Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday suspended his indefinite fast, which he began five days ago over the quota issue, stating that his community members say they want him alive to fight for the cause.
'The RSS, that advocated military strength, remained in the ideological doghouse for over half a century. Many of the RSS' responses even today carry the burden of this past,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Maratha quota movement leader Manoj Jarange is heading to Mumbai to launch a fresh hunger strike, demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category. He has agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune en route.
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal to challenge Maharashtra government's order expediting Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas, citing concerns from OBC leaders and seeking legal opinion on the government's authority to change people's caste.
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.
Jarange's hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai over the demand for Maratha quota entered the fifth day on Tuesday.
He also appealed to the protesters to park their vehicles only in the designated parking areas, hours after the high court frowned on the conduct of protesters.
Ranveer has shown the right instincts in his choice of roles, which he has played with seeming effortlessness, backed with preparation and understanding.
'Shinde, via Jarange Patil, is making his moves to become the sole leader of the oppressed, poor, backward Marathas in Maharashtra.'
The removal of a bust of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj from the premises of a government office in Pune triggered protests by various organisations, prompting the administration to reinstall the structure at its original spot.
'Given that his health is failing him, the government might, in a day or two, admit him to hospital.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addressed questions about advertisements featuring only CM Fadnavis, asserting that there is no race for credit among Mahayuti allies and that they are working as a team. He also commented on the Maratha reservation issue and the government's efforts to address it.
He made the announcement after Maharashtra minister and member of Maratha quota sub-committee Shambhuraj Desai, Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre met him at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district and discussed the issue.
'The writing is on the wall for both Shinde and Ajit Pawar.'
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil has begun his indefinite hunger strike at the Azad Maidan demanding reservation for the Maratha community.
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.
Activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, who have been sitting on a hunger strike at Wadigodri village in Jalna district since June 13, did not allow doctors to check their health or administer intravenous fluids.
'The (Maratha) community people have understood that this is the same reservation that they were given earlier also (but was later struck down)'
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.
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.
'When the chief minister saw how Manoj Jarange Patil had successfully held the state government hostage to his whims, Eknath Shinde knew he had a very clear chance of enamouring himself to these Maratha agitators by accepting Patil's demands.'
The Maratha community is not backward and hence it does not require reservation in government jobs and education, a petitioner argued before the Bombay high court on Wednesday.
A substantial number of castes and groups are already placed in the reserved category, getting about 52 per cent of reservations altogether. It would be completely inequitable to place the Maratha community in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, it said.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 BJP cannot afford to alienate the OBCs, who have explicitly voiced their opposition to the Maratha quota.
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.
ITC Hotels on Friday reported nearly 74 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the second quarter ended September at Rs 133.29 crore, on higher revenue from operations. The company, which listed on the stock exchanges earlier this year post its demerger from ITC Limited, had posted a net profit of Rs 76.63 crore a year ago.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
