CMO office in every revenue division

By

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December 24, 2019

Residents of Maharashtra no longer need to visit Mantralaya in Mumbai for getting their work done. The Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi government will open Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in every revenue division of the state on Tuesday. As a result of this, citizens don’t need to run from pillar to post to get important work done. This initiative will ease the woes of citizens as it will save their time and money.

Till now residents of the state had to visit Mantralaya for various work like sanction of medical reimbursements, insurance facility, application for loan waiver, grant for education, aid to kin of farmers after their death due to accident or any other calamity. If their appointment to meet a minister is on Wednesday they have had to start their journey a day in advance. As a result of this, they have to undergo severe inconvenience. They also have to incur travelling and food expenses. Sometimes they are unable to meet ministers and officials if they are on leave. Therefore they are compelled to visit Mantralaya one more time which causes severe inconvenience to them.

Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray extended his greetings to Maha Vikas Aghadi for the decision to establish CMO office in every revenue division of Maharashtra.

He tweeted, “I congratulate Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray ji and Maha Vikas Aghadi for the decision to establish the CMO in every revenue division of Maharashtra. This step would help the people to sort out their grievances faster and closer to homes.”

When citizens visit Mantralaya they are forced to encounter huge crowds that arrive from various parts of the state. Here they are asked to get make entry pass and furnish their identity cards to get access to the secretariat. Citizens have to make repeated visits to Mantralaya for various works. Many times they have to submit necessary documents and take signature of the concerned officials. Therefore the work doesn’t get completed as per schedule thereby inviting the ire of citizens. Earlier many citizens committed suicide at Mantralaya if their work didn’t get completed. The MVA government has taken the decision to open CMO office in revenue division of state to make citizens life easier. Now citizens can approach the CMO office at the revenue division of the district in which they reside. It will save their time and money. Citizens have welcomed the MVA government’s decision to open Chief Minister’s Office in every revenue division of the state.

Amit Barse a Nashik resident said, “Till now I had to visit Mantralaya in Mumbai for getting several important work done. But from now onwards, I no longer need to visit Mantralaya and can directly approach the Chief Minister’s office in Nashik to get my work done. The MVA government has taken the right step to ease the woes of citizens. This step will definitely help those citizens who live very far from Mumbai as they had to make repeated visits to Mantralaya for various official work.”

Is blasphemy law in modern time justified?

By

Vaidehi Taman

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December 24, 2019

Blasphemy is one of the law that is most abused in the world when it comes to overpowering the voices of minorities, rationalists as well as at many times most of the think tanks and intellectuals who often comes under a barrage of questions over its legality in the present modern formations of the world. While often, it is regarded as a judicious restriction over the freedom of speech and expression, many a times it is also viewed as an interference in the development of a scientific temper among people and also a practice of imposing the religious beliefs and virtues of one community over other. In this modern world where Freedom of Speech as well as Freedom of Religion are widely considered as fundamental and human rights, India despite being a pluralist country with an incomparable diversity in its population having a vast ocean of varied conflicting opinions has the Section 295-A in Indian Penal Code 1860 which is a law against blasphemy under the guise of ‘hate speech’.

Same goes with Pakistan also. Mockery toward God, religion, a religious icon, or something else considered sacred in every religion. It has been held to be a common-law crime in the United States, India and Pakistan because of its tendency to stir up breaches of the peace. It is expressly made punishable. However, the rationale behind declaring blasphemy as a crime is not only applicable in common law countries but throughout the world. Multiple countries across the world have blasphemy laws in their penal system despite having different demography and legal systems. The offense of blasphemy may relate to a particular religion or may be towards all religions and may carry penalty ranging from a mere fine in Italy to death penalty in Pakistan. However, many countries do not have blasphemy laws in their penal system. The United States of America ruled out Blasphemy law as unconstitutional as it was a violation of the freedom of speech.

