A day-long bandh called by Gujjars in support of their demand for five per cent reservation in government jobs hit vehicular traffic in Dausa district even as Gadia Luhar community joined the stir which entered the fifth day on Friday.
Five MLAs -- four from the BJP and one independent -- were also sworn in as ministers. However, former home minister and six-term MLA from Ambala Cantt, Anil Vij, has not found a place in the new cabinet.
The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday issued a contempt notice to Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla for allegedly violating its order restraining the community leadership from taking law into their hands. Justice Preme Shankar Asopa directed Bainsla to appear before the court on May 30 on a petition by the state government accusing him of violating the court's order of September 10, 2007.
It also cautioned that if the legislation is passed, the "two crutches" on which the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is running at the Centre would not be able to escape responsibility.
Bainsala, who led the state-wide agitation which acquired a caste-war colour, however said he had 'trust' in Chief Minister Vasundhare Raje despite police registering cases against agitators.
Reports from Bundi district said normalcy had been restored and the blockade lifted on the Jaipur-Kota National Highway.
A three-member high-power committee headed by a retired High Court judge to examine the community's demand for ST status.
'The situation in Nuh could have easily returned to normalcy if the trader class wished so, but they didn't.'
The Gujjar community will be given five per cent reservation as a special category under an agreement reached with Rajasthan government, bringing to an end the nearly month-long agitation for Scheduled Tribe status. Addressing a joint press conference with Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla in Jaipur, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced five per cent quota for Gujjars as also Rebaris and Banjaras.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
Introducing the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said it was a demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the language they speak should be the official language.
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language. "This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence," he told the gathering.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
A report says that six tigers and 86 leopards were killed in Uttarakhand in a span of 14 months since the beginning of 2012 with unnatural factors like illegal poaching and accidents responsible for the deaths of 32 of them.
'There is no link between Article 370 abrogation and a rise in voting percentage.'
'The terrorists are using better technology to secure their communication.' 'It does appear that excessive reliance on technology led to a weakening of human intelligence.'
The Lok Sabha's Privileges Committee, headed by BJP member Sunil Kumar Singh, took up other issues on the agenda as Bidhuri, who was campaigning for the party in poll-bound Rajasthan, kept away.
'The bad dream can turn into a ghoulish nightmare for the BJP if the Gujjars in Rajasthan and the Patels in Gujarat, both BJP-ruled states, were to fish in troubled waters and relaunch their respective agitations for quotas in government jobs,' warns Rajeev Sharma.
Abdullah issued a white paper on development undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of "Abdullah and Sons" -- as Shah referred the family in his speech at a rally in Baramulla district -- to counter the allegations of corruption.
In the humiliating defeat of the Congress party in Rajasthan except for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, most of his ministers have lost the election.
The electoral exercise, the first since the Lok Sabha elections, will decide the fate of many veterans and some debutantes including Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur.
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
What provoked Ashok Gehlot's belligerence was Sachin Pilot's participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh. Gehlot was also aware that Rajasthan assembly Speaker C P Joshi had met Rahul in Maharashtra.
Any move of the present government to appease the Marathas may boomerang. Eknath Shinde is a worried man with the agitation not having an easy solution, notes Ramesh Menon.
This is the second encounter in the district in as many days.
The Jats are a political force in Rajasthan and the community's presence in 85 assembly constituencies may tilt the balance in electoral politics.
"The party will try to connect with these voters by organising 'Sneh Milan: Ek Desh, Ek DNA Sammelan' in various West Uttar Pradesh districts," he said, adding these conferences would start after Eid next month and the first convention will be held in Muzaffarnagar.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday ruled out holding any dialogue with Pakistan and asserted that the Modi government will wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir and make it the most peaceful place in the country.
Hundreds of junior wrestlers assembled at Jantar Mantar for a symbolic three-hour protest against Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat.
Local station house officer Ashok Chakravarty said the decision to not offer namaz in public place was taken by the community itself after a meeting was held on Wednesday to maintain peace.
Mufti said her father Sayeed was not power hungry and wanted to deliver Jammu and Kashmir from its problems and troubles.
Internal security columns of the army, which were deployed in the curfew-bound areas, were seen staging flag marches, while dozens of persons were taken into preventive custody to maintain law and order.
Mubashir Azad, the son of Azad's youngest brother, also said his uncle was "disrespected" by the Congress leadership which hurt him.
'We need to have a prosperous J-K, where all communities must prosper including Dogras, Gujjars, Sikhs, Muslims and Pandits.' 'Prosperity is the first signal of peace.'
Later, nearly 5,000 Gujjars squatted near the damaged track as senior district and police officials persuaded them to disperse
Medical Superintendent of the government-run G B Pant Children Hospital Dr Nazir Hussain Choudhary said the baby died at 6.30 am at the neonatal intensive care unit.
Police registered an FIR against the army personnel involved in the incident.
The Patel quota agitation leader formed the Patel Navnirman Sena bringing together the Patels, Kurmis and Gujjars.
Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla will leave for Jaipur on Monday to hold the final round of talks with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje Scindia, aimed at ending nearly a month-long agitation by community members, who are demanding Scheduled Tribe status.Bainsla, who is holding a meeting with community members in Pilupura, will meet Raje in Jaipur and press for ST status for the community. Bainsla and CM Vasundhara Raje have so far stayed away from the talks.
The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government will have a total of 30 ministers, including 18 who had resigned earlier.
