Overview
- At a Dussehra rally, Manoj Jarange-Patil demanded a wet drought declaration and cash compensation of Rs 70,000 per hectare for crop loss and Rs 1.30 lakh per hectare where soil and crops were both lost, with 100% compensation for destroyed standing crops and homes.
- He warned that if demands are unmet by Diwali, Marathas will block local body elections, stop installation of EVMs in villages, and bar ministers from holding meetings.
- His package includes a complete farm loan waiver, government jobs for families of suicide victims, minimum support prices and easier crop insurance terms, and official job status for agriculture with a Rs 10,000 monthly pay for farmers holding under 10 acres.
- He urged funding relief by collecting Rs 1 crore each from prominent politicians and wealthy figures, named Shah Rukh Khan among donors he expects, and proposed a 25% cut in government employees’ salaries while opposing a Rs 15 per tonne levy on sugarcane.
- Reasserting the Maratha quota push, he pressed the state to implement the September 2 GR by issuing Kunbi certificates and told applicants to move before Diwali, as he warned Pankaja and Dhananjay Munde and said he would seek scrapping of the 1994 OBC GR and the extra 2% beyond the 50% cap if the new order is challenged.