'Mahayuti will be taught a lesson'

The Maratha community will teach the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra a lesson for denying reservations and registering criminal cases against protestors, Marathi quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil said ahead of the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

The community has not taken any political stand in the ongoing elections, though there is simmering anger against the establishment, Patil said in an interview to PTI at his village Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district.

The community’s anger and unity forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to campaign extensively in Maharashtra, said Patil, who hit the headlines for going on fasts unto death several times to demand reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs. “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.