SC/ST reservation in the LS and state assemblies extended for another 10 yrs. However, the benefit was not extended to Anglo-Indian members.
However, another quota agitation body Sardar Patel Group welcomed the government's move, but said they will assess how it will help Patel community and up to what extent.
'The upper castes think Dalits get reservation while they are deprived of it'
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
It also promised financial assistance of Rs 24,000 annually to all dependent widows and single mothers, two free LPG cylinders to all the beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana and 24x7 power supply.
'Bihar's caste survey has bolstered the Opposition parties, but one shouldn't forget that the BJP is also trying to present itself as a party that cares for the OBCs more than other parties,' points out Sanjay Kumar.
Even as the high court's decision to quash reservation for backward groups of Muslims in Andhra Pradesh has left the Muslim community fuming, and about 30,000 students who benefited from the quota were worried about the future, the state government has reassured the community that it will do every thing possible to get a reprieve from the Supreme Court.
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
A constitutional amendment bill to restore the powers of the states to make their own OBC lists was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, with the opposition and treasury benches joining hands in the Rajya Sabha to approve the legislation.
ESU coach Ngampao Kipgen, a member of the Kuki tribe, told Reuters he was forced to flee to the hills with his family after his house was burned down.
The bill was passed with 165 voting in favour and 7 against it.
The opposition on Tuesday termed as an 'election jumla' the women's reservation bill brought by the government with many leaders raising questions over the proposed legislation, contending it doesn't account for reservation for OBC communities and that it will be effective at the earliest by the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
In a unanimous verdict, a five-judge Constitution Bench on Thursday upheld the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006. The Act does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution, the SC said, and favoured the exclusion of creamy layer among the OBCs from the benefit of quota
Speaking exclusively to rediff.com he said that the Gujjars did not fulfill any of the conditions that are necessary to get ST status.
"Debate is just an excuse, the real target of the RSS-BJP is social justice," Priyanka Gandhi said.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Constitution amendment bill to restore the power of states to make their own OBC lists after a thaw in the logjam as Opposition parties backed the legislation but demanded the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservation, with many of them also calling for a caste-based census.
Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday said the creamy layer should not be excluded from reservation benefits while Congress leader Digvijay Singh said Parliament was supreme in policy issues.
Former Bihar chief minister and BJP ally Jitan Ram Manjhi alleged on Wednesday that five MPs, including a Union minister, have been elected to Lok Sabha from seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes on the basis of "forged" certificates and sought an inquiry.
The Centre has moved the Supreme Court seeking review of the May 5 majority verdict which held that 102nd Constitution amendment took away the power of state governments to declare Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) for grant of quota in jobs and admissions.
In a major move that will benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian IT professionals in America, the Biden administration has introduced an ambitious immigration bill in Congress which among other things proposes to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards.
"During the Congress regime, the news headlines were of India handing over another dossier to Pakistan about terror activities. Some of our friends in media used to clap after such any such dossier was sent," Modi said at an election rally in Maharashtra's Latur.
Obama used his executive power to announce a series of administrative measures to provide legal status to over five million illegal immigrants in the country, including those from India.
The BRICS nations on Friday underlined the need for using local currencies in international trade and financial transactions besides committing themselves to supporting rule-based open and transparent global trade. A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, also pressed for a robust Global Financial Safety Net with a quota-based and adequately resourced International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its centre. It further said the process of IMF governance reform under the 16th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula as a guide, should be completed by December 15, 2023.
The immigration reform proposals significantly increase the quota for skilled workers from existing nearly 12 per cent to 57 per cent.
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.
The Sports Ministry said the suspended Wrestling Federation of India has no authority to conduct the Senior National Championships.
'When the chief minister saw how Manoj Jarange Patil had successfully held the state government hostage to his whims, Eknath Shinde knew he had a very clear chance of enamouring himself to these Maratha agitators by accepting Patil's demands.'
The government has said it would implement the Supreme Court verdict on the OBC quota and does not want to seek a review of the judgment. Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh sought to mollify allies upset over the exclusion of creamy layer, stating the government as also the United Progressive Alliance favoured reservation benefits for the creamy layer. Singh steered clear of the demands by allies, including the DMK, for a fair and just review of the verdict.
The Congress, the DMK, the RJD and the AAP were in the well of the house and continued to raise slogans against the government.
Marathas have been declared as socially and educationally backward class of citizens and have inadequate representation in services under the state. They are entitled to reservation benefits and advantages enshrined in the Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution, the recommendations mentioned.
A group of ministers will meet in New Delhi on November 14 to deliberate on the issue on job reservation in the wake of a Supreme Court verdict directing exclusion of the 'creamy layer' from the benefit of quotas.\n
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
Haryana's Additional Advocate General Jagbir Singh Malik said the State will be filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the order before the Supreme Court. The interim order has come as a relief for companies in the state which feel that the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 would have a bearing on their future business operations and investment.
Hundreds of Patel community youths welcomed Hardik as he entered his home state through the Ratanpur border.
Can't get enough of millets? Try these recipes from Rediff Food.
The government said that the panel has recommended that family income is a "feasible criterion" for defining EWS and in the current situation, a threshold of Rs 8 lakh of annual family income seems reasonable for determining EWS.
India, the world's third-largest cotton producer, is likely to benefit when the United States and Europe end the 30-year old quota regime next year under which 47 developing nations are guaranteed a share in their apparel market.
