Don’t test our patience, Maharashtra CM tells Jarange

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange must not test the patience of his government after the latter made wild allegations against Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Shinde also took a swipe at the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) while responding to Jarange.

Speaking in Antarwali Sarati earlier in the day, Jarange said Fadnavis was trying to kill him.

Jarange also announced that he would march to Mumbai and protest outside the residence of the deputy CM.

Jarange had also said a poisoning attempt was made against him through saline, though he did not elaborate on the claim.

“Those who are protesting again and again against the government must not test our patience. They should not create a law and order problem. I wonder why Jarange’s speech looks like the script generally used by Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray,” Shinde said.

He was speaking to reporters on the eve of the session of the Maharashtra legislature.

The Budget session of the state legislature will be held from Monday until March 1.

This year, Maharashtra will have a vote-on-account, which is presented to seek the House nod to spend funds for a few months.

Asked about Jarange’s aggressive stand and the use of expletives in his speeches, Shinde said action would be taken as per law.

It is a conspiracy in progress and it would be exposed soon, the CM said.

The CM said, “Earlier, I believed Jarange to be a genuine person fighting for the (Maratha) community. However, the words uttered by him today do not gel well with the political culture of the state. I wonder if someone is egging on him to use such language.”