India being both a pluralist country and secular just like America, had no provision against blasphemy until 1927 when the Section 295(A) was incorporated in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 stating that “Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or both.” But the question however is, is the blasphemy law in modern India justified? If we speak about freedom of speech then we should notice that the anti-blasphemy laws do far more damage than good to society. They are used not to promote tolerance but as an excuse to commit violence. They do this in two ways: by encouraging extremist groups, and by restricting freedom of thought and religion itself.

Without those rights, a society inches towards becoming a religious dictatorship as Pakistan is doing. The first point is important. By letting religious groups to get their way, we encourage them like spoilt kids. We end up giving them a license to whip up outrage for their own political agendas or against others. It has happened in Pakistan for decades and it’s increasingly happening in India. In June last, the police arrested a member of the radical Hindu group called Sanatan Sanstha that is a prime suspect behind the murders of three Indian rationalists. These activists were targeted simply for campaigning against religious superstition and fake sadhus. And that’s just one example. All India Bakchod had supposedly offended Christians or when writer Wendy Doniger had her book banned because a Hindu outfit called it “vulgar” or when the movie Nanak Shah Fakir was pulled down because hardline Sikh groups were angry. India is now full of religious groups who threaten violence if they feel wounded on behalf of their gods.

Same is in Pakistan, a Pakistani court sentenced a university professor to death for blasphemy under a law that critics say is often used to target minorities and liberal activists. Junaid Hafeez, 33 was arrested in March 2013 for posting derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed on the social media. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in conservative Muslim-majority Pakistan where laws against it carry a potential death sentence. Even unproven allegations have led to mob lynchings and vigilante murders. Hafeez’s sentence was announced in central city of Multan where he was a university professor at the time of his arrest.

Hafeez’s lawyer was killed in 2014 after receiving death threats during a hearing. About 40 people convicted of blasphemy are on a death row in Pakistan, according to a 2018 estimate by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. The acquittal last October of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who had spent more than eight years on death row for blasphemy, provoked violent protests across Pakistan, leaving large swathes of the country paralysed. Bibi now lives in Canada with her family. While many cases involve Muslims accusing Muslims, rights activists have warned that religious minorities particularly Christians are often caught in the crossfire, with blasphemy charges used to settle personal scores.

(With Inputs from various agencies)

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Mumbai septic tank deaths: Govandi Housing society official arrested

By

Hema Singh

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December 24, 2019

An official of a housing society in the Govandi area has been held in connection with the death of three labourers who were cleaning a septic tank in a high-rise building, a police official said on Tuesday.

According to police, the labourers who were hired privately by the official died of suffocation on Monday while they were cleaning the septic tank in the Maurya Society. The 22-storey building is located in Ganesh wadi area of the eastern suburb.

Police have arrested Pawan Vishwanath Palav, (40) for the mishap that happened on late on Monday night. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VI) Shashikumar Meena said that they arrested Palav when they came to know that he had hired labourers who were not experienced in cleaning a septic tank.

“The accused asked the labourers to enter into the septic tank without providing them with any safety gear. The accused was not present at the spot when the victims were cleaning the tank,” he added.

As per report, the three labourers who entered the septic tank on Monday got trapped inside. Later, with the help of the fire brigade and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, they were brought out of the tank and rushed to a hospital. However, the labourers were declared dead on arrival.

The three deceased labourers have been identified as Bisavjit Debnath, (32) Santosh Prabhakar Kalsekar, (45) and Govind Sangram Chortiya, (34). Police have booked the arrested accused under 304 –Asection(causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Uganda woman gang raped by men in Pune

By

Hema Singh

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December 24, 2019

A 28-year-old woman from Uganda was allegedly gang raped by two unidentified men late on December 23 at Pune. According to the Vimantal police, the incident took place at 12 am on Tuesday when she was returning from a hotel and was looking out for a cab to go home. At that time, a man approached her and asked her if he could give her a lift on his motor bike.

