Maratha quota stir: Manoj Jarange given IV fluids as fast enter 5th day; warns of protest in Mumbai
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, February 14
Manoj Jarange, the face of the Maratha quota agitation, was administered Intravenous (IV) fluids while “asleep” as his health condition declined because of his indefinite fast which entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
Jarange is protesting in his native Antarwali Sarati village in Maharashtra’s Jalna district demanding inclusion of the Maratha community into the Other Backward Class (OBC).
Jarange expressed dismay upon discovering the unauthorised IV treatment and emphasised that if medical care was needed, the government should promptly implement Maratha reservation, or he would return to Mumbai for further demonstrations.
“Those who gave me IV fluids when I was asleep, are now responsible for implementation of Maratha quota,” Jarange told reporters.
He remarked to reporters that those “responsible for administering IV fluids must now ensure Maratha quota implementation. “The government cannot sit idle, assuming my own people will prevent my demise through such means,” he said.
He asked if his own people started giving him IV fluids, adding, “then how will we get reservation for the Maratha community. The government will sit far and see all the fun. They will think that our own people won’t let me die and give me IV fluids.”
It was not immediately clear whether the government doctors, present at the spot, or some private medical team took the decision of giving him IV.
Expressing frustration with the government’s inaction on reservation, Jarange stated, “If the government does not act within two days, I will resume my fast in Mumbai.”
Monitoring Jarange’s declining health, Maratha activist Kishor Markad cited dehydration as the reason for the villagers’ decision to seek medical assistance.
Earlier, Jarange had warned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public gatherings in Maharashtra would be disrupted unless his demands were met.
In response to his threat regarding the Prime Minister’s rallies, Union Minister Narayan Rane criticised him, accusing him of making irrational remarks and challenging him to disrupt the Prime Minister’s visits.
Rane, a prominent Maratha leader within the state BJP, disregarded Jarange’s leadership credibility, suggesting he recognise his “limited worth” and refrain from making “loose and senseless comments”.
“It seems he has had some mental shock and he is making comments that do not make any sense,” the former chief minister said, adding that the activist should know his “limited worth” and “stay in bed.”
This is the fourth time in less than a year that Jarange has been observing a hunger strike demanding the inclusion of the Maratha community into the OBC grouping.
Among other things, Jarange has sought that a special session of the Maharashtra legislature be convened to convert the draft notification on ‘blood relatives’ of Kunbi Marathas into a law.
