Around 100 artistes heralded the parade, on the theme 'Vividata Mein Ekta (Unity in Diversity) that featured a grand presentation of musical instruments, demonstrating the nation's unity and rich cultural diversity.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the all-party meeting held earlier in the day decided that reservation should be given to the Maratha community without tampering with the existing quotas of other communities in the state.
Ranveer has shown the right instincts in his choice of roles, which he has played with seeming effortlessness, backed with preparation and understanding.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil has begun his indefinite hunger strike at the Azad Maidan demanding reservation for the Maratha community.
Wadettiwar said he was not opposed to the idea of increasing the overall quota ceiling to accommodate the Maratha community.
Union minister Narayan Rane has opposed the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community members and said 'proud Marathas' would not want to be included in that caste segment to avail reservation benefits.
He also termed the draft notification issued by the state government providing Kunbi certificates to all Marathas as a mere 'eyewash', and said caste is determined by birth and not affidavits.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced that he will start an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand of reservation for the Maratha community.
The Bombay High Court ruled that Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange must obtain prior permission from authorities to hold a protest, citing concerns about law and order, especially during the Ganesh festival.
Speaking to reporters at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, the activist said he would wait and see if the state government converts its draft notification on 'blood relatives' of Kunbi Marathas into law and then decide on the course of his agitation.
The BJP cannot afford to alienate the OBCs, who have explicitly voiced their opposition to the Maratha quota.
Pakistan was created as a result of the 1947 Partition of then-undivided India, and the Sindh region near the river Indus has been part of Pakistan since then.
'The writing is on the wall for both Shinde and Ajit Pawar.'
Referring to the demand of giving a Kunbi certificate to all 54 lakh people whose proof of being Kunabi has been found till now, Patil said that they will be given the certificates soon.
If Marathas get blanket Kunbi OBC certificates, there will be no separate identity of the Maratha community in Maharashtra, state minister and senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal said on Wednesday amid the quota row.
Over 25 years, societies evolve and tastes change. Cinema absorbs and reflects this transformation. Picking only 25 films from the first quarter of the century is tough.
Jarange, who was earlier on a hunger strike in the village over his demand for reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category, had ended his fast on September 14 on the 17th day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met him and assured to fulfil his demand.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday said he will set out on a tour of Maharashtra after the Diwali festival to meet Marathas and make them aware about the issue of reservation for the community.
The quota and other issues of the Maratha community were discussed in the state cabinet meeting after which it was decided to hold a special session, the CMO statement said.
Dharashiv, earlier Osmanabad, is among the eight districts that comprise the state's Marathwada region, where activist Manoj Jarange has led an agitation demanding reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.
Diwali celebrations in Maharashtra would be incomplete without the making of the killa, a playful ritual rooted in tradition and creativity, where children and adults come together to craft miniature forts made using mud, sand and clay.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday announced he was withdrawing his 17-day-old fast undertaken over the Maratha quota issue, but insisted he would continue his agitation until the Maharashtra government starts issuing Kunbi caste certificates to extended family members of people already having such documents, thereby allowing them to avail of reservation benefits.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday reiterated that he will stop drinking water from Wednesday evening if his demand for reservation to the Maratha community is not fulfilled by the Maharashtra government.
Leaders at an all-party meeting on Maratha quota chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday passed a resolution asking activist Manoj Jarange to call off his indefinite fast.
Maharashtra cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal has demanded a stay on the Kunbi caste certificates issued to Marathas following their latest agitation for reservation and scrapping of the Justice (retired) Sandeep Shinde committee formed over the quota issue.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday claimed that Maratha leaders earlier did not support quota for the community and there was also pressure from OBC leaders on the government for 30-40 years to not give reservation to Marathas.
Hingoli MP Hemant Patil submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha secretariat in New Delhi on Monday, while Nashik MP Hemant Godse sent his resignation letter to CM Shinde.
The situation is currently under control, Beed Superintendent of Police Nandkumar Thakur told PTI.
A group of Maratha reservation activists torched the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building and vandalised it in Maharashtra's Beed district, soon after setting on fire the residence of local NCP MLA Prakash Solanke on Monday, the police said.
As violence broke out, police baton-charged the protesters and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them. Several persons, including 40 police personnel, were injured and more than 15 state transport buses were set ablaze. More than 360 persons were booked in connection with the violence, police said.
Earlier attempts by the state governments to introduce the reservation for Marathas have been struck down by courts.
As the 40-day deadline he set before the Maharashtra government to implement Maratha reservation came to an end, activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday launched his indefinite fast to press for the demand for quota to the community.
Several legislators cutting across party lines in Maharashtra on Thursday staged an agitation outside the Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai, in support of the demand for reservation to the Maratha community.
Activist Manoj Jarange, who has been sitting on an indefinite fast in Maharashtra's Jalna district over the demand for reservation to the Maratha community, has refused to get a health check-up done.
A protest for Maratha reservation in Jalna district of central Maharashtra turned violent on Friday, leading to dozens of persons including police personnel getting injured, officials said.
The Maratha quota matter snowballed into a major challenge for the state government after the police earlier this month baton-charged a violent mob at Antarwali Sarati when protesters allegedly refused to let authorities shift Jarange to hospital.
Shinde also said directives will be issued to give the Kunbi caste certificates to blood relatives of a person who already possesses similar documents.
The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said a government-appointed committee scrutinised 1.72 crore old documents (including those of Nizam-era) and among them, 11,530 records were found where Kunbi caste was mentioned.
The Bombay High Court has directed activist Manoj Jarange and his supporters, who are staging an agitation demanding reservation for the Maratha community, to vacate Azad Maidan in Mumbai by 3 pm or face action.
Amid a fresh wave of protests in Maharashtra over the Maratha quota demand, authorities in Dharashiv district of the state on Wednesday started distributing Kunbi caste certificates to the eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for their inclusion in the OBC category.