Later the accused called another friend of his and the duo took the woman to an isolated place and raped her. Police said that the woman who hails from Uganda used to live with her sister at Kondhwa.

#Maharashtra | An FIR have been registered against 2 accused over charges of abduction & rape of a 28-yr-old foreign national woman on the intervening night of 23 & 24 Dec in Yerawada, #Pune. Search for the accused is still on.

— Afternoon Voice (@Afternoon_Voice) December 24, 2019

As per the victim’s statement, after raping her, the accused were trying to flee from the scene. However, she requested them to drop her to the main road. On the way, when the woman saw some people on the road she yelled for help. In the hotchpot, they fell down on the road and got injured.

Later passersby helped her to reach the police station. The woman had also given the police the last four digit numbers of the accused’s motor bike.

Police have registered a case against the two unidentified men under Section 376 (D) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Further information is underway.

No clarity on expansion of Maharashtra Cabinet as Congress fails to finalise its list

By

Hema Singh

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December 24, 2019

The coalition government of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP also known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has failed to expand its cabinet as the third party of the alliance (Congress) has yet to finalise the names of its MLAs who would be included in the Cabinet. Since the new government was formed, the Congress party has still not been able to form the cabinet list even after a month.

It was earlier reported that the state Chief Minister and Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray would expand his Cabinet on Tuesday. However, the decision has been postponed. As per sources, both the Sena and the NCP have already formalised the names of their MLA names who will find place in the cabinet. It is expected that the expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet would now take place on December 30.

As per the sources Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, both the former chief minister of the Congress party are likely to be a part of the Maharashtra Cabinet.

Sources also add that Shiv Sena MLAs like Ramdas Kadam, Anil Parab, Neelam Gorhe, Ravindra Waykar, Sunil Prabhu, Abdul Sattar, Bhaskar Jadhav and Deepak Kesarkar will be included in the Cabinet while Ajit Pawar, Jitendra Awhad, Dhramrao Baba Atram, Nawab Malik, Dhananjay Munde, Bharat Bhalke and Hasan Mushrif of the NCP will take oath as cabinet ministers.

Uddhav was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on November 28. And with him, only 6 ministers had taken oath.

Christmas: A time for joy and happiness

By

Jubel D'Cruz

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December 24, 2019

Christmas is that time of the year when we welcome joy and good cheer into our homes, when we sing carols, wear our best clothes and celebrate with our near and dear ones. It is Christmas time again and I’m sure you must have all started to shop for gifts, to pull out the lights and decorations that you had put away last year and plan to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Back home, your mothers will have already started to soak the dry fruits that go into her special Christmas cake and you must be awaiting Santa Claus with his reindeer sleigh – perhaps even wonder what Christmas gifts he will leave for you under your Christmas tree this year.

December 25, the day when Jesus Christ was born, is one of the biggest celebrations around the world. Born to Joseph and Mary in a manger in the city of Bethlehem 2019 years ago, Christ the Saviour was visited by the three wise men of the east, the Magi, who came bearing precious gifts with them. What we must remember, though, is that Christmas is not merely a celebration which involves exchanging gifts and partaking in lavish feasts; it is the infinite love of God and the many wonderful lessons that Jesus Christ taught us that we must reflect upon as we prepare for yet another glorious Christmas night. The lessons of love, kindness, and mercy that Christ Jesus had taught us remain just as relevant over 2020 years after his birth.

