Dipke said the government should meet and speak with Manoj Jarange Patil and warned that the administration should not treat him the way Sonam Wangchuk was treated. He questioned whether the government would leave a social worker like Jarange to die without addressing his demands.
Speaking after meeting Jarange, Dipke said 14 days had passed since the hunger strike began, yet the government had still not made inquiries. He said it was difficult to understand what was happening in the state and the country, alleging that elected representatives were meeting everyone except the people who had elected them.
Dipke questioned why the government was not ready to speak to Manoj Jarange Patil. He said Jarange had gone on hunger strike for better education and employment opportunities and asked whether he would have needed to sit on a hunger strike if the government had provided good education and employment opportunities. He described the situation as the government's failure and alleged that people had been left to fend for themselves.
Dipke said the government would have to understand why Manoj Jarange was demanding reservation. He argued that if the government had provided employment to everyone, created proper education facilities in rural areas and provided employment opportunities, Jarange would not have been forced to sit at Antarwali Sarati. He said the step had been taken because the government had failed in its responsibilities and added that Jarange would not have needed to undertake a hunger strike if the government had done its work and provided the required facilities.
Referring to Sonam Wangchuk, Dipke said the government should not attempt to do with Manoj Jarange what the Delhi Police had done with Wangchuk by removing him from the protest site. “This is Maharashtra, and this will not be tolerated here at all,” Dipke said. He warned that if Manoj Jarange were touched, the entire Maharashtra would come there.
Dipke further alleged that the government had done nothing in the name of education and employment and had only engaged in “jumlebazi”. He challenged the government to name a single district in Maharashtra where government schools in rural areas were functioning well and where employment opportunities existed in rural areas.
He reiterated that Manoj Jarange would not have had to undertake a hunger strike if the government had provided good education and employment. According to Dipke, Jarange was fighting for society and had the full right to do so.
Dipke urged the government to come to the protest site and listen to Jarange's demands, saying it would have to come because the people had elected the government. He said elected representatives were not chosen to travel by helicopter but to work for the people and address their problems.
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