reservation cap. This is the third time in 10 years when state government has introduced legislation for the Maratha quota. In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down reservations for the Maratha community in 2021, citing no valid grounds to exceed the 50 per cent reservation limitThe government’s decision to limit benefits to those with Nizam-era Kunbi documentation has been met with criticism. Patil condemned the decision, which benefits a small fraction of Marathas, and called for the ‘Sage Soyare’ policy’s implementation.
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