Ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has put a new caste card into play by announcing her support to the ongoing agitation by the Jat community in the western parts of the state. Mayawati on Monday made it loud and clear that she was going to back the Jats in pushing their demand for declaring the community a backward class.
The situation on Tuesday remained tense in some parts of Jat dominated areas like Rohtak and Sonipat while curfew was lifted in Jind district.
Jat leaders have blamed Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for not fulfilling their quota demands for which they launched a massive stir last year.
Months before the Haryana assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party replaced its strongman Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister with low-profile OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini, a decision that surprised many.
The case was registered against the minister and four others earlier this week on the orders of the high court, after the local police allegedly did not act on the complaint filed with them.
What got the Jats of Haryana so furious?
The nod for reservation for the Jat community in the central list of Other Backward Classes in nine states has been given despite the National Commission for Backward Classes opposing such a move.
Virtually stroking the fire on the suddenly hyped issue of reservation to the Jat community, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Wednesday blamed the Congress-led central government for its continued dilly-dallying.
A lawyer has moved the court alleging 'total collapse' of administration.
"We are not going to hold any talk with the state government till the time our demand (of releasing those arrested) is met. There will also be no talks with the Khap leaders, who are only acting on behalf of the state government," All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti leader, Suresh Koth said.
Haryana was again on the edge on Thursday with the 72-hour deadline set by Jats for resuming their agitation over quota from on set to come to an end on Thursday night.
"We have given time to the Haryana government to bring and pass the Jat reservation Bill by March 31 (when the ongoing Budget session ends)," Malik told media persons.
The Centre directed security forces to use force to clear blockades.
The All India Jat Arakshan Samiti has announced that they would continue their agitation and take legal opinion on the high court order which has directed state and central governments to forcibly clear the railway tracks occupied by the community.
Arun Maira who worked for 25 years with the Tata Group, remembers his early years with Ratan Tata.
Another FIR was registered on Friday against unknown persons following a complaint by a Delhi-based resident on the alleged gangrape by Jat agitators in Haryana's Sonipat district.
Bucking anti-incumbency, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana to retain power and halt Congress' comeback attempt in the assembly elections, results of which were announced on Tuesday.
The Jats, who went on a rampage to demand quota, attacked the showrooms of only non-Jats.
In her third letter on the third consecutive day to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has now demanded reservation for the Jat community. She has sought the inclusion of the Jat community in the central government's list of OBCs. Mayawati's argument in support of her demand was that most of the Jat population in the state earned their living mainly from agriculture and related activities.
In the first phase of the Jat agitation, violence was witnessed in and around Mukherjee Nagar and Najafgarh areas.
'I want to ask the Congress only one question: What is more important than election management in politics?'
With the ongoing Jat agitation in Haryana entering its tenth day, several blockades have been lifted up and efforts are underway to remove the remaining blockades on roads.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, state BJP president C P Joshi and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav welcomed them into the party at its state headquarters in Jaipur.
The controversial decision of the United Progressive Alliance-II government ahead of general elections to include Jats in Other Backward Classes category came under judicial scrutiny with the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking explanation from the Centre for allegedly ignoring the advice of a statutory body to keep the community away from reservation benefits.
The Rajputs here held a 'mahapanchayat' and decided to boycott the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates in Muzaffarnagar, Kairana and Saharanpur Lok Sabha constituencies for allegedly neglecting the community while distributing party tickets, a leader said on Wednesday.
K Natwar Singh wore many hats as he straddled the worlds of diplomacy, politics and writing but what remained consistent across decades was his sharp-wit and plainspeaking.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday clinched a stunning hat-trick win in Haryana overcoming anti-incumbency and dashing Congress' hopes of a comeback while the National Conference-Congress combine pulled off a spectacular victory in maiden elections in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Unless Punjab has a chief minister who is able to look beyond community/vote bank politics, carry all sections of society, stop appeasing while addressing genuine concerns and break the stranglehold of the SGPC over Sikh affairs, my beloved home state is bound to die and conversions will be rampant, warns Sanjeev Nayaar.
The Jat community that had blocked the supply of water to the national capital from the upper Ganges canal in Uttar Pradesh over demands for OBC reservations in central government jobs ended its protest and restored the water supply to Delhi on Monday.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary announced the tie-up on social media for the elections later this year.
CBI spokesperson said the agency took over investigation in these cases on the request of Haryana government and further orders from Department of Personnel and Training.
Jat protesters who are demanding reservation in government jobs under the Other Backward Class quota on Monday ended their 23-day-long agitation following an assurance from Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Barely 24 hours after the Allahabad high court expressed serious concern about her government's inaction to resolve the two-week old agitation by the Jat community seeking inclusion among backward castes, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has chosen to blame the Centre for the spiraling protests.Mayawati sought to take credit for removing the agitators from the railway tracks in parts of western UP, where services had been completely disrupted.
Until Tuesday, the state government had maintained the death toll at 19.
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
The SP president and the RLD chief announced the tie-up on social media for the general elections later this year.
Despite various political leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealing protesting Jats to maintain calm and peace, the incidents of violence and arson continued during the night in various parts of the state, crippling the normal life in worst affected places like Rohtak, Jind, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Hisar.
Bikaner BJP minority morcha district president Usman Ghani, who expressed displeasure with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks in Rajasthan, was on Wednesday expelled from the party for 'tarnishing' its image.
430 trains (229 Mail/ Express and 201 passenger) were partially cancelled.
Saini, 54, a low profile OBC leader, rose through the ranks in the party and was unanimously elected as the leader of the state BJP's legislature group at a meeting held in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances