Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange calls off protest over reservation issue

Mumbai, January 27

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday said he had called off his protest over the reservation issue, saying the Maharashtra government had accepted all the demands.

He expressed satisfaction that the government had issued a notification to issue Kunbi caste certificates to all relatives of the Marathas whose records (linked to Kunbi caste) had been found.

He made the announcement at Vashi in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, where he camped overnight with thousands of supporters after reaching the place on Friday morning.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is set to meet Jarange. Both are likely to address the people present there.

Jarange on Friday made a fresh demand that the government amend its free education policy to include all Marathas until the benefit of reservation becomes available to the entire community.

He has sought data of the 37 lakh Kunbi certificates issued by the state government. Kunbi, an agrarian community, falls in the Other Backward Classes category, and Jarange has been demanding Kunbi certificates for all Marathas.