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Maratha groups withdraw bandh call after protests turn violent; to gherao CM residence

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Maratha groups withdraw bandh call after protests turn violent; to gherao CM residence

The Maratha Kranti Morcha on Wednesday, July 25, called off its state-wide bandh after intensified protests in which several incidents of violence were reported, despite a call for ‘peaceful’ strike.

The Marathas, who are demanding reservation in jobs and education, said they now plan to gherao ‘Varsha’, the official residence of the chief minister in Mumbai, press for his resignation and seek settlement of their demands, said a report in The Indian Express (IE).

Earlier, at least three buses were put on fire and nine others were deflated.  Protesters blocked arterial roads, including the Mumbai-Pune highway and the Eastern Expressway, and forced shops to shut in pockets of Raigad, reported NDTV. Local train routes were blocked in Jogeshwari and near Thane. Violent protests had erupted in parts of the state on Tuesday after a protester committed suicide by jumping into a river in Aurangabad.

Essential services like hospitals, school, medical were exempted from the Bandh. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Tuesday called for an emergency high-level meeting to review the “progress” made by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on the issue.

The Maratha leaders said they want the government to give them OBC status – not reservation directly, because any quota, beyond the existing 50 per cent, would be difficult to implement. The logic is that if the Marathas are granted OBC status, they would qualify for the existing OBC quotas.

In a scheduled recruitment to 72,000 government jobs, chief minister Fadnavis had promised that the government would keep 16 per cent positions reserved for the Marathas.  “There would be no injustice meted out to the Maratha community.”

The protests come two years after the Maratha community took to streets across Maharashtra holding silent marches and demanding quota in jobs. Marathas form 33 per cent of the state’s population, according to a report in IE.

For the last four-five days, Maharashtra has been witnessing sporadic incidents of violence like torching of buses, tyres and rasta rokos mainly in Marathwada, western Maharashtra and Konkan regions, said media reports. Activists under the umbrella of the Maratha Kranti Morcha are holding sit-in agitations in some districts like Beed and Nashik. One of the protesters on Monday took “jal samadhi” in Godavari river in Aurangabad.

Maratha leaders denied that their fresh agitation is linked to next year’s general elections. According to an IE report, they say the immediate trigger for their protest is the announcement by Fadnavis in the state Assembly on July 20 that his government would provide 16 per cent reservation in government jobs to the Maratha community.

The CM had said a recruitment drive would be taken up once Maratha reservation gets constitutional and legal sanction. “There would be no injustice meted out to the Maratha community,” he had said.

But Maratha leaders say they want the government to give them OBC status and not reservation because any reservation, beyond the existing 50 per cent, would be difficult to implement. On the other hand, if the Marathas are granted OBC status, they would qualify for the existing OBC quotas.

“The Maharashtra government can easily convene a special session of the state legislature and take a final decision according OBC status to the community. But it does not have the political will power to do. It wants to carry on with its game of playing with the sentiments of the Maratha community and wreck the lives of thousands of youths,” said Manoj Akhare, one of the coordinators of Maratha Kranti Morcha, the umbrella body leading the agitation.

While the government says the Backward Class Commission was already considering the proposal to accord OBC status to Marathas, and its work was going on, the community claims that the government need not wait for the commission to finalise its report. “We do not know when the commission will complete its work. This means the government will not be able to take the decision as in a few months’ time the general elections will be upon us. The government will get a chance to play votebank politics by promising quota for the community during election campaigning,” the community leaders say.

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Farooq Abdullah accuses PM Modi of trying to divide the country over religion

Faroukh Abdullah reacted to PM Modi’s remark that the Congress will redistribute people’s money and property to Muslims if voted to power and said Muslims respect all religions. He said that they are Muslims and Allah has told them to respect other religions. He further added that a Muslim cannot snatch anyone’s right.

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Farooq Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir’s National Conference President said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to divide the country over religion. He also said that those who will vote for them must prepare for hell. Farooq Abdullah said Muslims cannot snatch away the rights of others.

Farooq Abdullah also called Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government a threat to the survival of the country. Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister cautioned the people not to divide this country on the basis of religion, otherwise a storm will unleash making the survival of the nation difficult. He said it is better to talk about uniting the country, instead of dividing its people.

