Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday announced the withdrawal of police cases filed against pro-Maratha reservation protesters in Jalna district, the epicentre of the latest round of stir on the issue, and urged quota activist Manoj Jarange to end his indefinite fast.
He also termed the draft notification issued by the state government providing Kunbi certificates to all Marathas as a mere 'eyewash', and said caste is determined by birth and not affidavits.
Activist Manoj Jarange, who is observing an indefinite fast for the Maratha quota demand, on Saturday said a series of hunger strikes will begin in every village in Maharashtra from October 29 if the government fails to grant the reservation immediately.
Senior bureaucrat Smita Sabharwal courted controversy by questioning the need for reservation for the differently-abled people in the All India Services (AIS).
It was a protest which held a mirror to the government of a state taking pride in its commitment to democracy, gender equality and social indices.One person, who in his employed days had known governments and political parties at close quarters, told me that public perception of how the Kerala government handled the ASHA workers' strike had been terrible, reports Shyam G Menon.
Fasting Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu was on Saturday forcibly administered intravenous fluids, after his health deteriorated on the sixth day of the indefinite fast against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
He also sought framing of a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas, and warned of fielding candidates from all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming state polls if his demands were not approved.
The four choices offered to candidates were: Sharad Yadav, Shatrughan Sinha, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Vijay Rupani.
Tim Paine is stepping away from cricket for an "indefinite mental health break", his manager said on Friday, leaving Australia's Ashes preparations in disarray a week after the wicketkeeper's resignation from the captaincy.
The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said a government-appointed committee scrutinised 1.72 crore old documents (including those of Nizam-era) and among them, 11,530 records were found where Kunbi caste was mentioned.
Hingoli MP Hemant Patil submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha secretariat in New Delhi on Monday, while Nashik MP Hemant Godse sent his resignation letter to CM Shinde.
He also criticised the government over an advertisement published in some prominent newspapers listing the steps taken for the welfare of the Maratha community.
A team of doctors at NIMS, attending on the Kadapa MP, administered IV fluids after his health indicators including blood pressure and glucose levels dropped drastically, a NIMS official said.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday joined the mass hunger strike at the Hyderabad University campus to express solidarity with the students protesting against the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula who would have turned 27 on Saturday.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who has been on a fast unto death to press the demand for cancellation of a Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam, on Sunday sought the support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
A mother of two girls, Arambam Robita Leima said she would launch her fast-unto-death against AFSPA.
Jailed YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday refused to take food during lunch and dinner which was served to him at the Chanchalguda Central Prison following his announcement to launch an indefinite fast to protest the move to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
The Supreme Court collegium has confirmed the transfer of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent Allahabad High Court. This decision comes after an inquiry was initiated against Justice Varma regarding the alleged discovery of a large amount of cash at his official residence. The transfer recommendation was made public in a resolution uploaded on the Supreme Court's website. The alleged cash discovery occurred following a fire at Varma's residence in Delhi on March 14, 2025. The apex court collegium, headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has also constituted a three-member inquiry committee to further investigate the matter.
Anna Hazare has thanked Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for his "commitment" to the passage of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, while demanding inclusion of recommendations of the select committee in the bill.
This year's Indian Premier League has been postponed indefinitely following the coronavirus pandemic, key franchise officials said on Wednesday. After the lockdown was extended on Tuesday until at least May 3, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials held a teleconference before informing the franchises about a further delay.
A Maratha community member from Dharashiv in Maharashtra, who was the first one to be given the Kunbi caste certificate in the district as part of the ongoing survey exercise, has decided to return the document to the authorities, saying he wants all Marathas in the state to be given this benefit.
Nearly 50 senior doctors of RG Kar hospital on Tuesday tendered their resignations in a mark of solidarity with medics who have been on fast-unto-death since October 5 demanding justice for the institution's rape and murder victim.
After the bond was furnished it was accepted by the court and a release order was issued. She has now been asked to appear before the court on August 23.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a farmer leader, is on an indefinite hunger strike that has entered its 34th day. The Supreme Court has criticized the Punjab government for not shifting Dallewal to a hospital, while farmer leaders have said they are following Gandhian principles and it is up to the government to decide whether to use force to evict him. The farmers are protesting for several demands, including a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The protests have reached a decisive stage, with the SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha calling for a Punjab bandh on Monday.
The ongoing agitation has also led the Federation of All India Medical Association to warn that it would declare a nationwide "complete shutdown of medical services" if any "any harm befalls brave junior doctors".
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday said he will set out on a tour of Maharashtra after the Diwali festival to meet Marathas and make them aware about the issue of reservation for the community.
YSR Congress President Jaganmohan Reddy, who was admitted to a hospital on October 9 after being forcibly evicted by police from the site of his fast to protest bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, was discharged on Saturday.
The Australia fast bowler announced he is taking an indefinite break due to emotional and physical exhaustion.
OBC activist Laxman Hake was allegedly manhandled and verbally abused by members of the Maratha community in Pune, and a video of the incident surfaced on social media, the police said on Tuesday.
Agitating junior doctors, whose nine representatives are on a fast-unto-death demonstration, termed talks with senior officials of the West Bengal government as 'the most disappointing meeting so far'.
The indefinite hunger strike of anti-Sikh riot victims was called off on the sixth day on Wednesday after an appeal from Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh to the protesters.
Protesting against the police action, BJP has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Thiruvananthapuram district on Tuesday.
Hazare, 81, had started his indefinite fast on January 30 over appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs.
Team Anna on Sunday claimed they have "proof" of corruption against Pranab Mukherjee and it would be made public on July 25 when they launch an indefinite fast coinciding with his swearing-in as the President.
Amid high drama, Telugu Desam Party Chief N Chandrababu was on Friday forcibly evicted from Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi by the police and taken to a hospital on the fifth day of his indefinite fast against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Amid a fresh wave of protests in Maharashtra over the Maratha quota demand, authorities in Dharashiv district of the state on Wednesday started distributing Kunbi caste certificates to the eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for their inclusion in the OBC category.
Fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday sought reservation for the Maratha community in entire Maharashtra and not in specific regions and warned the ongoing agitation will be ratcheted up if the demand was not fulfilled by the state government.
Six persons were arrested in Namakkal on Thursday in connection with the death of a Dalit engineer, whose body was found on the railway track near Pallipallayam in the district on June 27, police said.
Four junior doctors are among those summoned by Kolkata police for questioning on Tuesday in connection with the murder and alleged sexual assault case of a second year postgraduate student at a government-run hospital in Kolkata last week.
In response to the Congress criticism that his indefinite hunger was premature, social activist Anna Hazare shot off a five-point letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. In the letter the Gandhian explains why he is continuing the hunger strike that the government has asked him to reconsider.
