Maratha quota bill marks end of 36-year struggle by community

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November 30, 2018

Maharashtra legislature’s passage of a bill granting 16 per cent quota to Marathas in jobs and education marked the culmination of a 36-year-long movement by the community that saw many ups and downs and loss of lives.

The bill was passed Thursday unanimously, establishing wide political support for the measure and also reflecting the clout of the influential agrarian community.

Community leaders say their long-drawn struggle has finally paid off, but maintain they will continue their fight for withdrawal of cases against their members filed when their agitation turned violent and invited police action.

“The credit for the passage of the bills goes largely to those who laid their lives for the cause and also to those who have struggled for it,” Ankush Mohite, state coordinator of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, said.

The Morcha is among the outfits which spearheaded the Maratha quota agitation.

Mohite said the next step of the protesters is to ensure that police cases filed against their colleagues at various places in the state are withdrawn.

Rajendra Kondhare, general secretary, Akhil Bhartiya Maratha Mahasangh, agreed with him. “Though the bill is cleared, our battle is still not over,” he said.

According to him, the quota agitation claimed around 40 lives in nearly four decades.

The demand for quota for Marathas — who form 33 per cent of the state’s around 13 crore population – came to the fore prominently in March 1982 when Annasaheb Patil (28), a native of Satara district, shot himself, Kondhare said.

“Annasaheb had led a march in Mumbai over the issue. The government ignored the demand, prompting Annasaheb to end his life,” Kondhare said.

The issue remained on the back burner largely till the previous Congress-NCP government, ahead of the 2014 Assembly polls, came out with an ordinance granting reservation to the community. It was, however, stayed by the Bombay High Court.

The campaign for the quota intensified after a 14- year-old Maratha girl from Kopardi village in Ahemadnagar district was raped and murdered in July 2016.

The rape-cum-murder incident triggered an outrage among the community whose members took to streets and vented their anger against the stringent SC/ST Atrocities Act (the accused were Dalits) and demanded justice for the victim.

The demand for justice in the rape-murder case was coalesced with the large issue of Maratha reservation and the agitation attracted widespread attention.

Over 50 well-attended ‘mook morchas’ (silent marches) were held by Maratha organisations across the state in 2016 and 2017, sending a message to the BJP-led government about their demand and intention to continue their struggle.

The agitation took a violent turn in July this year with protesters slamming the government over delay in fulfilling the demand.

Amid restlessness among Marathas, started another phase which saw community members taking their own lives in support of the long-pending demand for quota.

Kakasaheb Shinde, from Aurangabad district, the hotbed of the latest phase of quota stir, allegedly flung himself to death in Godavari river over the demand.

Jagannath Sonavane, also hailing from Aurangabad, reportedly consumed poison and died to press for Maratha quota.

Abhijit Deshmukh (35), who hailed from Beed, allegedly hanged himself for the cause August 31.

Mumbai youth caught with drugs near Goa’s Calangute beach

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

A Mumbai resident was Friday arrested near North Goa’s Calangute beach for allegedly possessing drugs, a senior police official said.

Reagan Raymond Couto (21), a resident of Andheri in Mumbai, was held during a raid after police got information that he would be near Calangute beach to deliver a consignment of drugs, Inspector Jivba Dalvi said.

“A team led by sub-inspector Mahesh Naik apprehended Couto and seized charas and MDMA (methylenedioxy methamphetamine) worth Rs 30,000. He has been arrested and charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985,” Dalvi said.

Want wide consultation on draft personal data protection bill, will fast-track it: Prasad

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

The government intends to have wide consultation on the draft personal data protection bill including inter-ministerial discussions, and all efforts are being made to fast-track it, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that on Friday.

Terming the proposed legislation a “milestone”, the Minister said that that he had given clear instructions to his department to undertake in-depth consultation and feedback on the draft bill.

“We are fast-tracking it,” Prasad told reporters when asked about the status of the draft.

Speaking to reporters later, he added that efforts are on to introduce the bill in the upcoming session of Parliament beginning December 11.

“This being a milestone legislation, widest consultation is always desirable. One (phase of consultation) was done under Justice B N Srikrishna, next we put it up online for feedback…Then there will be inter-ministerial consultation,” said Prasad after releasing Yojana Magazine special issue on Digital India.

The draft bill moots seeking “explicit consent” for processing ‘sensitive personal information’ like religious or political beliefs, sexual orientation and biometric details.

It suggests steps for safeguarding personal information, defines obligations of data processors as also rights of individuals, and proposes penalties for violation.

The areas covered include consent, what comprises personal data including sensitive personal data, exemptions which can be granted, grounds for processing data, storage restrictions for personal data, individual rights and right to be forgotten.

The draft of Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 also imposes conditions on the cross-border transfer of personal data and suggests setting up of Data Protection Authority of India to prevent any misuse of personal information.

