Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have reiterated the state government's commitment to the issue of Maratha reservation. (PTI)Mumbai News Highlights (September 4): Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said the use of force on protestors demanding Maratha reservation in Jalna cannot be supported at any cost and apologised for the same. He also hit out at the Opposition for blaming the state government for the lathicharge and teargas firing in Jalna on Friday. Further, CM Eknath Shinde spoke to the “man who sparked the protests” Manoj Jarange Patil over the phone and assured him that the government is positive about the issue.
What happened in Jalna? Violence had broken out on Friday in Jalna after protesters clashed with the police and allegedly pelted stones on them, leading to lathicharge and use of teargas. Around 20 protesters and 37 cops were injured during the clash at Antarwali Sarathi village in Ambad tehsil, the police said. Over the last few days, hundreds of protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, a local Maratha leader, have been sitting on a hunger-strike demanding reservation. At least seven FIRs have so far been registered by the police against the protesters on charges such as assault on policemen, rioting, damage to public and private property.
Amidst the ongoing agitation, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray went to Jalna Saturday to visit Maratha community protesters who were lathicharged by police on Friday. Pawar accused the state government of trying to crush the protest.
The deficit monsoon has also affected water storage in dams across Maharashtra. (File Photo)
The Mumbai Police have launched a search for a 26-year-old Naval sailor who went missing after being discharged from a hospital in Mumbai last month, an official said on September 4.
The family members of Daneshwar Sahoo, hailing from Chhattisgarh and posted as sailor at the Indian Navy's shore establishment in south Mumbai, reported to the Colaba police on August 28 that he had gone missing, he said.
He was unwell since sometime for which he underwent treatment at the INHS Asvini hospital in Colaba area from July 19 and was discharged on August 21, the official said.
He was scheduled to join duty on August 23, but the next day his father received a call from Naval authorities that his son did not resume work. (PTI)
At least 46 out of 250 bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) were completely shut due to protests over the reservation for the Maratha community, and it has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 13.25 crore in the last three days.
Bus operations in Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Jalna, Nanded, and Dharashiv districts have been badly hit by the protests, a spokesperson of the MSRTC told PTI. As many as 20 buses were torched and 19 were damaged amid the protests over the last three days, he said.
Senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh claimed police lathi-charged protesters seeking quota for Marathas in Jalna district after a phone call was made from the Maharashtra home ministry.
The former state home minister also demanded an enquiry by a retired judge to find out who called up the Jalna district superintendent of police and ordered him to lathi-charge the protesters.
Deshmukh, a loyalist of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, said the "inhuman" police action on protesters last week was "very unfortunate". "I had served as home minister of Maharashtra. As per my information, Maratha protestors (in Jalna district) were lathi-charged after a phone call was made from the home ministry. Police officials cannot take such action without the orders of senior officers," Deshmukh claimed while speaking to reporters in Nagpur. (PTI)
This would be the second round of dialogue between Maratha protesters and the government. The first round of discussion which took place on Sunday evening failed.
Reacting to Udhayanidhi Stalin's Sanatan Dharma remark, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "Sanatanis have long withstood attacks by invaders to end their identity yet they have not just survived but thrived. The country’s bedrock, which is linked to Sanatan Dharma, has been of inclusiveness of all faiths and identities. Anyone making derogatory comments against it is ignorant of what it stands for."
Manoj Jarange-Patil, who has been on a hunger strike in Antarwali Sarathe village of Maharashtra’s Jalna district since August 29 demanding reservation for Marathas, has warned of escalating the protest if a government resolution on the quota is not issued by Tuesday.
Read the full story here
Monsoon will finally pick up pace in Mumbai this week after a relatively weak spell through August, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
While the weather bureau has issued no warning, its forecast states that moderate rains is expecte in Mumbai from Tuesday. In the neighbouring districts of Thane and Raigad, IMD has issued a yellow alert between September 7 and 8.
The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to submit details of steps taken to ensure that the immersion of idols in the Aarey Colony area is done in an eco-friendly manner during the Ganesh festival beginning from September 19.
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Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil, known as the man who sparked the protests in Jalna said the government must take a concrete decision and bring an ordinance or government resolution regarding reservation for the community.
"We have given two days of ultimatum to the government, of which one day is left now. If the government doesn't take positive decisions on it and issue the GR till tomorrow, then on Wednesday we will hold a press conference and announce our further course of action," he said.
