Jarange ends hunger strike as Maharashtra govt accepts Maratha quota demand

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange said the Maharashtra government agreed to implement the Hyderabad Gazette granting OBC status to Marathas and withdraw protest cases

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange agreed to end his indefinite hunger strike on Tuesday after reaching a breakthrough with the Maharashtra government on key demands. Calling it a victory for the agitators who had been protesting at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan for four days, Jarange said the primary demand of granting Other Backward Classes (OBC) status to the Maratha community had been accepted. He added that his supporters would vacate the protest site once the government issued a formal resolution.

 

Maharashtra govt meets quota demands 

The Maharashtra government consented to implement the Hyderabad Gazette, which identifies Marathas as part of the Kunbi peasant community. Authorities also agreed to withdraw all cases filed against protesters demanding reservation.

 

Cabinet sub-committee engages with leaders 

A cabinet sub-committee met Jarange at Azad Maidan, including ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Manikrao Kokate and Shivendra Raje Bhosale. This was the first formal communication between the state government and the leader of the quota agitation.

 

HC orders protesters to vacate site 

With the Bombay High Court directing Jarange and his supporters to vacate Azad Maidan on Tuesday, Mumbai police began removing vehicles belonging to protesters from the area. Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Mundhe, along with a police contingent, asked protesters to clear vehicles along Mahapalika Marg near the BMC headquarters and Azad Maidan. Protesters resisted, arguing that trucks and tempos carried essential supplies such as food and water.

 

Protesters removed from CSMT 

Security personnel also cleared Maratha quota protesters from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), which had been occupied for four days. Some community leaders urged new arrivals by train to vacate the station.

 

Sanjay Raut demands Centre’s intervention 

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut accused the Mahayuti government of fostering anarchy, warning that forcibly removing protesters could spark disturbances during the Ganesh festival. He said the Maratha protesters were neither infiltrators nor outsiders. Raut called for central government intervention through a constitutional amendment to provide reservations for OBC, Maratha, and Dhangar communities based on economic backwardness. He also alleged that some state ministers were encouraging unrest in villages to destabilise Maharashtra.