Humility – Christ, the king of all men and their hearts, lived in utter humility. He said that He was the child of God but so are all of us. He lived in utter humility with no pride whatsoever and was born in a manger among the shepherds. Humility is the greatest of lessons that Christmas teaches us.
Charity – Christmas is certainly the time to exchange gifts. What could be more precious than the bright smiles of our friends and family members as they unwrap the gifts we have bought for them? The festival of Christmas, however, teaches us that the gift of generosity must be extended beyond our inner circle to those less fortunate – it is only in sharing our privileges that we become truly rich.
Love – Love is a word we all understand. We love our friends, our families, our pets. The love that Christ taught us, though, was a much greater love encompassing all of mankind. Our greatest strength is this love – it is only through this love of humanity at large that we can become the best versions of ourselves.
Kindness – Kindness to one and all is what Jesus Christ lived by. The poor, the diseased, the underprivileged all came to Him and He bestowed His affections and healings on all of them alike. This is perhaps the most beautiful of all the lessons that Christmas teaches us. From kindness comes mercy – one of the most important values to live by in this world.
Sacrifice – “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us”. It is His deep all-pervading love for us that led Jesus Christ to sacrifice His own life and well-being for us. It is this lesson that we must remember each Christmas. Our families, country, convictions will all demand deep sacrifices from time-to-time and we must not shy away from making them.
Perseverance – Despite the constant persecution that He faced from a very young age, Jesus Christ stuck firmly to His path of kindness and love and persisted in teaching His disciples the lessons that He believed in. In a changing world which is becoming more difficult each passing day, Christmas brings with it a great lesson of perseverance.
Faith – The greatest lesson that Christmas teaches us is that of keeping the faith. Our lives are fraught with challenges and difficult times. Just as the followers of Jesus kept their faith in Him and in his resurrection, it often becomes important for us to believe in good times and our own abilities.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 24 December, 2019

By

Web Team

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December 24, 2019

Team India tame Caribbean side

Third ODI match at Cuttack saw fortunes fluctuating between the two sides and in the end Team India’s experience turned the tables. Put into bat, West Indies side was somewhat slow in its approach and that put paid their hopes when the match reached the closing stages. Both Pooran and Pollard did made a match of it and that was not enough. Team India dropped four catches. But the batting of Indian top order batsmen covered up the lapses with sensible batting. West Indies lacked quality bowling and after claiming five wickets for 228 the Caribbean team failed to apply pressure and allowed late order batsmen to prosper as the match slipped away from their hands. Team India won the series 2-1.

Gundu. K. Maniam

Opposition should target govt on inflation instead of CAA

Citizenship (Amendment) Act has not been understood in entirety by the citizens which is the reason for uproar all across the country. Politicians are adding fuel to fire for vote bank politics as people are misled while the fact remains that no Indian citizen is affected by CAA.

What is so unconstitutional about the passing of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill,2019 which has been passed in both houses with a landslide margin and the uproar by the opposition is unwarranted. Providing Indian nationality after due process to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, Buddhists who were ill treated in neighbouring countries is humanitarian gesture at its very best. Muslims perhaps are not included because they are treated well there and have no danger to their lives.

The communal fabric of our country is very strong and no Muslim or people of any religion living on our shores should fear their existence as we have a democratically elected government in our country and citizens’ voice is valued here. India is a land of equals and our constitution should have a single law for all be it on marriage, divorce, disputes. The focus should be on development and progress for which we all should stand united to work in that direction. CAA is diverting attention from the real problems our country is facing like inflation, unemployment, economic slowdown, law and order issues. Opposition should target government on these issues than crying over CAA which has nothing to do with citizens of our country.

S.N.Kabra

Jharkhand-assembly poll result a lesson for BJP

Election-results of Jharkhand-assembly which were on expected lines, should be an eye-opener for the BJP where it could not even become single largest party despite having maximum vote-percentage. Unfortunately alliance with parties earlier involved in scams and scandals is going to be in power in the state because of shortcomings of outgoing BJP in the state.

BJP lost mainly due to its fight with its own persons having left the party and its former allies who contested elections separately harming themselves too. State units of BJP should be made powerful rather than central leadership imposing candidates from top. Even votes gained by BJP are mainly because of lack of alternative before the voters. BJP must not forget that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Modi-wave created history by winning 67 out of 70 seats in 2015 elections to Delhi assembly because voters visualised a real political alternative provided by the party.

