"The state-wide bandh will commence from 12 midnight," NCP spokesman and state minister Nawab Malik said on Sunday.
In a veiled attack on CM Shinde, Thackeray said the 'Kansa Mama', a reference to a character in Mahabharat, is busy getting rakhis tied on his wrists and asked when he will get justice for the nieces.
Change of guard in some states and evolving El Nino dynamics are triggering fresh actions on raging water-sharing disputes in several states.
Nationwide protests against the NEET paper leak have intensified across several Indian states, with demonstrators condemning the Delhi Police crackdown and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The Congress party has called for further demonstrations, while various student and political groups have organised marches and sit-ins, some leading to clashes with police.
Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar, said Maharashtra Democratic Front, Maharashtra Left Front, besides 250 organisations, have supported Wednesday's shutdown.
The shutdown generated tension in Mumbai and a number of towns and cities across Maharashtra.
A 30-year-old Dalit woman was stabbed to death in Uttara Kannada, allegedly by a man known to her. The accused was later found dead. The incident has sparked tension, with Hindu outfits alleging 'love jihad'.
'Why did they attack us? What was our fault?' 'They killed a woman. They burnt down vehicles.' 'They pelted stones at us over a 45 km stretch. There was no police bandobast.'
The Bombay high court on Friday restrained political parties and individuals from proceeding with the Maharashtra bandh scheduled for August 24 or on any future date.
'The Dalits have always asserted themselves, but there has never been any gain for Dalits.' 'But now the most significant thing that has emerged, and which has got all the political parties in denial mode, is the assertion of smaller OBCs along with the Dalits.' 'I accept that the Dalits by themselves are not in a position to make a Mumbai bandh successful.' 'It was only because of the participation of the smaller OBCs that the bandh has become a success.'
The family of a doctor who allegedly committed suicide in Maharashtra claims her phone was unlocked and data erased after her death, raising suspicions of foul play.
Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, have been demanding 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education.
Thackeray said the bandh should be "strictly" followed till 2 pm, ensuring that emergency services remain operational.
Thackeray was referring to CM Shinde's claim that the protest was politically motivated and most of the protesters had come from outside.
The incident occurred when both leaders attempted to board the van carrying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, but were stopped by security guards.
Barring stray incidents of violence like stone pelting, the shutdown called by the MVA allies Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party was largely peaceful.
The Badlapur school, where two young girls were allegedly sexually abused, preferred to cover up the crime instead of helping their parents file a police complaint, said Susieben Shah, chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on Wednesday.
The strike call is against the imposition of local body tax and local panchayat tax that the Maharashtra government had imposed in lieu of Octroi.
Federation of Associations of Maharashtra has called upon its constituents and the trading community to observe a bandh in Maharashtra on Monday as a mark of respect to Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray, who passed away on Saturday.
Sanjay Raut, a key leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, on Monday claimed that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has expressed the desire to quit after the Shiv Sena (UBT) gave a call for a statewide bandh to protest his "insult" to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a claim refuted by the Raj Bhavan.
All the essential services, schools and colleges have been excluded from the bandh.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the bandh called across Maharashtra by the state government to protest the killing of farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly elections and expressed concerns about similar tactics being used in the upcoming Bihar polls. He alleged that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is an attempt to manipulate the election process.
The BEST services resumed after the shutdown ended around 4 pm.
A nationwide strike called by trade unions to protest against the central government's labor policies had a mixed impact across India. While normal life remained largely unaffected in most parts of the country, some sectors like banking, transport, and insurance experienced disruptions. Sporadic incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal.
Naxals have called a bandh in Gadchiroli and Gondia districts of Maharashtra on July 15 to protest the killing of fellow women in recent encounters.
In a bid to mount pressure on the government over imposition of local body tax (LBT), all trade organisations across Maharashtra have decided to observe a two-day statewide bandh from July 15.
The Maharashtra government has invoked the MESMA barring employees of state-run electricity companies from joining the protest.
Violence erupted in the central Maharashtra city of Parbhani after a replica of the Constitution was vandalized. Around 50 people have been detained for the protests, while a man with mental health issues has been arrested for allegedly damaging the replica. Opposition leaders condemned the incident, calling for strict action against those responsible. The situation is under control, but tensions remain high in the city.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
A man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in Aurangabad district.
The morcha claimed that the response to the bandh call was 'more widespread than before' and nearly all opposition political parties extended an unconditional support to it.
Addressing a press conference at a protest site on the Singhu border, they said the "super bandh" made the government open its 'eyes and ears'.
A Special Investigation Team of Maharashtra Police told a court at Beed on Wednesday that Santosh Deshmukh was killed because he was thought to be an obstacle in a plan to extort Rs 2 crore from an energy firm, and Walmik Karad was in contact with his killers when the crime was executed.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday reiterated that the Income Tax Department's raids on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's relatives and aides came after his comparison of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during the British rule.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a forum comprising 40 farmer unions, called for a Bharat Bandh on Monday against the Centre's three agriculture laws. Here is its impact across the country:
Violent protests erupted in Parbhani, Maharashtra, India, for the second day over the vandalising of a replica of the Indian Constitution. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the city, banning gatherings of five or more people in public places. A mob indulged in arson and vandalised the district collector's office. Police arrested a man in connection with the incident, but protests continued. Protesters demanded a thorough investigation and blamed the government's lax approach.
Farmer leaders at the border also welcomed the support extended by a number of political parties and called upon all others to come forward and support the 'Bharat Bandh' on Tuesday.
At least 51 people were arrested, and three cases registered so far in connection with the violent protests that broke out in Maharashtra's Parbhani city over vandalising of a replica of the Constitution, police said on Friday.
Photographs of how Bharat observed the Bandh, from across the country.
