Page 71 - Maharashtra

Govt trying to create rift between Maratha, OBC communities, says Jarange

Activist Manoj Jarange on Friday accused the Maharashtra government of trying to create tension between the Maratha and OBC communities, vowing that he won't let it happen. The 41-year-old activist was speaking to the Marathi news channel ABP Maza after his discharge from a hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. He said there are 8-9 people in the government who have "hatred" for the Maratha community and their names will reach the public domain at the right time. The government is thrusting new leaders to the fore and moving others aside to create a rift between the Maratha and OBC communities, he said, stressing that those protesting over their demand for non-dilution of the OBC quota are not at fault. OBC activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmre have been fasting in the Jalna district since June 13 demanding that the government scrap the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as sage soyare (blood relatives) of Maratha community members. The agrarian Kunbi community enjoys O

EC begins updating electoral rolls for Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, J-K

The Election Commission on Friday said it has initiated preparations for forthcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand with updation of electoral rolls in these states. July 1, 2024 will be the qualifying date. For the just-held Lok Sabha polls, the voters list was updated with January 1 as the qualifying date. Qualifying date helps establish number of voters on a given date in a state or in the country. The term of the existing legislative assemblies in the three states are going to end on November 3, November 26 and January 5, 2025 respectively and elections to these legislative assemblies are required to be conducted before the completion of their terms. Besides, assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are also to be conducted for constituting a new house after delimitation of constituencies, the EC said. "Witnessing the huge participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Commission has also directed

14 cops hurt as people throw stones seeking custody of murder accused

At least 14 police personnel were injured after a group of persons allegedly pelted them with stones demanding the custody of a man, who was arrested for sexually assaulting and killing a six-year-old girl at Jamner in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, police said on Friday. The incident of stone-pelting occurred around 9.30 pm on Thursday outside the Jamner police station, they said. "A six-year-old girl was allegedly abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered at Chinchkheda Shivar village in Jamner on the night of June 11. The accused person had fled away from the spot taking advantage of darkness," an official said. "The police had launched a search for the accused, who was finally arrested on Thursday. But after getting information about his arrest, the deceased girl's family members, their relatives and local residents gathered outside the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them so that they can punish him for the heinous crime," he said. The people start

Maha ministers meet OBC activists on behalf of govt, urge them to end fast

Three Maharashtra ministers and a member of the legislative council on Friday met OBC activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare and urged them to end their fast, which entered the ninth day. The delegation comprising ministers Atul Save, Uday Samant and Girish Mahajan, and MLC Gopichand Padalkar met the activists at the protest site at Wadigodri village in Jalna district. Newly-elected Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre was also present. Mahajan also called up Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis from the stage and made them talk to the protesting activists. Later, Padalkar said a meeting between a delegation of the OBC (Other Backward Classes) community and the government has been organised in Mumbai. Mahajan said five OBC leaders named by Hake will attend the meeting at 5 pm. A way can be worked out only after talks. The government will not let injustice happen to anyone, he said. However, Hake and Waghmare, who have been fasting since June 13, refused to hal

Mumbai rains trigger yellow alert, Thane waterlogged; check IMD forecast

Besides Mumbai, Raigard, Thane, Pune and some other districts of Maharashtra are also on a 'yellow alert' due to the anticipation of heavy rainfall today

Jarange's demand for term in Maratha quota won't pass legal test: minister

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

Shiv Sena should get 100 seats to contest in Maharashtra polls: Leader

A senior leader of the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said his party should get to contest at least 100 of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena is part of the Mahayuti coalition which also includes the BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Assembly elections are due in the state in October. "We should get 100 seats to contest, and we will make sure that we win 90 out of them," former state minister Ramdas Kadam said on Wednesday at a function to mark the 58th Foundation Day of the undivided Shiv Sena, organised by the Shinde faction at the NSCI complex here. Notably, Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal recently said his party should get 80-90 seats to contest in the state assembly polls. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis later said BJP is the largest party and will contest more seats in the state election. However, the seat-sharing formula will be finalised only after leaders of the three parties meet and discuss, Fadnavi

