Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday warned that his agitation would only intensify if the government failed to act on the community’s long-pending demands. Addressing supporters at Azad Maidan, where his indefinite hunger strike entered its fifth day, Jarange declared that he would not leave Mumbai “until justice is delivered.”

“Even if the government tries to suppress us, we are not ghosts. We are the descendants of the Marathas. If our demands are not met, the protest will only grow stronger,” he said.

Jarange reiterated that the community’s demands included the implementation of the Hyderabad and Satara gazette, recognition of Marathas and Kunbis as one, distribution of Kunbi caste certificates, withdrawal of police cases, and continuation of the Shinde Committee’s record-searching work. “So far, 58 lakh records have been traced. Certificates must be distributed immediately. We will not move until validity is granted,” he stressed.