Maharashtra cooperation minister Harshvardhan Patil on Friday suffered an eye injury after some activists from Dhangar community threw ink at him at a function at Bhigwan Pune's Indapur tehsil.
The agitation saw the participation of 147 farmers when it started, which number swelled to 325 by the time it ended.
A faction of Congress believes that that decision of the NCP benefitted the BJP which won 122 seats and staked a claim for power.
The Indian economy has recovered 'handsomely' from the pandemic-induced disruptions, former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Tuesday, while expressing hope that the recovery will be sustained and the growth rate of 7 to 8 per cent will be restored. Panagariya suggested that the government must now signal its intention to wind down fiscal deficit by cutting it by half-to-one percentage point in 2022-23. "The Indian economy has recovered handsomely, returning to its pre-COVID GDP... "Only private consumption is still below its pre-COVID-19 level," the eminent economist told PTI in an interview.
"The government recruitment is frozen. Where are the jobs?" the minister said.
He blamed 'bad elements' encouraged by ruling Telugu Desam Party for the violence that erupted at Tuni in the district on Sunday, and alleged that the TDP government tried to suppress his agitation by creating obstacles to the public meeting.
'I know and recognise that television needs interesting material. I don't even have a problem with them doing entertaining and irrelevant stories, even if they don't interest me personally. However, when something of grave importance is also breaking at the same time, then it becomes difficult for me to forgive such irresponsible behaviour,' says Aakar Patel.
Giving this information at Chandigarh, a government spokesman said that more companies of the paramilitary forces have been demanded by the state.
The curtain came down on rumbustious electioneering over the last two months when assembly polls were also held in four other states - Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur.
'You are sending the army to Rohtak? There are six paramilitary forces in the country. Why can't you use these people?' 'What is the need to call out the army? And that too at a place where there is an army man in every house.' 'Can you imagine how stupid this decision is? How insensitive?'
He alleged that the Congress was 'deceiving' the people over the issue of reservation, while the agitators were lining up for poll tickets.
One of the eye witnesses of the Murthal gang-rapes, which took place during the Jat agitation, has claimed that he was threatened for 'speaking too much'.
Mevani, after his meeting with the Gandhi scion, said he would ask his community members to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the Gujarat polls.
The quota stir by Patels has led to the emergence of new leaders on the political scene of Gujarat.
Internet and mobile SMS services have been suspended indefinitely by authorities in Rohtak district in the wake of protests by Jat community.
'However, this time it looks like that is not working.'
Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, state BJP chief R C Faldu, 37 members of the assembly and six ministers are Patels.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over 10 hours by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper and was called to depose again on Tuesday, as his party protested across the country, alleging that the Centre was targeting the Opposition by misusing agencies.
Climate activist Disha Ravi along with Mumbai lawyer Nikita Jacob and Pune-based engineer Shantanu created the 'toolkit' related to the farmers' agitation and shared it with others to tarnish India's image, the Delhi Police said on Monday.
Given the many policy areas where the Centre and the states have not been seeing eye to eye in the last few years, it is time the Modi government convenes a meeting of the Inter-State Council, recommends A K Bhattacharya.
Patel also said he would support the communities which have raised reservation demands in Rajasthan.
In the first phase of the Jat agitation, violence was witnessed in and around Mukherjee Nagar and Najafgarh areas.
'In the last ten days a mastermind has emerged who is misleading him and using him like a pawn. We made Hardik the face of this agitation. Hardik was the smallest mohra in this agitation.' 'The mastermind is doing Hardik's makeover. He is increasing his face value. But this is helping us in pushing forth for our demands. Because Hardik's face value is increasing, our agitation is benefiting. What is the motive of this mastermind in doing what he is doing is a different issue.'
About 150 years ago, in British India, big farmers in the western region of Maharashtra agitated over unfair lending practices and demanded a more fair and inclusive financing structure. People say this is where the seeds of the cooperative movement, now omnipresent in the country, were sown. Today, more than 800,000 cooperative societies thrive in India, with 300 million members, a number close to the population of the United States. Despite a reach this deep--grass roots as they call it--cooperatives do not occupy a lion's share in the Indian economy.
Around 20 policemen, including eight officers, were injured in stone-pelting by protesters at Kopar Khairane and Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai.
The SP said the protesters also pelted stones, injuring four jawans, adding that police had to lob tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
Nobody bothered to articulate the upsides; instead, the four-year tour of duty and denial of life-long pensions got played up.
Job-seekers for government and related opportunities found that their future was at risk, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
The sub-quota scheme may now lead to a ganging up of non-Vanniyars in individual constituencies against the Vanniyars just as in the past, such ganging up against SC-ST candidates was seen in the non-quota constituencies, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Patel quota agitation leader formed the Patel Navnirman Sena bringing together the Patels, Kurmis and Gujjars.
Pravin Gaikwad, the state coordinator of Maratha Kranti Morcha, has two rare qualities: he has an unparalleled connect with people from his community and, at the same time, underpins his ideology on a strong analytical base.
A Delhi court will pass the order on Tuesday on the bail plea of freelance journalist Mandeep Punia arrested by the Delhi Police from the Singhu border protest site here where farmers are agitating against the three contentious agri laws.
'The Rajputs feel they are being left behind.'
A senior resident doctor said the decision came as Parliament's Monsoon Session was concluding on Friday and there was no point in carrying on with the agitation.
"We have decided to ban mobile internet service from 10 pm from Saturday night to 8 am on October 19," District Collector Manisha Chandra said.
Two days after two of his former associates accused him of using the Patidar quota agitation as a "tool to nurture his leadership ambition", Hardik Patel on Wednesday hit back saying his detractors were "playing into the hands of some in the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat who were trying to weaken the protest" by maligning his image.
Residents of some Patel-community dominated villages in Gujarat are withdrawing their bank deposits with one cooperative bank.
The Madhes-based parties have been protesting for over four months against the seven-province model proposed in the new Constitution that divides their ancestral land.
The move comes a day a day after Patel community members living in the US announced a "boycott" of Modi's upcoming visit there.
The Patel community, a decisive vote bank in Gujarat, has two main sects -- Leuva and Kadva. Maa Umiya is the reigning deity of Kadva Patel community.
'We have unleashed a nastiness and viciousness in ourselves that had been bottled up before.' 'This government has helped uncork it, possible forever, and to my mind that is its most significant achievement.'