He further demanded that the government should withdraw FIRs registered against protesters.
Speaking at a press conference, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said the use of force on protestors demanding Maratha reservation in Jalna cannot be supported at any cost and apologised for the same.
He also hit out at the Opposition for blaming the state government for the lathicharge and teargas firing in Jalna on Friday. "Some political leaders used it (the violence) as a political tool. They claimed that leaders from Mantralaya ordered the lathicharge. It should be clear to them that such actions are taken at district level only. When tribals were shot at in Nagpur (Sharad Pawar was CM then), was that ordered from Mantralaya? When farmers were fired at in Maval (Prithviraj Chavan was CM and Ajit Pawar Dy CM), was that ordered from Mantralaya?" he asked.
Further, CM Eknath Shinde spoke to Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil over the phone and assured him that the government is positive about the issue.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Monday will have talks with Manoj Jarange Patil — a local Maratha leader who has been sitting on a hunger-strike demanding reservations for the Maratha community in education and government jobs — after the Cabinet sub-committee's meeting.
Shiv Sena leader Arjun Khotkar Monday reached Jalna's Antarwali sarate village to meet local Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil, who is on a hunger strike, demanding reservations for the Maratha community in education and governmental jobs.
Khotkar visited the village in the Maharashtra district to convey a message of CM Eknath Shinde and to convince Jarange Patil to withdraw the hunger strike.
Khotkar explained Jarange Patil to give some time to the government to take decision on the Maratha reservation. The government is positive about the reservation but there are some legalities which needs to be taken care of.
On Sunday night, minister Girish Mahajan met Jarange Patil to convince him to withdraw strike and asked for one month's time.
Jarange Patil, however, was firm on his demand that the government should issue ordinance giving reservation to Maratha community within two days of time. Patil said, 'as soon as the government issues the ordinance or GR, the strike will be called off, and I will drink water."
The Powai police on Monday arrested the housekeeper at the society, Vikramsingh Natwal, accused in the case of murder of an airhostess in a plush Mumbai flat, Datta Nalawade, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone 10 confirmed.
The housekeeper was detained early today in the case.
A 25-year-old air hostess was allegedly found murdered in a flat in a plush housing society in Mumbai, the police said, adding that the killer appeared to have slit her throat using a sharp weapon.
The Maharashtra government on Monday orally assured the Bombay High Court that no coercive action will be taken till Wednesday against former Mumbai mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar in connection with an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to probe alleged irregularities involved in purchasing body bags for deceased Covid-19 patients.
The HC will now hear Pednekar's anticipatory bail plea on Wednesday.
The sessions court on August 29 had rejected Pednekar's pre-arrest bail plea, following which she moved the HC challenging the order.
Taking to the streets against the police action on protesters in Maharashtra’s Jalna who sought reservation for the Maratha community, the Pune city units of the Opposition Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) jointly demanded that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis take responsibility for the incident and resign as the Home Minister.
Gathering on Karve Road, they raised slogans against the state government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde alleging that they not only did injustice to the Maratha community by not providing reservation, but also went to the extent of initiating police action against those who sought it in Jalna.
Former mayor and NCP leader Ankush Kakade said Friday’s protest in Jalna demanding reservation was peaceful and got good public response. Read the full story here.
A 25-year-old air hostess was found dead inside a flat in a plush housing society in the Marol area of Mumbai. Her throat was found slit with a sharp weapon.
The Powai police have registered a case of murder against an unidentified person and have begun an investigation.Three teams have been deployed to look for the killer.
Cops are currently scanning the CCTV cameras installed in the society premises, and approaching roads. Read more here.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut Monday sought to know who ordered the lathi-charge on protesters demanding Maratha quota in Maharashtra's Jalna district last week, news agency PTI reported.
Police baton charged and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob in Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna district on Friday after protesters allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on hunger strike for Maratha quota to hospital. Several persons. including 40 police personnel, were injured.
Speaking to reporters, Raut asked, "Who made a call from the office of chief minister and state home minister without an order from top officials? The local police will never resort to lathi-charge and open fire. We want to know who gave those invisible orders over a phone call."
“Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the two deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are working with the mindset of General Dyer. They ordered lathi-charge and firing on the Maratha protesters who were sitting on hunger strike peacefully,” the Rajya Sabha MP alleged, according to PTI report. (PTI)
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday left for Jalna to meet the protesters demanding reservations for the Maratha community in education and government jobs.