Greenfield port in Maharashtra to be integral part of IMEC: Vaishnaw

Calling the decision a milestone, Vaishnaw stressed that Vadhavan port will have a major multiplier impact on India's economic growth in the future

RBI cancels licence of The City Co-operative Bank over inadequate capital

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday cancelled the licence of The City Co-operative Bank, Maharashtra for lacking adequate capital and earning prospects. The Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Maharashtra has also been asked to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator, RBI said. According to RBI, the cooperative bank ceases to carry on banking operations with effect from the close of business hours on June 19, 2024. On liquidation, every depositor would be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 5 lakh only from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). "As per the data submitted by the bank, about 87 per cent of the depositors are entitled to receive full amount of their deposits from DICGC," RBI said. As on June 14, 2024, DICGC has already paid Rs 230.99 crore of the total insured deposits based on the willingness received from the depositors concern

Cabinet clears Rs 76,200 cr for development of Maha's greenfield major port

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the development of a Rs 76,200 crore all-weather greenfield deep draft major Port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, according to an official statement. The statement said the project will be constructed by Vadhavan Port Project Limited (VPPL), an SPV formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), with a shareholding of 74 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. The port will be one of the top 10 ports in the world, the statement said. The project will create employment opportunities for 12 lakh people, I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a press briefing. The port will comprise nine container terminals, each 1,000 metres long, four multipurpose berths, including the coastal berth, four liquid cargo berths, a Ro-Ro berth, and a Coast Guard berth.

Now, dead frog found in packet of chips in Jamnagar; probe ordered

The civic authority here ordered an inquiry on Wednesday after a dead frog was allegedly found in a packet of potato wafers. The complaint came days after a Mumbai resident claimed to have found a piece of human finger in the ice cream he had ordered online. Samples of the production batch of the wafer packet will be collected as part of the probe, said an official of the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation. "One Jasmin Patel informed us that a dead frog was found in a packet of Crunchex, manufactured by Balaji Wafers. We visited the shop from where it had been purchased last night. Preliminary probe suggested it was indeed a frog in a decomposed state," food safety officer D B Parmar told reporters. "As directed by the municipal commissioner, we will collect samples of this batch of wafer packets to conduct an inquiry," he added. Patel, a resident of Pushkar Dham society, claimed that his four-year-old niece bought the packet from a nearby shop on Tuesday evening. She and his ...

BJP leadership, allies will take care of Mahayuti's CM face: Bawankule

There has been no discussion so far on who will be the chief ministerial face of the ruling Mahayuti' coalition in Maharashtra assembly polls due later this year, said state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday. The party's central leadership and alliance partners will take the call on it, he said, asserting that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remains the leader of his party in the state. Bawankule was talking to reporters at Nagpur airport on his return after attending the BJP's core group meeting in Delhi on Tuesday. He said they discussed the reasons for the below-par performance of Mahayuti, comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP under Ajit Pawar, in Maharashtra and why its vote share was left behind by 0.3 per cent compared to the Maha Vikas Aghadi. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Mahayuti bagged just 17 of the state's 48 seats, with the BJP's tally coming drastically down to nine from the 23 (it won in 2019). By contrast, the MV

Monsoon gathering pace in Maharashtra, to progress by June 21-22: IMD

The south-west monsoon, which has slowed down after hitting Mumbai, is gathering pace and is expected to progress further by June 21-22, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday. The progress of the monsoon will provide a much-needed relief to north India, which is reeling under an intense heatwave. "Monsoon activity was weak after it hit Mumbai, but it is slowly turning moderate. It will strengthen by June 21-22 and coastal Maharashtra is likely to receive good rainfall. Central Maharashtra, including Marathwada, will receive light to moderate rainfall during this time," Sunil Kamble, Head of the Regional Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai, said. Several parts of Mumbai received showers on Wednesday morning, but it was insufficient to give respite from oppressive heat. Monsoon arrived in Mumbai on June 9, two days ahead of its normal schedule. Since then it made little progress and it is yet to cover parts of northern Maharashtra and ...

