Manoj Jarange's protest for Maratha quota at Mumbai's Azad Maidan enters its third day. Jarange is demanding 10% quota for Marathas and recognition as Kunbis. Maharashtra ministers suggest the community avail the existing EWS quota.
The activist urged his supporters not to block Mumbai's roads. "Clear the streets in two hours and ensure Mumbaikars are not troubled. Those who want to leave the city today can do so," he said.
Jarange Patil on Tuesday called off his five-day old agitation after the Maharashtra government issued a resolution on the Hyderabad gazetteer and announced the formation of a committees to facilitate the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas who are able to produce documentary evidence recognising them as Kunbis in the past.
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
Talks between Maratha quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange and a government delegation ended without a resolution in Mumbai. Jarange criticized the Chief Minister and vowed to continue his hunger strike, demanding a 10% quota for Marathas under the OBC category.
'All commercial and banking transactions happen in South Mumbai.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the state education minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinod Tawde, who is caught up in a row over his educational qualification.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday expanded his two-member ministry, 41 days after taking oath as the CM.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents 10 dynasts of the BJP who have managed to get elected this time round.
Pankaja Munde of the BJP -- Dhananjay Munde's cousin -- has been made the guardian minister of Jalna district.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Haribhau Bagade was on Wednesday unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra assembly.
The toll in Mumbai's worst hooch tragedy rose to 102 on Monday with the death of five more victims who consumed spurious liquor in Malad area and another 46 are in hospitals with eight of them struggling to survive serious ill-effects of the killer brew.
Shinde was sworn-in as the chief minister and Devendra Fadnavis took oath as deputy CM on June 30. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai at 11 am, an official said.
Ahead of the elections, a lot had been spoken of the large number of leaders defecting from the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena. In fact, a month before the polls, more than two dozen Congress-NCP leaders quit and joined the BJP in hopes of riding high on the Narendra Modi wave. While for some the shift has brought in good fortune, for others it has brought loss. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com analyses how these defectors have fared.
"People forgot about income for farmers. But for the first time, this thinking has been changed," he said and listed steps the Centre has taken for the welfare of farmers.
However, the famous Sai Baba temple in the town will remain open, its trustees said on Saturday.
"We cut short the Assembly session recently. So far, over 10 ministers and over 20 MLAs have tested positive for coronavirus. Everybody wants to be part of the celebrations of New Year, birthdays and other occasions. Keep in mind that the new variant (Omicron) spreads fast and hence caution is needed," he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and several of his cabinet colleagues figure in the list of 118 Congress candidates for the October 15 Assembly polls announced by the AICC late on Wednesday.
Nobody was injured in the fire, which was reported at 7.54 pm, the official from Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.
Fadnavis, the first Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister of the state, filed his papers from the Nagpur South-West constituency.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assures implementation of Bombay High Court directives regarding the Maratha quota protest led by Manoj Jarange, while also exploring legal options to resolve the issue. He condemned harassment of journalists and appealed to avoid politicizing the matter.
The BJP-led government's decision to grant Kunbi status to individuals from the Maratha community has opened a Pandora's box.
There was no report of devotees facing any inconvenience even as shops and eateries downed their shutters and vehicles remained off roads.
Anand Rayate, senior IAS officer and state coordinator for the Talathi Recruitment Exam-2023, said the statewide test conducted with the help of IT major TCS started at 11 am, instead of 9 am scheduled originally, after the fault was rectified.
A total of 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday, a poll official said.
The major milk-producing districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ahmednagar and Nashik supply bulk of the stock to Mumbai and Pune.
Thorat, 66, has been a farmers' leader and has been involved in the cooperative movement in Maharashtra. He is also a former revenue minister
High-profile figures Eknath Khadse and Vindo Tawde are missing from it.
Government is not able to decide on liquor ban as Eid-e-Milad is falling on the eve of Christmas.
A dozen ministers will take oath at Tuesday's ceremony, scheduled at Raj Bhavan at 11 am.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), questioning the outcome of the recent Maharashtra assembly elections and alleging hypocrisy in the BJP's stance on corruption. He also hinted at internal changes within the MNS, emphasizing the need for discipline and a renewed focus on the party's goals.
Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde on Monday said the engineering "degree" he obtained from a Pune institute in 1984 is not bogus as claimed by a television news channel.
The Maharashtra CM is known to choose the right time to hit back at people he considers a threat, says N Suresh.
Cabinet sub-committee to review the situation and take necessary steps.
Earlier on Thursday morning, a 300 kg magnet was lowered with the help of a crane in the river to trace the missing buses.
He staked everything to ensure the BJP returned to power; and now that it has, he stands to lose a lot, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who joined the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha election, lost to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar by 2.84 votes.
Cabinet sub-committee to meet to review the situation and take necessary steps. Sanjay Jog reports
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
