Patel community leader Hardik Patel was arrested in Surat tonight for defying prohibitory orders clamped ahead of his 'Ekta March' for reservation under OBC quota but was freed on bail by a court soon afterwards.
The move comes a day a day after Patel community members living in the US announced a "boycott" of Modi's upcoming visit there.
Amid tight security, the funeral of a 32-year-old man from Patel community, who allegedly died in custody after being caught by police during the quota violence, was held in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Congress party in Maharashtra has its hopes pinned on a 'newly recharged' vice-president Rahul Gandhi for its revival.
Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but the shutdown call by anti-reservation bodies had little impact elsewhere in the country.
'But in 2024, the people of India will throw him out of power as the contradictions in him will be apparent.'
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's task is to live down the hype and address the nitty-gritty, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Kejriwal, on a four-day visit to Gujarat, is widely seen to be in the poll-bound state to woo the numerously strong Patel community to gain foothold in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home turf.
Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel's police custody was on Sunday extended by two more days till November 3 by an Ahmedabad court in an alleged case of sedition and waging war against the government.
The quota stir by Patels has led to the emergence of new leaders on the political scene of Gujarat.
Mevani, after his meeting with the Gandhi scion, said he would ask his community members to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the Gujarat polls.
The Congress, desperate to make a comeback in Gujarat, which has been ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party for over 20 years, has tried to reach out to various sections of society in its blueprint unveiled.
Patel quota leader Hardik Patel on Tuesday returned to Gujarat after spending six months away from his home state and launched a second round of agitation by appealing to Patels to unitedly fight against prevailing "autocracy" in the state, an oblique reference to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Narendra Modi can pick up a tip from the Samajwadi Party ramlila. If he doesn't want L K Advani as President, he might anoint him Bharatiya Bhishma Pitamah, suggests Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Curfew was clamped in Mehsana town in Gujarat and mobile internet service banned on Sunday as a massive rally of the Patel community demanding reservation.
The BJP has managed to retain its lead in all the six municipal corporations -- Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Jamangar and Bhavnagar -- which went to polls last month.
The court observed that 10 per cent reservation for poor among the unreserved category takes the total quota beyond 50 per cent, which is not permitted as per the SC's earlier decision.
A fresh case of sedition was on Wednesday filed against Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel and five others by the crime branch which also arrested two of his aides, even as the Gujarat High Court asked the government how a statement against police could amount to sedition.
The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader said that reservation formula given by the Congress for his community will be over and above the 50 per cent quota for the Schedule Tribes, Schedule Castes and Other Backward Class.
Hardik Patel, the face of Patel quota stir in Gujarat, has announced plans for a nation-wide agitation seeking reservation for nearly "27 crore people" of various communities including Gujjars and Kurmis.
'The decline in BJP seats tells us that despite the rote incantation of the development mantra, Gujarat is not immune to the economic pain the country is feeling and is telling the ruling party so,' says Shreekant Sambrani.
A total of 89 seats -- out of 182 -- spanning the Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions, are up for grabs in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
He alleged that the Congress was 'deceiving' the people over the issue of reservation, while the agitators were lining up for poll tickets.
Hardik Patel, who was leading the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, demanding Other Backward Class reservation for the Patel community, has been detained by the police in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. He was later released.
The Patels of Gujarat are seething and they have warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel of consequences if their demands for reservations are not met.
'The Mahabodhi temple is the only example in the world where a religion's most sacred place is controlled by people belonging to another religion.'
'Let reservations be decided on the basis of the economic status of a family or person.' 'Give 30 per cent reservations to those whose yearly income is below Rs 200,000, and the remaining 19 per cent to those whose family's annual income is between Rs 200,000 and Rs 400,000.'
'Other communities are also equally frustrated, but they have not been able to put up a front so far. Now a wind of change is blowing,' says Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia.
Gandhi attacked Modi and the BJP while latching on to the bribery allegation made by Narendra Patel, an activist of the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti.
If people respect our culture and interests, why should anyone become more regressive? Education will not be saffronised. Just the correct picture will be portrayed and facts not distorted.' Dr Dinanath Batra, who successfully litigated to have Penguin withdraw copies of Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa what India will be like if the BJP under Narendra Modi forms the next government.
Curfew has been lifted from Surat city after no untoward incident was reported from there since Wednesday night.
Army was called in on Wednesday to help control widespread violence sparked by quota agitation by Patel community in Gujarat which has claimed seven lives even as curfew was clamped in several areas.
Successor Anandiben Patel isn't having an easy time, with a protest movement by her own community and new challenges in keeping the mandate
'He is just a 22 year old who has no knowledge of India's laws or Constitution. How will such a man handle a discussion on reservations in an intelligent, lawful manner?' 'Let me alert everybody that he is using the 1985 formula. Back then they opposed reservations based on caste for OBCs and now they want to be included in the same category. This clearly tells us what their intention is. They don't want reservations; they want reservations to be cancelled altogether.'
'In the last ten days a mastermind has emerged who is misleading him and using him like a pawn. We made Hardik the face of this agitation. Hardik was the smallest mohra in this agitation.' 'The mastermind is doing Hardik's makeover. He is increasing his face value. But this is helping us in pushing forth for our demands. Because Hardik's face value is increasing, our agitation is benefiting. What is the motive of this mastermind in doing what he is doing is a different issue.'
In any controversy, the participants cannot decide who is right or wrong. A democracy has a process in place to settle these disputes: the judiciary. Dinanath Batra in true democratic fashion availed of that opportunity citizen and Penguin's decision was the outcome of a legitimate legal battle, says Vivek Gumaste.
It emphasised that agricultural infrastructure needs considerable investments and hence Section 80IA benefits must be extended to all such investments like IT infrastructure, computers, VSAT, solar panels, water harvesting facilities, storage etc.
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