He was addressing an election rally in Thanamandi area of the Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir. The Anantnag parliamentary constituency will go for elections on May 25. Faroukh Abdullah reacted to PM Modi’s remark that the Congress will redistribute people’s money and property to Muslims if voted to power and said Muslims respect all religions. He said that they are Muslims and Allah has told them to respect other religions. He further added that a Muslim cannot snatch anyone’s right.

He remembered an incident when former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi once stopped his car in Pulwama and assured a poor Hindu woman that he would give her a mangalsutra as she could not afford it. Farooq Abdullah said those who were against the INDIA bloc are against the nation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier sparked a controversy last month as he commented that the Congress would take away the hard-earned money of the masses and distribute them among infiltrators and those with many children.  Speaking at a rally today, the Prime Minister took a jibe at the Congress and said the governments in the past were not able to implement the Indian Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. He was referring to the revocation of Article 370.

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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah writes to PM Modi, urges home ministry to cancel diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna

CM Siddaramaiah wrote in the letter to PM Modi that he must be aware of the serious case of alleged sexual exploitation of a number of women by the sitting Hassan Lok Sabha member of Parliament (MP) and the NDA candidate, Prajwal Revanna, for the same constituency for the  ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he urged the Home Affairs Ministry to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna. Earlier a day before Revanna was suspended by JD(S) amid a row over explicit videos. Revanna is believed to have escaped to Germany shortly after the first phase of elections ended in Karnataka on April 26, in which he was JD(S)-BJP’s candidate from Hassan.

CM Siddaramaiah wrote in the letter to PM Modi that he must be aware of the serious case of alleged sexual exploitation of a number of women by the sitting Hassan Lok Sabha member of Parliament (MP) and the NDA candidate, Prajwal Revanna, for the same constituency for the  ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Karnataka Chief Minister wrote in letter that the Congress government in Karnataka has constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the allegations against Revanna. The SIT is working day and night to investigate the allegations of crimes against several women by Prajwal Revanna and getting him back to the country is of utmost importance so that he faces investigation and trial as per the existing law of the land.

Siddaramaiah urged PM Modi to move the Home Ministry to take swift action to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna and appropriate action must be taken using diplomatic and police channels of the Government of India as well as international police agencies to ensure the swift return of the absconding member of parliament to face the existing law of the land.

Suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, accused of sexually assaulting multiple women, broke his silence on Wednesday and said that truth will prevail soon. In his first response since the controversy erupted, Prajwal Revanna said on X that he is not in Bengaluru currently and has communicated the same to CID.

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Amit Shah says BJP will neither remove reservation for SCs, STs and OBC, nor will allow Congress to do so

The Home Minister alleged that the Congress’ formula was to speak lies loudly, publicly and repetitively. He advised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge not to speak lies for a family as eventually he will have to take the blame for the party’s loss in the Lok Sabha elections

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday continued to attack Congress over reservation row. He was addressing a rally in Katghora town of Chhattisgarh’s Korba district to campaign for Saroj Pandey, BJP candidate from the Korba Lok Sabha seat where Shah said BJP will neither remove reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs, nor will it allow Congress to do so.

The Home Minister alleged that the Congress’ formula was to speak lies loudly, publicly and repetitively. He advised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge not to speak lies for a family as eventually he will have to take the blame for the party’s loss in the Lok Sabha elections. Shah accused Congress of nurturing terrorism and Naxalism to win the Lok Sabha elections.

Shah further added that Congress claims if Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji gets majority for the third term, he will scrap reservation. He said the grand old party has even circulated his fake video. Shah said that have been in power for the last 10 years and PM Modi did not remove reservation, nor will he do it in the future.

The Union Home Minister further asserted Modi ji used the majority to scrap Article 370 and triple talaq, construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and introduce the Citizenship Amendment Act. He further told the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi do not belong to anyone. He said on June 4 Congress will suffer defeat and the brother-sister duo will remain safe, but Kharge ji will be blamed.

Shah further asserted if PM Modi becomes the prime minister for the 3rd straight term, then Naxalism will be uprooted in two years in Chhattisgarh.  Shah targeted the previous Bhupesh Baghel-led government in Chhattisgarh and said, The Bhupesh Kakka government encouraged Naxalism, but after the BJP came to power in the state under CM Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma 95 Naxalites have been eliminated in 4 months.

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