As the 40-day deadline he set before the Maharashtra government to implement Maratha reservation came to an end, activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday launched his indefinite fast to press for the demand for quota to the community.
'The Dravidian movement was started for the Hindus who were rejected by the upper castes.'
Former Delhi government minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Friday quit the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the Congress, alleging discrimination against Dalit and minority leaders in the Arvind Kejriwal led party.
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad on Monday said it will go ahead with the admission process for the 2007 batch without providing for 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in the wake of the Supreme Court order.
Khedkar, a 2023 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, was accused of misusing power and privileges during her training in Pune recently.
The government is considering allocation of quota to minorities within the existing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Castes in central services, Minority Affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on Friday.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday appealed to the opposition for the unanimous passage of the women's reservation bill and said shortcomings, if any, can be rectified at a later date.
However, in 950 booths, voting will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise.
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
Gandhi said just like the Constitution, the "caste census" is a policy framework and a guide for the Congress.
The government on Wednesday said it was 'entirely possible' to provide admissions in general categories in elite educational institutions, while putting on hold reservation for OBCs till the court decides.
A key bill to provide reservation to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Caste under state seats in central education institutes in tribal areas was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
'Akhilesh Yadav made voters think why is the BJP asking for 400 paar.' 'They understood his words and believed the BJP wanted 400 paar only to demolish the Constitution and end reservations.'
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 activist said leaders opposing Maratha interests would face consequences in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said when the elections are over, people will only remember him as the PM who indulged in 'divisive and communal speeches filled with lies' to avoid an inevitable defeat.
The row over Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anurag Thakur's remarks in Lok Sabha escalated on Wednesday with the Congress submitting a notice to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for posting on 'X' a video that allegedly also contained expunged portions of Thakur's speech.
The Congress has so far announced 82 candidates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls beginning April 19.
Instead of harvesting the wrath against the BJP and using it to their advantage by opting for a collective form of leadership, the Congress decided once again to bestow their trust in the Hooda family who were given a free hand in the distribution of tickets. This turned out to be the biggest blunder and this faulty selection was the single over riding factor in the Congress defeat, explains Rashme Sehgal.
Addressing a Social Unity Conference in Navi Mumbai on Sunday evening, Pawar also criticised the Centre's handling of the ethnic strife in Manipur, which has claimed several lives since last May.
Facing protests from a section of the Rajput community over Union Minister Parshottam Rupala's remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh -- a Rajput-dominated seat -- is hoping that the 'Modi factor' and the development work undertaken by his government will help it retain the Lok Sabha constituency.
The free education policy should be amended so that boys also get free education besides girls, and all Marathas should get free education "from KG to PG" (kindergarten to post-graduation) until the entire community gets reservation, he said.
The perception is rapidly gaining ground that though the chief minister is from the Shiv Sena, the government is being run by the NCP.
Upholding a bunch of petitions filed by aggrieved general category employees challenging the reservation in promotions, the apex court said the state failed to furnish sufficient valid data to justify the move to promote employees on caste basis.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that successful civil services aspirants have no right to be allocated a cadre of their choice or their home state, and also noted that before selection they opt to serve anywhere in the country "with eyes open" but later "scramble" for home cadre.
Questioning the Congress's stand on caste census, the BJP leader made certain remarks on Gandhi's caste that triggered the uproar and had Congress members trooping into the well of the Lok Sabha. "Anurag Thakur insulted me and I don't want any apology from him. Abuse or insult me as hard as you can but don't forget we will pass the caste census in this Parliament for sure," the Leader of the Opposition said.
Modi claimed the Congress, when in power at the Centre, had drawn up plans to allocate 15 percent of the total budget to minorities.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday announced he was withdrawing his 17-day-old fast undertaken over the Maratha quota issue, but insisted he would continue his agitation until the Maharashtra government starts issuing Kunbi caste certificates to extended family members of people already having such documents, thereby allowing them to avail of reservation benefits.
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.
Instead of agitating, be ready for celebration, Maha CM Devendra Fadnavis said.
Narendra Modi is a 'fake Other Backward Communities member', the Congress alleged on Thursday, seeking to puncture the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate's attack on Priyanka Gandhi over her neech rajniti barbs.
The state government had on June 24 directed district adminstration to issue SC certificates to 17 OBCs -- Kashyap, Rajbhar, Dhivar, Bind, Kumhar, Kahar, Kewat, Nishad, Bhar, Mallah, Prajapati, Dhimar, Batham, Turha, Godia, Manjhi and Machua.
'Education in private and public schools should be in English and in one regional language; it will solve the entire reservation issue.'
Shinde also said directives will be issued to give the Kunbi caste certificates to blood relatives of a person who already possesses similar documents.
'The (Maratha) community people have understood that this is the same reservation that they were given earlier also (but was later struck down)'
If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Congress wants to change the Constitution and rob Dalits, OBCs of quota benefits for religion-based reservation, Modi said.
The caste census has already become a hot-button issue. Unless settled earlier, it will echo loudly in the coming assembly elections and eventually in the 2024 parliamentary poll, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Last year, Delhi and other leading states of the Indian Union witnessed widescale protests against the government of India's decision to reserve 27 per cent seats for OBC's in the medical and professional institutions.
