'We have won': Manoj Jarange to end hunger strike as Mahayuti govt agrees to key demands
The development came after a breakthrough was reached with the Maharashtra government on 2 key demands.
- Sep 2, 2025,
- Updated Sep 2, 2025 5:38 PM IST
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Tuesday agreed to call off his indefinite hunger strike on the 5th day of his fast. The development came after a breakthrough was reached with the Maharashtra government on 2 key demands.
"We have won," Jarange told his supporters after meeting with the Cabinet sub-committee headed by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.
Calling it a victory for the agitators, the activist said the government had agreed to their primary demand of according Kunbi status (an OBC caste) to the Maratha community.
He added that his supporters would vacate the protest site once the government issued a resolution. Jarange said that the government had promised to withdraw cases against the protestors by the end of September.
In this meeting, it was also decided that compensation and government jobs will be given to the kin of those who died during the protests. A decision to give ₹15 crore to the families of the victims of the Maratha reservation movement was also taken.
The committee, headed by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, also told the activist that the government was exploring legal options for issuing a government resolution stating the Kunbis and Marathas were the same community.
The committee also noted that the process might take 2 months. Jarange and his 4,000 supporters have been protesting at Mumbai's Azad Maidan for the past 4 days, causing massive congestion in South Mumbai.
Later, the Bombay High Court on Monday noted that the quota agitation "literally paralysed" Mumbai and ordered the protest site to be vacated by 3 pm on Tuesday.
The high court said that any gatherings anywhere else apart from Azad Maidan were unlawful. "The life of Mumbaikars should be normalised,” it said.
Not only pockets of south Mumbai, the protestors also blocked the entry gates at the Bombay High Court itself. “We can see how ‘peaceful’ this protest is,” the bench said. “The High Court building has been surrounded, and the entire city has been blocked.”
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Tuesday agreed to call off his indefinite hunger strike on the 5th day of his fast. The development came after a breakthrough was reached with the Maharashtra government on 2 key demands.
"We have won," Jarange told his supporters after meeting with the Cabinet sub-committee headed by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.
Calling it a victory for the agitators, the activist said the government had agreed to their primary demand of according Kunbi status (an OBC caste) to the Maratha community.
He added that his supporters would vacate the protest site once the government issued a resolution. Jarange said that the government had promised to withdraw cases against the protestors by the end of September.
In this meeting, it was also decided that compensation and government jobs will be given to the kin of those who died during the protests. A decision to give ₹15 crore to the families of the victims of the Maratha reservation movement was also taken.
The committee, headed by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, also told the activist that the government was exploring legal options for issuing a government resolution stating the Kunbis and Marathas were the same community.
The committee also noted that the process might take 2 months. Jarange and his 4,000 supporters have been protesting at Mumbai's Azad Maidan for the past 4 days, causing massive congestion in South Mumbai.
Later, the Bombay High Court on Monday noted that the quota agitation "literally paralysed" Mumbai and ordered the protest site to be vacated by 3 pm on Tuesday.
The high court said that any gatherings anywhere else apart from Azad Maidan were unlawful. "The life of Mumbaikars should be normalised,” it said.
Not only pockets of south Mumbai, the protestors also blocked the entry gates at the Bombay High Court itself. “We can see how ‘peaceful’ this protest is,” the bench said. “The High Court building has been surrounded, and the entire city has been blocked.”