NCW receives 12,600 complaints so far in 2024, highest from UP, Delhi

As many as 12,600 complaints have been received by the National Commission for Women (NCW) so far this year, with Uttar Pradesh achieving the dubious distinction of registering the highest number of complaints, according to official data. The highest number of complaints were received in the right to dignity category that involves harassment other than domestic violence. It stood at 3,107, according to the NCW data. This was followed by 3,544 complaints of domestic violence. Dowry harassment complaints stood at 1,957, molestation complaints at 817, police apathy against women complaints at 518, and rape and attempt to rape complaints at 657, the data showed. There were 493 complaints of sexual harassment, 339 of cyber crime, 345 of stalking and 206 of honour crimes, it stated. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of complaints at 6,470 followed by Delhi at 1,113 and Maharashtra at 762, according to the data. Bihar recorded 584 complaints, Madhya Pradesh 514, Haryana 506, ...

Woman falls 300 feet into valley while reversing car to make reel. WATCH

The woman attempted driving in reverse while her friend was filming a reel at the time of the incident

After Maha CM meets Dy CMs, BJP leaders leave for review meet in Delhi

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held a late night meeting with Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar after which some state BJP leaders left for Delhi for a review meet, sources said on Tuesday. Details of the meeting were not available. It was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections. "CM Shinde held a meeting with Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar at his official residence 'Varsha'. After Pawar left, Shinde and Fadnavis continued the meeting for some time," a source in the BJP said on Tuesday. BJP's central leadership has called a review meeting with state leaders in connection with the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls. "It is a routine exercise in the BJP to hold such review meetings with state leaders. (BJP leader) Fadnavis offered to resign some days back after the results were out. He had stated that he wished to work for the party full-time till the state assembly elections. This will

BJP appoints incharges for poll-bound Maharashtra, Haryana, J'khand, J-K

BJP president JP Nadda on Monday appointed the party's election incharges and co-incharges for assembly poll-bound Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav has been appointed as the incharge for Maharashtra while Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the co-incharge for the state, according to a statement issued by the party. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been made the BJP's election incharge for Haryana and former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb the co-incharge for the state, it said. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the election incharge for Jharkhand and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma the co-incharge for the state, the statement said. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has been appointed as the incharge for Jammu and Kashmir, it said. While assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand are due later this year, the Supreme Court has ...

Light-to-moderate rainfall likely in east, north-east region in a few hours

The met body has also said that occasional intense spells of rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds are "very likely" in the region.

Genuine introspection, strategy needed to revive BJP's fortunes: Fadnavis

In the wake of the BJP's Lok Sabha tally coming down from 23 to 9 in Maharashtra, senior party leader and state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday stressed the need for genuine introspection and a strategy to revive the saffron outfit's fortunes. Addressing a meeting of the party aimed at taking stock of the results of the Lok Sabha elections, Fadnavis claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost several seats due to polarisation. "We require a strategy and genuine introspection. Just analysis is not enough," he said. "Heavens have not fallen. We got only two lakh votes less in the state, while in Mumbai we received two lakh more votes. BJP was ahead in 130 assembly segments. But there was tremendous polarisation," the former chief minister said. There was a false narrative that the BJP would change the Constitution if voted to power. This narrative was strong in the first three phases. But we countered this narrative well after the three phases. Hence, we ...

Looking to contest 20 assembly seats in Maha, says BJP-Sena ally Kadu

Prahar Janashakti Party (PJP) chief Omprakash Kadu on Thursday said his outfit, an ally of the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP coalition, was looking to contest 20 of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra where state polls are due in October. Kadu, whose outfit is a part of the ruling Mahayuti but still fielded its candidate against BJP's Navneet Rana in the Amravati Lok Sabha seat, said the PJP is assessing whether it can contest 20 seats independently or with an alliance with another outfit. "We are strong in 20 seats and we are working on it over the last one year. We have started preparations. With whom we will contest the seats will be decided later. We will be assessing whether we can contest the 20 seats independently or with someone," Kadu said. The former state minister informed the party is planning to soon hold a conclave of its workers at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra to discuss the issue. Asked whether he will quit the Mahayuti, he said, "There is no ...