'Bihar's caste survey has bolstered the Opposition parties, but one shouldn't forget that the BJP is also trying to present itself as a party that cares for the OBCs more than other parties,' points out Sanjay Kumar.
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.
The JD-U leader's outbursts met with disapproval from the RJD as well as ally BJP, leaving the party to fend for itself.
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.
'Modi is not assuring the nation that if he gets back to power in 2024 and remains in power till 2029, he will not change the Constitution.'
"We will complain. He can meditate, but televisions cannot show it," she said, alleging that this will amount to "violation of the MCC."
Hailing the passage of a bill that restores states' rights to identify Other Backward Classes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that it underscores his government's commitment to ensuring dignity, opportunity and justice to the marginalised sections.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said he was in favour of extending reservation benefits to Muslims but emphasised that it should be based on social backwardness and 'not on the basis of religion'.
Modi referred to the Lok Sabha polls as a "Kurukshetra (battle)" in which "there is development on one hand and 'vote jihad' on the other".
'Modi 3.0 will have more balanced policies like one saw in Modi's first term.'
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 34-year-old Maharashtra cadre officer faces accusations of using fraudulent means to clear her civil services exam, including allegedly misrepresenting herself under the physical disabilities and OBC categories, and misusing power and privileges during her posting in Pune.
The collegium system has shut the doors of judgeship in the higher judiciary on Dalits, OBCs and even the poor among the upper castes
Modi said that Congress' tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an "all-time low"
"This is all about distraction, basic issue is of caste census and participation, in whose hands is the money of the country going. They (BJP) don't want to discuss this issue, they are afraid of it and run away from it," Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament.
A land-owning class, the Jats are a powerful community and account for 28 per cent of Haryana's population. The time, they believe, has now come for them to take revenge.
Probationary Indian Administrative Service officer Puja Khedkar, who is in the eye of a storm for alleged misuse of power and manipulating disability and OBC quotas, sidestepped questions related to the ongoing probe against her on Monday, saying the truth will eventually prevail, while the Pune police searched for her parents in a separate criminal case.
Gandhi claimed that Dalits, tribals, and Other Backward Classes were made bonded labourers and their participation was lacking in big companies, hospitals, schools, colleges and courts.
'There are legions of unemployed degree holders across rural and semi-urban belts in Maharashtra. Now, they aren't finding brides.' 'This issue has now snowballed into a social crisis. In 2014 and 2019, they had voted for the BJP.'
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.
The Bihar government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Patna high court verdict that has set aside the amended reservation laws in the state, which enabled the Nitish Kumar government to increase the quotas for Dalits, tribals and backward classes from 50 per cent to 65 per cent.
Police had launched a search for Manorama and her husband Dilip Khedkar after a video surfaced showing her allegedly threatening some persons with a gun over a land dispute at Dhadwali village in Pune's Mulshi tehsil.
The Congress on Wednesday filed a police complaint over the recent statements of leaders belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) targeting Rahul Gandhi.
A video purportedly showing controversial Indian Administrative Service officer Puja Khedkar's mother arguing with Metro rail construction workers in Pune has surfaced, days after another clip of her wielding a gun and threatening a group of men went viral.
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
The order also stated that the applicant shall not enter the jurisdiction of Pune's Paud police station, where the case has been registered, till the investigation was completed and cooperate in the ongoing probe.
Khedkar allegedly misrepresented information in her application for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022 to get reservation benefits.
The RJD polled the highest vote share in Bihar, but it was not reflected in the number of seats it won.
The government also ruled out having a re-look at the present reservation system.
'This is my last election; hence, I need people's support and blessing to achieve and ensure victory.'
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.
Congress wants to change the Constitution and rob Dalits, OBCs of quota benefits for religion-based reservation, Modi said.
Kumar's outburst came as opposition members stood in the well of the House, demanding that the state's amended reservation laws be incorporated in the 9th schedule of the Constitution to make it immune from legal scrutiny.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwla and Manoj Misra, however, agrees to hear as many as 10 petitions of the Bihar government against the Patna HC verdict.
Since it was formed 58 years ago, Haryana has had Jat chief ministers for 33 of those.
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.
It noted that Article 15(5) of the Constitution does not empower the State to compel a minority educational institution to admit students from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or Backward Classes of citizens.
Asserting that Article 370 is a thing of the past, Shah stated that no one can bring it back.
An 'illegal' structure near trainee Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar's family bungalow in Pune has been cleared, days after the civic body issued them a notice to remove it, an official said on Wednesday.
Bhujbal, who has strongly opposed the demand to include the Marathas in the other backward classes category for quota benefits, said a new social system is taking shape in Maharashtra which is different from the order envisaged by prominent social reformers.
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