Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday ended his nine-day-old indefinite fast, but warned of a bigger agitation if no action was taken in two months on giving reservation benefits to the community.
Instead of agitating, be ready for celebration, Maha CM Devendra Fadnavis said.
'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.
'BJP and RSS may have differences over minor issues but their hearts long for one common aim -- that of A Hindu Rashtra.' 'And this time to prove this point the RSS has prepared to help BJP win this election with all its might.'
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.
The quota and other issues of the Maratha community were discussed in the state cabinet meeting after which it was decided to hold a special session, the CMO statement said.
'It is now the government's duty to find a way out of this impasse without hurting interests of any sections of Maharashtrian people.'
The principal said that particular day was reserved for "speaking in English only" and that is why the students were stopped, the sources said, quoting her.
Separately, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the rapidly unfolding situation in Bangladesh. It is learnt that Jaishankar also apprised Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on the developments.
'The (Maratha) community people have understood that this is the same reservation that they were given earlier also (but was later struck down)'
A group of Maratha reservation activists torched the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building and vandalised it in Maharashtra's Beed district, soon after setting on fire the residence of local NCP MLA Prakash Solanke on Monday, the police said.
Click on the map to see the quantum of reservation across all our states.
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.
Bhujbal took a veiled attack at Sharad Pawar for the opposition's boycott of an all-party meeting on the Maratha quota issue.
The Gujjar agitation for five percent reservation in government jobs entered its eighth day on Thursday, with hundreds of protesters still blocking railway tracks in Pilupura.
Referring to the demand of giving a Kunbi certificate to all 54 lakh people whose proof of being Kunabi has been found till now, Patil said that they will be given the certificates soon.
In his letter to Modi, Kharge asserted that strict legal action should be taken against those giving such statements so that Indian politics can be prevented from degenerating and nothing untoward happens.
The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at the village since Tuesday.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government to make it clear whether it is ready to provide reservation to the entire Maratha community and why it needs more time in granting quota to it.
Pressing for 5 per cent reservation, Gujjars on Sunday intensified their agitation by blocking highways in parts of Rajasthan and threatening to expand it across the state as they alleged that the state government had failed to offer any concrete proposal to meet their demand.
"How can the judge go into postmortem report etc. We are hearing a bail matter, we do not want to prolong.This way of going into merits and going into wounds etc. is unnecessary for the question of bail," the bench observed.
'When the youth population is so large, in a globalised world, they look for opportunities. Are there enough opportunities for the youth in India?' 'The idea of affirmative action has to be creating capability. All individuals have potential. Unfortunately, there is capability deprivation because of the State's inaction.' 'Nation building has been a disaster in India mainly because we lacked the work ethic compared to the US and European countries.'
After skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan, it's former cricketer Virender Sehwag, who has now jumped into the political bandwagon. The former India opener posted on his official Twitter account, appealing agitating protesters to cease violence immediately and sort out the issues peacefully by staying within the limits of Indian constitution. "I request all my brothers to voice their differences and protest by staying within the limits of our constitution. We are saviors and not violent predators," Sehwag posted on his twitter account," Sehwag wrote on his Twitter handle. "Our army and sportspersons fight for the country's pride. Our (the citizen's) passion should work in the benefit of India and not against it," he added. Sehwag's comments come in the backdrop of a raging debate on freedom of expression after an event against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Earlier Dhoni had also voiced his opinion by hailing the Indian army, saying that the nation is in a position to debate on freedom of expression because of the men in uniform.
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.
Hasina was set to travel to London from India but is now contemplating other options after the British government indicated she may not get legal protection in the UK against any possible investigation, they said.
A division bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Mahesh Bhagwati held that Gujjars cannot be given special reservation and an act of 2008 has no substratum of quantifiable data that could justify the reservation.
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.
The activist claimed that state minister Uday Samant phoned him in the morning to assure that the chief minister and the deputy CMs were committed to granting reservation.
India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other 'targeted' officials from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a major downturn in already frosty ties between the two nations.
"Centre and state will soon begin the process of giving reservation, following the Delhi High court order," Khattar told reporters in a joint press conference along with All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti chairperson Yashpal Malik.
Scores of people, some armed with sticks, walked in the funeral cortege of a youth killed during a Durga idol immersion procession in Bahraich amid cries for justice from the family and others on Monday, as tension escalated with shops being burnt down and angry crowds out in the streets.
Haryana assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to provide reservation to Jats and five other communities in government jobs and educational institutions
Pawar said he has all the respect for the OBC community, but he does not want to hide the caste he was born in.
Will Hindus not vote for a Muslim candidate? Is that why such few Muslims are given tickets? Two constituencies in Mumbai break prevalent stereotypes about these difficult questions.
'I am a Muslim and if my Hindu brothers were to march to my house and if that were to give birth to any controversy, then this government will use it to exploit another issue.' 'I don't want to give BJP leaders a chance to play their communal politics.'
Dharashiv, earlier Osmanabad, is among the eight districts that comprise the state's Marathwada region, where activist Manoj Jarange has led an agitation demanding reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.
Jat protesters who are demanding reservation in government jobs under the Other Backward Class quota on Monday ended their 23-day-long agitation following an assurance from Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Members of the community held a meeting with social justice department officials in Jaipur, according to a statement.
Union minister Narayan Rane has opposed the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community members and said 'proud Marathas' would not want to be included in that caste segment to avail reservation benefits.
Several legislators cutting across party lines in Maharashtra on Thursday staged an agitation outside the Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai, in support of the demand for reservation to the Maratha community.
