Govt ready to talk with Jarange, but it’s meaningless if he is firm on Mumbai protest: Vikhe Patil

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is ready to talk with Maratha activist Manoj Jarange, but the efforts will have no meaning if he is rigid about bringing his protest to Mumbai, state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said on Thursday.

The water resources minister, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, told reporters in Shirdi that talks would eventually take place with Jarange in Mumbai if he decides to proceed to the state capital.

The cabinet sub-committee will meet in Mumbai on Friday to discuss the quota agitation launched by Jarange, he said.

Jarange, who has been demanding a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, has expressed his resolve to reach Mumbai by Thursday evening and start his indefinite fast at Azad Maidan in the state capital from August 29 (Friday).

The 43-year-old activist on Wednesday set out from his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, over 400 km from Mumbai.

He reached Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in Junnar tehsil of Pune district with hundreds of supporters on Thursday morning. He had claimed that Vikhe Patil had invited him for talks at Shivneri.

However, the minister said on Wednesday that the government was sensitive to the Maratha community’s demands but no decision had been taken about a meeting with him.