BJP is also losing ground because of central government not taking effective and practical steps to tackle economic crisis causing hardships to all classes of people. A total overhaul of economy is necessary by one-time massive reform in GST-structure and restoring activities in wholesale and retail trade which contributes largest 28-per cent to economy. It can be done by merging slabs of 3, 5, 12 and 18 per cent slab to one single 10-per cent slab abolishing Input-Tax-Credit (ITC) from manufacturing and service sector. Wholesale and retail trade can be encouraged by imposing strict restrictions on on-line trade, and central government bearing transaction-charges on purchases made through credit-cards by asking banks issuing credit-cards to reduce it to just half-percent by abolishing incentives on purchases made through credit-cards.

Madhu Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

#JharkhandAssemblyPolls : JMM-Cong Topple BJP

By

Web Team

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December 23, 2019

The entire state of Jharkhand is currently in the state of jubilation with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress (INC) combine coming out winners in the Jharkhand Assembly elections. While the combine has won 48 seats, whereas the BJP has won 23 seats, the AJSUP won 3, JVM (P) won 3 and RJD won 3 seats. As it appears, JMM’s Hemant Soren is tipped to be the Chief Minister of the state. Any party needs to get 41 seats to form government in the state. The election in Jharkhand was held in five phases between November 30 and December 20.

After BJP’s defeat in Jharkhand NCP chief Sharad Pawar while addressing the media at his residence Silver Oak said, “The result of Jharkhand Assembly Polls that has come today clearly states that people are with non-BJP parties. After Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, people have decided to keep BJP away from power in Jharkhand also.”

But till the final results were declared there was a state of ups and downs between the BJP and the INC+ combine. It was excitement that ran all through all party functionaries.

While the JMM-led pre-poll alliance was leading on more seats, the BJP claimed that it was still the single largest party in the country. On his part, Chief Minister Raghubar Das had gone on record and declared that the fight was still close in several seats. “The BJP will form the government in the state,” he stated.

On the other hand, the Congress claimed that since theirs was a pre-poll alliance with JMM and the RJD, they should first to get a chance to stake claim to power.

Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut also hit out at the BJP, saying tribals and the poor people of Jharkhand have rejected the Modi- Shah led party.

From the recent happenings, it is clear that this trend of variation in voter behaviour is not just limited to Jharkhand. A similar case took place in states like Maharashtra and Haryana where the BJP either loss power or had to form an alliance to be in power.

In Maharashtra, BJP had contested both the Lok Sabha as well as the state elections in alliance with the Shiv Sena. While the Narendra Modi-led party had secured 53 per cent of the votes in the constituencies that it had contested in the general elections, this was reduced to 45 per cent during the assembly polls.

This brought its tally in the state from 122 in 2014 to 105 this time around. The party eventually failed to form the government in the state after its ally Shiv Sena broke the alliance to form a government led by its chief Uddhav Thackerey with the support of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.

Similarly, BJP had registered a landslide victory in Haryana during the Lok Sabha elections in May where it won all the 10 seats available in the state. In a show of absolute dominance, the party secured an impressive 58 per cent of the total vote-share.

However, this was not the case during the assembly elections in the northern state in October this year. The saffron party failed to secure a majority on its own in the 90-member strong house as its vote-share plummeted more than 20 percentage points to 36 per cent. After falling short of its own lofty targets, the BJP had to offer the Deputy Chief Minister’s post to leader of rival party Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) Dushyant Chautala to form the government in Haryana. In 2018, BJP also lost the Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan assembly polls. All these states were known as BJP’s bastion. With BJP’s loss in Jharkhand the party has been reduced to 40 per cent Indian states as compared to 71 per cent back in December 2017. The Jharkhand Assembly poll loss is being seen as a major setback for the BJP as has come after the Citizenship Amendment Act and few weeks after the Supreme Court had issued a verdict clearing the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

