The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat on Tuesday announced 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local bodies like panchayats, municipalities and civic corporations on the basis of a commission's report, paving the way for polls in these self-governing institutes.
The Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal for enhancing reservation for women in Panchayats from the present 33 per cent to 50 per cent with the provision being applicable to all seats filled through direct election, office of chairpersons and of offices reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Karanatka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party toll early leads in the crucial zilla and taluka panchayat elections on Tuesday by emerging victorious in 12 out of the 30 districts in the fray. However, party insiders say that the results were below their expectations.
'Everyone knows there is no point in contesting elections from Gujarat as a Congress candidate because they know they will be wiped out.'
A Kudumbashree worker, who had gone missing last week, was found allegedly murdered and buried in a ditch in the compound of a former colleague's house in Tuvvur in this district, police said on Tuesday.
Coming down heavily on khap panchayats, the Justice J S Verma Committee on Wednesday said means adopted by them have assumed "unreasonable proportions" and asked the government to ensure such bodies do not interfere with choices made by people regarding marriage.
As the final five phases of polls draw closer, rift among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners, Congress-Left combine and the Trinamool Congress, which are fighting separately has intensified, triggering a fierce contest across half of the remaining 36 constituencies in West Bengal driven by local issues such as Sandeshkhali and the SSC scam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government has made a "solemn promise" for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and will stand by it, adding the Centre was working very hard to create the right conditions.
One person was on Thursday killed in a clash between Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist supporters in North Dinajpur district during the fifth and final phase of West Bengal panchayat elections, taking the toll in poll-related violence to 21 since the exercise began.
The apex court has upheld a Haryana legislation disqualifying a gram panchayat member from becoming a sarpanch if he or she had more than two living children.
Braving opposition from a section of villagers, Sottathatti panchayat president K Raju was presiding over a meeting after hoisting the national flag at a school.
The recoveries made from the gunned-down terrorist included two assault rifles along with two magazines and 234 rounds of bullets, five pistols with 10 magazines and 60 rounds, 15 hand grenades and 12 fuses for IEDs.
Clashes resurfaced after four months on Sunday and Monday morning. Guns were allegedly used in the clashes between CPI-M workers and Trinamool Congress-backed Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee members, leaving five injured.
Farmer outfits had held a "khap mahapanchayat" in Uttar Pradesh and a series of protests in Punjab and Haryana on Thursday, showing solidarity with the wrestlers who have accused Singh of sexually harassing female grapplers, including a minor.
The newly married couple left the village in a bid to protect their lives, while the groom's parents were allegedly prevented from fetching drinking water from a public water tank and bathing in the pond by villagers, the family members claimed.
'India has the largest slate of local original content outside the US.'
Jarange had also claimed that a poisoning attempt was made against him through saline, though he did not elaborate on it.
With many of his close associates leaving his side, it is virtually a lone battle for Congress stalwart Kamal Nath to help his parliamentarian son Nakul Nath win from Chhindwara for a second time amid the Bharatiya Janata Party's aggressive push to wrest the seat.
'Wrong feedback was given against Parasji to the top BJP leadership in New Delhi by a senior BJP leader, who is also a Union minister from Bihar.' 'He deliberately provided wrong information about the RLJP to the BJP leadership to help Chirag Paswan.'
Fourteen priests, including 'sevaks' (assistants), were injured in a fire that broke out in the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Monday during 'bhasma aarti', an official said.
The report said while earlier reservations for women were a matter of ridicule, now stories of women being puppets in the hands of male relatives and similar anecdotal accounts have become rare.
There will be eight more phases of Panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to increase reservation for women to 50 per cent in panchayats.
Villages in Maharashtra are gearing up for e-panchayats as rural people adopt new methodologies for rural development.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the meetings of the committee as a special invitee, while legal affairs secretary Niten Chandra will be secretary to the panel.
The party also promised reservation to minorities on basis of their population after the caste census.
Kerala on Monday became the first state to adopt a water budget in a bid to come up with a solution to water scarcity in certain regions there. The first phase of the project would cover 94 gram panchayats and 15 block panchayats. The Public Water Budget was released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday, along with the launch of the third phase of the Ini Njan Ozhukatte (Let me flow now) project, for the rehabilitation of irrigation networks in the Western Ghats.
Man rapes woman. Woman files complaint. The village Muslim jury throws the victim out. Rapist gets away scot-free.
Counting of votes for four legislative council seats representing panchayat quota in the state is scheduled to be taken up on Thursday and the results are expected by noon.
A village pradhan and a former village functionary in the border district of Lahaul and Spiti have been arrested on the charges of sedition after they allegedly threatened to seek China's help for development of the region.
Amid sporadic violence, nearly 70 per cent of 1.1 crore rural voters Sunday exercised their franchise for Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections in Punjab.
The Left-Congress alliance won 19 out of 19 seats which is significant ahead of the panchayat polls.
In the wake of the fresh militant attacks on Panchayat members in Jammu and Kashmir, around 20 panches and sarpanches of the Baramulla district on Sunday tendered their resignations here citing "threats to their lives".
Khap panchayats in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday said they will oppose same gotra marriages before the Supreme Court, which had sought their views, following a plea to curb violence against couples at the behest of such caste councils. At a meeting of over 200 khap leaders, the self-styled caste councils were unanimous in their opposition to same gotra marriages. They, however, stressed that they have never supported honour killings.
Hours before the 48-hour bandh called by the Maoists in Jharkhand, the ultras on Saturday blew up a panchayat hall and a school building in Palamau district.
With the Supreme Court rejecting West Bengal government's plea for rescheduling the Panchayat polls in view of Ramzan, the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Tuesday blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress for it and said the party was not serious about holding the election at the grassroot-level.
A village panchayat in Korba district of Chhattisgarh has ordered boycott of a rape victim and her family, the police said on Monday.
Sporadic violence marked the third phase of panchayat elections in West Bengal on Friday covering three districts of Howrah, North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas where an average 25 per cent polling was recorded in the first four hours of voting.
A body representing the caste councils of western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi has expressed its opposition to the proposed amendments of law to deal with honour killings and will submit a memorandum to the President on the issue.The All Khap Panchayat held at Shamli town in the district on Sunday evening, which was attended by the heads of different caste councils from western Utter Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, had decided to oppose the proposed amendments.
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