With the Maratha reservation matter pending in the Supreme Court, the Maharastra government is likely to announce more SOPs to pacify the Maratha community.
A Cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation along with the special Advisory Committee formed to help the cabinet to push Maratha reservation in the ongoing case at the apex Court will be meeting today at Sahyadri official guest house.
The Cabinet sub-committee currently comprises only of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena ministers. It will see the inclusion of Ajit Pawar group's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ministers as well.
The Maratha Kranti Morcha has called for a bandh on Monday in Kalyan town of Maharashtra's Thane district to condemn the violence in Jalna during protesters' demand for Maratha quota, news agency PTI reported.
In the wake of the bandh call, security in the town has been stepped up, an official in-charge at the Kalyan police control room told PTI.
Essential services were exempted from the bandh, according to the morcha members. A number of activists of the Maratha Kranti Morcha moved around in Kalyan town this morning appealing to shopkeepers and other public service providers, including auto-rickshaw drivers, to support the bandh.
Maratha Kranti Morcha's local leader Harshwardhan Palande claimed that most of the shops in eastern part of Kalyan were closed. He also said the auto-rickshaws were operating so that office-goers do not face any inconvenience, according to the news agency. (PTI)
Following two days of violence in Maharashtra’s Jalna district with protesters demanding reservations for the Maratha community in education and government jobs, the Maharashtra government on Monday called for a special meeting to discuss the matter. The meeting is scheduled to be held at 12 pm today.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, meanwhile, have appealed for peace and said that the state government is committed to extending reservation to the Maratha community.
Moderate rains in the city of Mumbai and suburbs are likely on Monday with the possibility of occasional intense spells at one or two places, India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted.
The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 30 degrees and 25 degrees Celsius respectively.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday condemned DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's 'eradicate Sanatan Dharma' remark.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Shinde, targeting the INDIA alliance parties wrote, 'Leaders from these parties were being hosted and fed sumptuous meals by Uddhav Thackeray ji. I dare him to come out and condemn these words else it will be assumed he also supports this vitriol again Sanatan Dharma. I have no doubt that Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray would have expressed deep anguish and ordered Shiv Sainiks to condemn such Anti Hindu sentiments. As a proud Hindu nationalist party, we condemn the statement made by Udhaynidhi Stalin and demand an unconditional and immediate apology.'
A day earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came down heavily on Stalin for his remarks calling for the ‘eradication’ of the Sanatan Dharma, the teachings of Hinduism, and equating it with “mosquitoes, dengue, malaria and corona.”
With the water stock in the seven lakes that supply water to the city registering only a marginal rise owing to the weak monsoon showers in August, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials said the city may experience a water cut if the lake levels do not touch 100 per cent of the total capacity by October 1.
Each year, on October 1 and with the conclusion of monsoon season, civic officials conduct a review of the total water stock in the lakes. Senior officials from the corporation’s hydraulic department said that if the lake levels are found to be insufficiently filled, the civic body may consider imposing a water cut in order to ensure that the water stock meets the city’s demands until the onset of the next monsoon. Read more
<script
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced that Jalna district superintendent of police, Tushar Doshi, is sent on compulsory leave, two days after protesters demanding Maratha quota were baton-charged, triggering violence.
Shinde said ADGP (law and order) Sanjay Saxena would probe the lathi-charge incident, and if required, the judicial probe would be conducted.
Addressing a state function in Buldhana, over 450 km from Mumbai, Shinde also announced the transfer of two DYSP-rank officers out of Jalna district.
Police baton charged and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob in Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna district on Friday after protesters allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on hunger strike for Maratha quota to hospital.
Several persons. including 40 police personnel, were injured and more than 15 ST buses were set ablaze in violence.
“Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Sanjay Saxena will probe the lathi-charge incident. If required, we will also conduct a judicial probe. Guilty will not be spared,” Shinde said. (PTI)
A 45-year-old woman died after the plaster of her flat's ceiling fell on her at Ambarnath. The victim, identified as Geeta Gupta, was asleep when the plaster fell on her around 6.30 am, killing her on the spot. She resided on the third floor of Anna Building near Fatima School, the officials said.
Days after protests over Maratha reservation first rocked Jalna and then other districts of Maharashtra, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis invited influential community leader Manoj Jarasange Patil for a discussion. He reiterated in the phone call that the state goverment is committed to Maratha reservation.
