Maratha community will teach Mahayuti govt a lesson: quota activist Manoj Jarange
Jalna (PTI): The Maratha community will teach Maharashtra’s Mahayuti government a lesson for denying reservations and registering criminal cases against protestors, says quota activist Manoj Jarange as the state gears up for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Jarange, who hit the headlines for going on fasts unto death several times last year to demand reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs, also said the community has not taken any political stand in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections though there is simmering anger against the establishment.
The community's anger and unity forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to campaign extensively in Maharashtra, Jarange said in an interview to PTI at his village Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district.
Issuing a thinly veiled warning to the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP `Mahayuti' government in the state, he said, "Why were cases registered against those who staged Rasta Roko (road blockade) peacefully, those who launched hunger strikes, held meetings or rallies during the quota agitation last year.
“This was the misuse of the home department. The community will not tolerate it. We will teach them a lesson for sure."
The home portfolio is held by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
"Because of them (state BJP leaders) Modi had a tough time. He had to hold so many rallies and stay put here. This is because the poor Marathas have come together.....This is the fear of our solidarity," Jarange said.
The prime minister has so far held more than 10 rallies in Maharashtra, which sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, during the ongoing election.
The Maratha quota agitation intensified in September 2023 after police lathi-charged protesters at Antarwali Sarati, in Marathwada region’s Jalna district, where Jarange had launched an indefinite hunger strike. It was followed by violent agitations in Beed and other areas of Marathwada in October, eventually forcing the government to hold talks with him.
Though the government agreed to issue `Kunbi' (an OBC community) caste certificate to eligible Marathas, his demand that all Marathas be given reservation in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category has not been fulfilled.
"Even a leaf cannot move in Maharashtra (without Marathas). This is why Modi saheb has to struggle. And some BJP leaders are responsible for this. Because of them Modi had a tough time. He has to hold so many meetings," Jarange said.
The community, which comprises 28 per cent of the population, will take some decision "at an appropriate time", he said, adding that the prevailing sentiment was that those who did not give reservation must not be supported.
He also vented ire at the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
"Injustice has been done to the community not only by the Mahayuti, but also by the Maha Vikas Aghadi. It is a fact that there is anger. False cases have been registered (against community members), an SIT has been formed, attacks were engineered, and reservation under the OBC quota was not given."
In Jarange’s view, MVA parties Congress and the NCP were in power for so long but their chief ministers, from the Maratha community, did not extend reservation to the community.
Earlier this year, assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar had directed the government to set up a Special Investigation Team to conduct a comprehensive inquiry after Jarange made some controversial remarks about Fadnavis.
If the demands are not met, the Maratha community will field candidates in all 288 assembly seats in the state elections due later this year, and they will represent all the communities, the activist told PTI.
A massive gathering of the Maratha community will be held at Narayangad in Beed district on June 8, after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are out, Jarange said, indicating that the agitation will be revived ahead of the state elections.
The quota granted to the politically dominant community by an earlier government was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2021 on the ground that it caused the total reservation in the state to exceed the 50 per cent ceiling.
Earlier this year, Jarange marched to Mumbai with lakhs of people. Following protests, the Maharashtra legislature in February unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs under a separate category.
However, Jarange is demanding reservation from the OBC quota as he fears the fresh quota law will not stand the legal test. His demand for reservation from the OBC pool is being opposed by the OBC community.
For the first time, Maharashtra is witnessing a five-phase polling. Jalna goes to polls on May 13 in the fourth phase. The fifth phase will be held on May 20.
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Iran offers to reopen Strait of Hormuz if US lifts its blockade and the war ends: officials
Cairo (AP): Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear programme would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.
US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US and Israel to go to war on February 28.
With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store the oil.
The strait's closure, meanwhile, has put pressure on Trump, as oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed ahead of crucial midterm elections, and it has pressured his Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.
The closure has also had far-reaching effects throughout the world economy, raising the price of fertilizer, food and other basic goods.
The proposal would push off negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
The two officials, who had knowledge of the proposal, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations between Iranian and Pakistani officials this weekend. The Axios news outlet first reported Iran's proposal.
It came as Iran's foreign minister visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran. It's unclear what, if any, assistance Moscow might offer now.
Strait of Hormuz remains blocked
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Iran's ability to choke off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has proved one of its biggest strategic advantages in a war that has often boiled down to which side can take more pain.
Oil prices have risen steadily since the war began and tankers full of crude became stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely transit through the strait and reach global distribution points.
On Monday, the spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $108 per barrel, nearly 50 per cent higher than when the war began.
Iranian foreign minister holds talks as negotiations with US stall
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Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire the US and Iran agreed to on April 7 that has largely halted fighting. But a permanent settlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg on Monday morning ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is a good opportunity for us to consult with our Russian friends about the developments that have occurred in relation to the war during this period and what is happening now,” Araghchi said in a video interview posted by IRNA.
It comes as Pakistan has been seeking to revive stalled talks between Iran and the US, and negotiations had been expected in Islamabad over the weekend. Instead, Trump called off a trip by his envoys and suggested the talks could take place by phone instead.
Over the weekend, Araghchi made two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the strait with Iran. He also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter.
Oman's response wasn't immediately clear.
The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also said Iran insisted on ending the US blockade before new talks and that Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.
Trump says Iran has offered a much better proposal
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Trump told journalists Saturday that after he called off a trip by his envoys to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal.
He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran insists its programme is peaceful, but the US wants to remove Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build a bomb, should Tehran choose to pursue one.
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,509 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group resumed two days after the Iran war started. Another 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region and six UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have been killed.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been extended by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy.
