'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the ongoing hunger strike by activist Manoj Jarange, who is demanding a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.
Heavy rains in Maharashtra have caused floods, road blockages, and widespread damage, resulting in casualties and displacement. The state government is monitoring the situation and coordinating rescue efforts.
Maharashtra reported 479 farmer suicides in March and April, with financial aid eligibility being assessed for the affected families.
Political tensions rise in Maharashtra as OBC, SC, and ST groups express concerns over a government resolution on the Maratha quota. Chief Minister Fadnavis cautions against divisive politics, while Sharad Pawar accuses the government of weakening the social fabric.
Jarange's hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai over the demand for Maratha quota entered the fifth day on Tuesday.
'All commercial and banking transactions happen in South Mumbai.'
'Life in India is better only for those who have reservations.'
Maratha quota movement leader Manoj Jarange is heading to Mumbai to launch a fresh hunger strike, demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category. He has agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune en route.
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.
He also said four of the eight constituencies had been contested by the Shiv Sena in 2019 and staked claim to those constituencies.
The early onset of the southwest monsoon brought continuous rainfall across southern and eastern India, contributing to this record.
'The government's priority is not farmers.'
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has praised the RSS for its dedicated cadre and urged his party to create a similar base committed to progressive ideas. He attributed the NCP's recent electoral setbacks to complacency and a failure to communicate its work for the OBC community. Pawar also emphasized the need for social engineering to address caste tensions and announced that 50% of the tickets for upcoming local body elections will be given to new faces.
'You've got to understand it is not easy to die by suicide.' 'People commit suicide only when they lose everything and find no other way to live.'
'Like me there are crores of Marathi people in the state hoping for this miracle to work.'
'I don't know whether the top Gujarati leaders of Indian politics (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah) in Delhi realise that the narrative of HindiHinduHindustan will eventually destroy their own language too.'
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall for the upcoming monsoon season in India (June to September). The cumulative rainfall is estimated to be 105 percent of the long-period average. The IMD has also ruled out the possibility of El Nino conditions during the entire season. The monsoon is crucial for India's agriculture sector, which supports the livelihood of a significant portion of the population and contributes substantially to the country's GDP. However, while the prediction of normal rainfall brings relief, climate change is expected to cause variations in rainfall distribution.
The poll aspirants who feel threatened are seeking to garner sympathy from their voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit Maharashtra's Parbhani city on Monday to meet the families of two persons who died following violence there earlier this month.
'There is no food to eat and water to drink and people are migrating in hordes.' 'Chief Minister Fadnavis must shift his base to Marathwada in such times.' 'If you do not help during a drought, then when will you help?'
The accused, Babu Gudgiram Kale, was apprehended on Sunday near Mulund suburb in neighbouring Mumbai, where he had been working as a labourer and selling flowers for livelihood, he said.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
Marathwada region, from where arrested Lashkar-e-Tayiba handler of 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack Abu Jundal hails, is fast becoming the "new Pakistan", Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said on Wednesday.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and PepsiCo will jointly help Maharashtra government tackle the drought in Marathwada.
'One murder gets national coverage because of political connections.' 'The other two and the brutal torture? Not much outrage.' 'Are Dalit and OBC lives worth less?'
The administration and people in draught-hit Marathwada are pinning their hopes on monsoon as only one per cent water is left in the dams of the parched region.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
Archana Patil, the daughter-in-law of senior Congress leader and former Union home minister Shivraj Patil joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
With the cane crushing season set to commence on November 15, lakhs of cutters from various districts have already migrated to the sugarcane belts in western Maharashtra and many other states, according to the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutters and Transport Association.
This is the fourth year of drought in Marathwada in the past five years. Each of its 8,522 villages have been affected for two consecutive years.
Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde has denied any involvement in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying he is being targeted by the opposition and some leaders within the ruling alliance. He compared himself to Arjun from the Mahabharata, claiming he cannot be cornered like Abhimanyu. Munde also criticized the media trial and social media trolling he has faced since the murder.
"Shreehari Aney has submitted his resignation to the governor. Whether to accept it or not, is his (governor's) prerogative," an official from the governor's office said.
A class 5 girl student died of heat stroke on Tuesday after repeated trips to nearest hand pump in drought-hit Beed district of Maharashtra.
Owaisi said 324 farmers have died by suicide in "Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) division", but no one is talking about it.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday refuted talk of his stir not being a factor in the Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress and its allies of plotting to have a separate Constitution for Kashmir and working to restore Article 370. Addressing a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, Modi claimed the Congress is speaking the language of Pakistan and that every Indian wants only Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution in Kashmir. He also highlighted the BJP's fulfillment of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's wish by renaming Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, emphasizing the Congress's opposition to the decision. Modi further contrasted the BJP's focus on national pride and development with the Congress's alleged support for Aurangzeb. He pointed out the BJP's achievements in granting classical language status to Marathi and attracting maximum FDI in Maharashtra after forming the Mahayuti government.
The highest farmer suicides have been reported from Beed district
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said an earthquake which impacted parts of the state on Wednesday was mild, and appealed to people to stay alert and not panic as the administration was taking all precautionary steps.