Mumbai was host to leaders from 28 Opposition parties on August 31 and September 1 for a meeting of the INDIA alliance. Among the many outcomes of the third meeting of the alliance was a “feel-good” factor, especially for the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar, both of which are grappling with serious trouble within. Read a recap of what happened during and after the meeting
An agitation for Maratha reservation in Maharashtra’s Jalna turned violent after protesters clashed with police and allegedly pelted stones on them, leading to lathicharge and use of teargas by the police on Friday.
Read the important news from Mumbai and Maharashtra from the last week here
Since 2014 the 40-something Manoj Jarange Patil has undertaken umpteen agitations seeking reservations for the Maratha community which have largely gone unnoticed.
The lanky mullet-sporting Patil’s most recent hunger strike has, however, set off turmoil in the state sparking off violence in parts of Maharashtra and anger within the Maratha community after Patil’s supporters and the Jalna Police clashed on Friday. Read more
EVEN AS the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday announced to expedite the seat-sharing process by setting a deadline, the states of West Bengal and Kerala are unlikely to witness the same. Sources confirmed to The Indian Express that the volatile political rivalry in these two states have led to the inclusion of the phrase ‘as far as possible’ in its resolution on fighting the elections together. Read more
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray demanded the resignations of CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying that lathi charge and police firing are not possible without the CM's consent.
At government programme Shashan Aplya Dari held at Buldhana, CM Eknath Shinde makes a veiled attack on Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde said, "Those who stifled Maratha reservation are now speaking on it."
The Maratha stir continue on Sunday with activists in Beed wading through knee deep water in Godavari River to highlight their reservation demands.
At Buldhana, protestors stopped Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod's convoy.
At Akola, pro- Maratha reservation activists waived black flags at state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, while protests were also witnessed in Sindhudurg.
An agitation seeking reservation for the Marathas turned violent at Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna on Friday, leading to several people, including dozens of police personnel, getting injured. Police resorted to lathi-charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob that allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on a hunger strike as part of the quota stir to the hospital.
Police registered a case against more than 360 people in connection with the violence.
Reservation in jobs and education provided by the state government to the Maratha community was quashed by the Supreme Court in May 2021, citing the 50 percent ceiling on total reservations among other grounds.
In the wake of violence in Maharashtra's Jalna district over the Maratha quota demand, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said his government was committed to providing reservation to this community in education and government jobs.
He also said that there was no misunderstanding between him and two deputy chief ministers in the state and that all of them were working as a good team. "My government is committed to giving reservation to the Maratha community in the state. We will not sit quiet until the community get its due reservation. Till the Maratha community gets reservation, the government schemes that are already in place will continue and deserving people from the Maratha community will benefit from it," he added.
Ganesh Chaturthi, celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesha, will begin on September 19 and end on September 28. While it was first celebrated during the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the tradition was revived and celebrations made grand and public by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1893.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule refuted allegations by opposition parties that the police action on Maratha quota protestors in Jalna on Friday was ordered by the authorities or that it was a diversionary tactic.
Bawankule sought a high-level inquiry into the Jalna violence to clear the air. "The state government can never order lathi charge on agitators so a high level inquiry must be held into the incident," he said. He attacked Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on the Maratha quota issue.
The reservation granted to the community in jobs and education was "lost" during the chief ministership of Thackeray, while Pawar had never spoken on the issue in the past 40 years, Bawankule claimed. (PTI)
Maratha Kranti Morcha members have said that they will continue the agitation ahead. The protestors are demanding resignation of DyCM and home minister Devendra Fadnavis for police lathi-charge on protestors at Jalna.
The Maharashtra Congress has temporarily suspended its 'Jan Samvad Yatra' in all districts of Marathwada scheduled from Sunday following tension in the region after police lathi-charge on Maratha quota agitators in Jalna district.
"New dates will be announced soon," senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan said in a post on X.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said today that the state government is committed to extending reservation to the Maratha community in education and government jobs. He also appealed for peace after protestors allegedly turned violent on Saturday in Jalna district.
Maharashtra’s Jalna witnessed violence and arson on Saturday as members of the Maratha community escalated their agitation, a day after protests demanding Maratha reservation in the district saw clashes between protesters and the police.
At least seven FIRs have so far been registered by the police against the protesters on charges such as assaulting policemen, rioting, damaging public and private property. “We have arrested 40 people so far. Curfew has not been imposed yet but we are contemplating,” said Tushar Doshi, Superintendent of Police, Jalna. READ MORE
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