The Minister said that Digital India initiatives had gone beyond the political divide. No state is opposing the flagship initiative that has the potential to change India, he said.

He, however, added that digital medium has to be safe and secure to ensure an equitable spread of benefits.

Prasad also noted that India’s digital inclusion initiative is already being acknowledged globally. He said in less than five years, the NDA government has made 307 government services available on Umang platform and efforts are on to bring all central and state services on this platform.

Naidu has made NTR’s grand-daughter a ‘scapegoat’: TRS leader

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu made Nandamuri Suhasini who is contesting from Kukatpally constituency on a TDP ticket a ‘scapegoat’ by fielding her from a ‘losing’ segment, Telangana caretaker IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao has alleged.

Speaking at a roadshow at Kukatpally on Thursday, the TRS leader lashed out at Telugu Desam Party and its chief Naidu, questioning as to why Naidu’s son and AP Minister N Lokesh was not asked to contest the seat.

Suhasini is the daughter of former Rajya Sabha MP N Hari Krishna and grand-daughter of TDP founder and former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh NT Rama Rao.

“If Chandrababu Naidu really loves the Nandamuri family, why didn’t he appoint Suhasini as a Minister in Andhra Pradesh, like he appointed Lokesh? If Chandrababu Naidu really wants to strengthen TDP in Telangana, he could have made Lokesh contest from Kukatpally. But he did not, because he knows Kukatpally is a losing seat,” the TRS leader alleged.

In a dramatic turn of events, Naidu decided to field Suhasini from Kukatpally ignoring senior party leader E Peddireddy, who evinced interest in contesting from the constituency.

Rubbishing K T Rama Rao’s remarks, Peddireddy said it was the party’s decision to field Suhasini from Kukatpally and people in the constituency are accepting her.

He also said that Lokesh is now a minister in the Andhra government and he chose Andhra Pradesh for his political career.

Naidu wants to make Suhasini a scapegoat and later prevent her brothers (Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram) from entering politics, the TRS leader alleged.

Talking about alliance between the Congress and TDP, Rama Rao said, NTR’s soul would be ‘troubled’ seeing the alliance and sought to know on what basis did they form an alliance.

Justifying the TRS alliance with TDP in the 2009 elections, Rama Rao said that they tied up with the TDP only after the latter assured to support separate Telangana statehood.

“Naidu today is asking why he is being criticised. Was he not the one who tried to poach TRS MLAs? Was he not the one who wrote letters to the Centre, creating hurdles in irrigation project works,” the TRS leader asked.

Elections to the 119-member Telangana assembly are scheduled to be held on December 7.

Gehlot accused Raje of stalling public welfare schemes in Raj

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot accused Friday Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of stalling various public welfare schemes announced by the previous Congress government.

Addressing election rallies in Bharatpur and Deeg cities in the state, Gehlot said the Raje government might have stalled Congress’s schemes but they should understand that people suffer due to this.

He said the Congress will not stall any BJP announced schemes after coming to power.

“You (Raje) were given huge majority by the people of the state. Now, people were asking what was their fault and why injustice was done. You should have completed works in time. I did not stall any scheme of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Vasundhara Raje,” Gehlot said.

He also hit out at the BJP-led government at the Centre, saying that promises of ache din and employment to youths of Rajasthan were unfulfilled.

Fulfill farmers’ demands or they’d ‘wreak havoc ‘ in 2019 polls: Kejriwal to Modi

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over farmers’ issues and alleged that he had “stabbed them in their back” by not fulfulling the promises made to them.

The AAP supremo joined several leaders from the opposition parties at Jantar Mantar where thousands of farmers from across the country gathered to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Kejriwal in his address at the venue, claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report.

“The government had also made lot of promises to farmers in last elections (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises. And, by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back (‘kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai’),” he alleged.

The AAP leader said that the Union government should implement the report in five months, otherwise, the farmers will show their might in the 2019 elections.

“The affidavit filed in the court should be withdrawn and the report should be implemented, otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections (‘kisan agle election mey qayamat dhah denge’),” he said.

BJP using ED and IT dept as ‘dirty tricks department’: Cong

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

The Congress has refuted a newspaper report and the allegations by BJP chief Amit Shah that Robert Vadra made money out of a dubious land deal.

Countering the allegations, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the BJP was using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department as a “dirty tricks department’.

At an election rally earlier today, referring to a report carried by the Indian Express newspaper, Shah alleged that the Nehru-Gandhi family’s son-in-law had received commissions after a loan of thousands of crores of rupees was sanctioned to a big company.

“Neither the country nor the people of Rajasthan will get swayed by this baseless, conspiring and misleading news,” Surjewala told reporters on Friday.

He said the BJP was planting fake and bogus news and misusing the agencies for the last five years.

“The BJP will not succeed in misusing the pages of a mainstream newspaper and distracting the attention of the people ahead of the elections,” he said.

