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Reservations
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was "trying to create anarchy" in the country by "demanding reservation in the armed forces". Singh also took a jibe at Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, over his recent fishing bid during a poll campaign in Bihar, alleging that the Congress leader has "no option left but to jump into a pond". Addressing a public rally in Bihar's Jamui district, Singh said, What happened to Rahul ji? He is raising the issue of reservations in the defence forces. He is simply trying to create anarchy in the country by demanding reservation in the defence forcesour forces are above all these." The BJP leader also claimed that Gandhi should know that "running the country is not a game for children". The defence minister hailed the armed forces for their success in Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory strike following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 people in April. "Operation
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the Telangana government's plea challenging a high court order which stayed a government order providing 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes in local bodies. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the state's plea against the October 9 order of the Telangana High Court. The high court had issued an interim stay against the government order. The high court, which was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the state government's order that increased the Backward Classes quota, had directed the state to file its reply in four weeks. Some of the petitioners before the high court challenged the September 26, 2025, government order, saying the 42 per cent quota to Backward Classes raises total reservation in local bodies to 67 per cent. It breaches the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations laid down by the court in its verdicts, they claimed.
Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva on Tuesday signed a new law to expand the country's affirmative action policies, increasing the quota for government jobs reserved for Blacks from 20% to 30% and adding Indigenous people and descendants of Afro-Brazilian enslaved people as beneficiaries. The changes apply to candidates applying for permanent and public employment positions across Brazil's federal administration, agencies, public foundations, public companies and state-run mixed-capital companies. As approved by Congress, the quota will be revised in 2035. "It is important to allow this country for one day to have a society reflected in its public offices, in the Prosecutors' Office, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Attorney-General's Office, in the Internal Revenue Service, everywhere," Lula said at the presidential palace in the capital, Brasilia. "We still have few women, few Black people, almost no Indigenous people." Brazil's first law on racial quotas for ..
NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar urged the BJP-led Centre on Friday to bring a constitutional amendment to increase reservation in education and government jobs beyond the existing cap of 50 per cent. Speaking to reporters here, Pawar said that while granting reservation to Marathas, who have been agitating for quota, care should be taken to ensure that such limits meant for other communities are not disturbed. "Currently, the cap on reservation is 50 per cent. But if Tamil Nadu can have 78 per cent (quota for various communities), why can't Maharashtra have 75 per cent reservation, he asked. The Centre should take the lead and bring a constitutional amendment to raise the quota cap. We will support the amendment, he said. Pawar said the seat-sharing talks among the leaders of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will continue next week. I would only advise the leaders to conclude the talks as early as possible so that we can go to the people, who are looking for a change, he
The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and the state government on a plea of Rashtriya Janata Dal against a Patna High Court order setting aside the amended reservation laws in Bihar that had led to raising of quotas for Dalits, tribals and backward classes from 50 per cent to 65 percent. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocate P Wilson, appearing for RJD, that the plea needed to be decided. "Issue notice and tag with the pending pleas," the CJI said. On July 29, the top court, while hearing other similar 10 pleas, had refused to stay the high court order that set aside the amended reservation laws in Bihar that enabled the Nitish Kumar government to raise quotas 50 per cent to 65 per cent. The bench, however, had agreed to hear the petitions of the Bihar government against the verdict. The state government has also moved the top court against the high cour
The move to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and the state assemblies will greatly empower them, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Monday. Speaking to PTI, he said the government was committed to working for women's welfare and hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the legislation providing women 33 per cent reservation in elected bodies. "The role of women in public welfare works has increased. PM Modi has given 33 pc reservation to women in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. It is a big decision. The world will see the power of Indian democracy. India will continue to grow under the leadership of Modi ji," Yadav said. Incidentally, on Saturday, the India unit of the UNICEF appreciated Yadav's initiative to provide sanitary napkins to schoolgirls in a bid to to promote menstrual health among adolescents. "The government had announced plans to provide sanitary pads to girls studying in high school and high secondary. I am thankful as the government
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) will hold the 'Aarakshan Bachao Janyatra' on the reservation issue in parts of Maharashtra from July 25, party chief Prakash Ambedkar said. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Ambedkar demanded that the Kunbi caste certificates issued without the people applying for it be cancelled and political parties clear their stand on the reservation issue. He also claimed the demand for the implementation of the "sage soyare" (blood relatives) notification amounted to "adulteration" of the quota and courts have given decisions against it earlier. Activist Manoj Jarange has been demanding implementation of the government's draft notification that recognises Kunbis as sage soyare of Maratha community members. He has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas, thus making them eligible for quota benefits. Kunbi, an agrarian group, is part of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. However, some OBC activists recently launched an ...
Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan on Wednesday said the demand by quota activist Maroj Jarange for the inclusion of the "sage soyare" term in the Maratha reservation notification will not withstand legal scrutiny. The term "sage soyare" in Marathi means through birth relations and relations by marriage. Speaking to the reporters in Pune, Mahajan accused the opposition of deriving political mileage from the Maratha reservation issue and asserted that it was the Devendra Fadnvais government which had granted the quota to the Maratha community without disturbing the allocation of other communities. "In the last 50 years, had anyone made efforts to give reservation to the Maratha community? (NCP-SP Chief) Sharad Pawar had even said there was no need to give reservation to Marathas," claimed the BJP leader, a confidant of Fadnavis. Mahajan noted that after the BJP-led government granted the reservation to the Maratha community, the subsequent Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government failed