Protesters demand Kunbi (OBC) status to the Maratha community. On January 16, Jarange had demanded that 54 lakh Marathas should be issued Kunbi caste certificates within two days.

“So far, 54 lakh records showing members of the Maratha caste as belonging to the agrarian Kunbi community have been found, and all these persons (or their descendants) should be given Kunbi certificates immediately,” Jarange said.

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Thousands of protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, reached Navi Mumbai on Thursday night and the government is trying to persuade them not to enter Mumbai. As per his plan, Jarange, along with his supporters, was to begin his hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Friday.

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai, blocking the traffic on Friday. Despite the Mumbai Police issuing a notice to him denying him permission to hold a hunger strike in the city, Jarange announced on Thursday that he will reach Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on January 26.

“The protesters, who were going to Azad Maidan, sat at the intersection near CSMT and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters,” an official was quoted by news agency PTI as saying. “Police rushed to the spot and asked the agitators to go to Azad Maidan,” the official added.

On Thursday, the Mumbai police issued a notice to Jarange, saying no ground in the city could accommodate the large number of protesters accompanying him, and advised him to hold his agitation in Navi Mumbai instead.

While Jarange remained firm on marching towards Mumbai despite the police notice, he said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar should personally come forward for a discussion to solve the issue.

Marathas will not go towards Mumbai on Friday and will stay in Navi Mumbai only for now.

“We are now left with one last stop, which is at Vashi. After Vashi, we will go towards Mumbai peacefully, but we will not come back without reservation. From today on, our number will increase and all the Maratha people from all over Maharashtra will gather in Mumbai. The people of Mumbai are also with us,” Patil was quoted as saying earlier this week.

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A delegation, led by senior government officials including the divisional commissioner of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, had met Jarange to convince him not to go to Mumbai. It was conveyed to him that another delegation would meet him with more government decisions.

Navi Mumbai police officials also met Jarange and requested him to change the route of his march as a hospital is in the route. Police requested the organisers to change their route and travel from the old Pune-Mumbai highway.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde had earlier reiterated his government was committed to providing reservation to Marathas without disturbing the existing quotas of other communities.

“My government will give reservations which will pass the legal scrutiny. A total of 1.4 lakh people are participating in the survey that is currently underway. They are working in three shifts. So far, discussions with Jarange have been positive,” the chief minister said.

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Shinde had last month said a special session of the state legislature would be held in February, if necessary, to provide reservation to the Maratha community.

In October last year, the Maharashtra government published an order asking officials concerned to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for them to avail reservation benefits under the OBC category.

A government resolution (GR) had asked the officials to translate old documents having references to Kunbis and written in Urdu and ‘Modi’ script (which was used to write Marathi language in earlier times), PTI reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Published: 26 Jan 2024, 05:18 PM IST