Fadnavis defends Bawankule as Jarange-Patil threatens Mumbai hunger strike

A leader named Manoj Jarange-Patil wants the Maharashtra government to give his community, the Marathas, special benefits called reservation.

He is angry because he says Revenue Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule cancelled important papers, called Kunbi certificates, belonging to Maratha community members.

The Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, came to the minister's defence.

He said the minister did not do anything wrong on purpose and that the committee handling the reservation issue only follows evidence.

Jarange-Patil told the Chief Minister he should have warned the minister instead of defending him.

He said he will hold a hunger strike, a protest where he stops eating, in Mumbai at the Chief Minister's official home unless the government accepts his demands before August 19.

He also questioned a Congress leader named Vijay Wadettiwar about whether Rahul Gandhi told him to speak against the Marathas.

Wadettiwar had earlier complained that the government was afraid of Jarange-Patil and was rolling out red carpets for him.

So right now, the government and the activists are arguing over how the Maratha reservation issue should be handled.