Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced that he will start an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand for reservation for the Maratha community.

Jarange had earlier given the state government time till December 24 to fulfill his demand of reservation for the Maratha community.

“I will start an indefinite hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20. It is difficult to suppress the Marathas. We will not return without getting a reservation for the community,” he said while addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s Beed district on Saturday.

Jarange further said that crores of people from the Maratha community will come to Mumbai on January 20. He said he will leave his Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on foot and reach Mumbai and members from the community will also join him.

Meanwhile, in a video message, CM Eknath Shinde said the state government’s legal team comprising a battery of efficient lawyers will present its view before the Supreme Court and make all efforts to prove that the Maratha community is socially and economically backward. The State Backward Class Commission has been gathering empirical data on a large scale on the Maratha community and its plight, he said.

Shinde asserted his government is committed to giving reservation to the Maratha community and urged people to observe restraint. Quota benefits of other groups will remain untouched while giving reservations to the Marathas, the CM added.