Delhi: Manoj Jarange Patil, the leader of the Maratha reservation movement in Maharashtra, called off his hunger strike on Friday night after the state government assured him of fulfilling his demands. Patil had been fasting since Friday morning to press for a Government Resolution on the Maratha quota issue.
Patil praised Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for his efforts and said he would end his fast with juice offered by him on Saturday. He also said that the government had agreed to issue Kunbi certificates to 54 lakh people who had been verified as belonging to the Kunbi community, a sub-caste of the Marathas.
Earlier in the day, Patil had threatened to march to Mumbai with his supporters on Saturday if the government did not issue a Government Resolution on the Maratha quota. He had also demanded that the government withdraw all the cases filed against the Maratha protesters in the past.
The state government, on the other hand, had passed an ordinance on Friday that claimed to address all the issues raised by the Maratha reservation movement. Maharashtra Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that the ordinance had resolved the problems and there was no need for further agitation. He said that Patil had accepted the solution and announced the end of his protest.