India, Sept. 1 -- Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has convened a meeting with his deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil-led Cabinet subcommittee, as Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil intensified his agitation by announcing he would not even have water from Monday.

The state government has sought to convince Jarange-Patil to withdraw the protest, which inconvenienced office goers again in South Mumbai on Monday. Jarange-Patil began his indefinite hunger strike on Friday at Mumbai's Azad Maidan to push for the blanket reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Maratha community members have been flocking to the Azad Maidan from across the state, especially Marathwada, ...