Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday urged Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil to reconsider his decision to head to Mumbai to launch an indefinite hunger strike at the city’s Azad Maidan, saying that the protest during the Ganesh festival would cause inconvenience to devotees and was inappropriate.
The chief minister was reacting to Jarange-Patil’s announcement that he would travel to Mumbai with four to five supporters to stage the protes t after the city police repeatedly denied permission for the demonstration at Azad Maidan, citing public safety risks during Ganeshotsav that draws millions of people into the streets. Fadnavis reiterated that the government had met most of the Maratha quota activist’s demands. Jarange-Patil, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike since August 29 in Jalna, over his demands related to Maratha reservation, responded to the police concern, saying he would come to Mumbai with just four or five associates.
We have also made it clear that these matters cannot be fulfilled without the consent of the court or by following the appropriate constitutional procedure,” he said.
“A few of them are currently before the courts and are at different stages of the judicial process.