SC adjourns Rohingya case till Jan 2019 for final disposal

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the Rohingya case till January 2019 for final disposal.

Due to rising violence against Rohingya in Myanmar, thousands of them entered India and Bangladesh to seek refuge. Around 40,000 Rohingya refugees reside in India after having fled persecution in Myanmar, out of which 16,000 are registered with the United Nation refugee agency.

The central government in 2017 had told the court to identify and deport Rohingyas back to their homeland, stating that they are a threat to national security as they have a connection with terror groups and may be used by the Islamic State for terror attacks.

Earlier, a batch of pleas was filed in the apex court opposing the Centre’s decision to deport over 40,000 refugees who had fled from Myanmar after widespread violence and discrimination against the community.

The plea was filed by two Rohingya immigrants – Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir- who claimed they took refuge in India after escaping Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence, and bloodshed against their community in Myanmar.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Rakhine in August 2017 after Myanmar’s army launched a massive crackdown in its northern state, retaliating the attacks by insurgents, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on the country’s police posts and a military base.

AIMIM approaches Mumbai HC for Muslim reservation in Maharashtra

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Friday approached the Bombay High Court for Muslim reservation in Maharashtra, a day after the state legislature passed the Maratha Reservation Bill in Socially and Economically Backward category (SEBC).

AIMIM’s Imtiyaz Jalil told agencies, “We won’t challenge it but will go to the court with new facts for Muslim reservation.”

On Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and admission in public sector academic institutions would not have any adverse impact on the state’s existing quota policy.

Lashing out at the opposition over the reservation issue, Fadnavis asked why the previous government did not give scholarships to Muslim students. “The opposition is dividing the people and they are doing politics on the reservation. They are talking about Muslim reservation for the sake of vote bank politics,” he claimed.

The Maharashtra government had recently approved the Maratha Reservation Bill, for which the community has been protesting since 2017. According to the Bill, the government will give separate reservation to Maratha community people under the category called socially and economically backward class or SEBC as per the recommendation of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission.

Shiv Sena MLA Vijay Auti elected Maha Assembly deputy speaker

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Afternoon Voice

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November 30, 2018

Three time Shiv Sena MLA Vijay Auti was Friday unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Earlier, Harshvardhan Sakpal of the Congress and Independent legislator Bacchu Kadu withdrew their nomination papers.

The announcement of the election was made by Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Leader of the Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil escorted Auti to the seat of the Deputy Speaker which is next to that of the Leader of Opposition.

Fadnavis described Auti as a leader rooted to the ground who enjoys unstinted support from his constituents in Parner Assembly seat in Ahmednagar district.

The NCP’s Ajit Pawar said the post was lying vacant for four years and the appointment indicates the BJP and Shiv Sena have patched up and an alliance between the two saffron parties was a possibility.

Pawar said, as per tradition, the deputy speaker’s post goes to the opposition but the tradition was not followed by the Congress-NCP government either.

“We thought Fadnavis would revert to the tradition,” Pawar added.

Vikhe Patil, Ganpatrao Deshmukh (PWP), Water Conservation MInister Ram Shinde, who hails from Ahmednagar district, congratulated Auti on his election.

The 13th Assembly was the one without a Deputy Speaker for the longest time.

The post had been lying vacant since the BJP government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assumed office on October 31, 2014 and won the trust vote on November 12.

The Congress’ Vasant Purke was the last deputy speaker before 2014.

In 288-member House, the BJP is the largest party with 122 MLAs, followed by the Shiv Sena with 63, the Congress with 42 and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 41.

During the Sena-BJP rule between 1995-99, Sharad Tasare of Congress held the post of Deputy Speaker.

Later, during the 15-year rule of the Congress-NCP, the speaker’s post was with the NCP while the Congress had its nominee on the Deputy speaker’s post.

Of the 22 deputy speakers so far, a majority were from the Congress party.

Gajananrao Garud, who served as deputy speaker between March 21, 1978 and April 5, 1979, was an Independent MLA.

Suryakant Dongre, who held the post between April 7, 1979 and June 9, 1980 belonged to the Republican Party of India (Khobragade group).

Kamalkishore Kadam (March 1, 1985 to June 22, 1986) was from the Congress (Socialist) which at the time was headed by current NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

Laxman Alias Anna Joshi, who was the deputy speaker from October 20, 1990 and July 3, 1991, was from the BJP while Moreshwar Termude (July 19, 1991 to March 11, 1995) was from the Janata Party.

Before the state of Maharashtra came into existence in 1960, there were five deputy speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Bombay Province, which later came to be known as the bilingual Bombay State.

The Congress’ Shanmugappa Angadi was deputy speaker of the Assembly of Bombay Province from 1946 to 1952.

Deendayal Gupta, who was the deputy speaker of the bilingual state from June 20, 1957 to April 30, 1960, went on to become the first deputy speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on May 1, 1960.

He continued on the post till March 3, 1962.