By Ashish Mitra

Maharashtra and its ongoing politics – Part II

By

Vaidehi Taman

-

December 23, 2019

Following disputes between NCP president Sharad Pawar and the INC president Sonia Gandhi, the state’s political status quo was upset when Pawar defected from the INC which was perceived as the vehicle of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, to form the Nationalist Congress Party. This offshoot of the Congress party is nevertheless dominated by the Maratha community. The Shiv Sena was formed in the 1960s by Balasaheb Thackeray, a cartoonist and journalist to advocate and agitate for the interests of Marathi people in Mumbai. Over the following decades, Shiv Sena slowly grew and took over the then Bombay Municipal Corporation in the 1980s. The original base of the party was among the lower middle and working class Marathi people in Mumbai and the surrounding urban areas, the leadership of the party came from educated people. However, since 1990s there has been dada-ization of the party.

By the number of Marathas elected on a Shiv Sena ticket in the last few elections, the party is emerging as another Maratha party. The BJP is closely related to the RSS and is part of the Sangh Parivar. The party originally derived its support from the urban upper castes such as Brahmins and non-Maharashtrians. In recent years, the party has been able to penetrate the Maratha community by fielding Maratha candidates in elections. The Shiv Sena–BJP coalition came to power at the state level in 1995 which was a blow to the INC. In 2006, a split within Shiv Sena emerged when Bal Thackeray anointed his son Uddhav Thackeray as his successor over his nephew Raj Thackeray. Raj then left the party and formed a new outfit called the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Raj Thackeray, like his uncle, has also tried to win support from the Marathi community by embracing anti-immigrant sentiment in Maharashtra for instance against Biharis. After the Maratha–Kunbi, the Mahars are numerically the second largest community. Most of the Mahars are followers of Buddhism and fall under the Scheduled Caste (SC) group. Since the time of B. R. Ambedkar, the Mahar community has supported various factions of the Republican Party of India (RPI).

There are 25 seats reserved for the SC. Parties such as NCP, BJP and the Congress field candidates from other Hindu SC groups like Mang and Chambhar for the reserved seats to thwart the candidates of the RPI. Maharashtra is the third biggest state in India in terms of area with a total area of 307,713 sq km which is as big as the country Oman is! Maharashtra is the second most populous state in India with a total population of 11.23 crore which is equivalent to the population of Mexico. Maharashtra ranks first in terms of the size of the economy with nominal GDP equal to $400 billion which is equivalent to the size of the economy of Iran. Maharashtra is located in the western region of India which shares its border with the state of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka and Goa and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The financial capital of India, Mumbai and the geographic center of India, Nagpur, are both located in the state. Mumbai that is the most populous city in Maharashtra which is also the most populous city in India is also the 6th most populous city in the world. Maharashtra is drained by the river Godavari which is referred to as the Dakshin Ganga, the rivers such as Krishna, Koyana, Tapi, Penganga, Wainganga are the other prominent rivers. Maharashtra is one of the best tourist destinations in the country which has – Five World Heritage Sites, a long stretch of Western Ghats – one of the four biodiversity hotspots, six Tiger reserves, six national parks and so on.

The empire under Shivaji Maharaj in 1674 was the champions of Hinduism in the face of Islamic aggression by the Mughal Empire and ruled much of the subcontinent for over a century after defeating them. Sharad Pawar, who had been a towering figure in Maharashtrian and national politics, belongs to this group. The state’s political status quo was upset when Pawar defected from the INC, which was perceived as the vehicle of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to form the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP in 1999. This followed disputes between Pawar and the INC president Sonia Gandhi. This offshoot of the Congress party was nevertheless dominated again by the Maratha community. And NCP has formed alliances with Congress in the UPA government. A number of senior leaders of the party such as Sharad Pawar, Ganesh Naik and DY Patil have promoted the political careers of their respective family members but since NCP’s leadership mainly came from educated Marathas, it is relatively free from caste and dynasty politics in comparison to other political parties.

The Shiv Sena gradually moved from advocating a pro-Marathi ideology to one supporting a broader Hindu Nationalist agenda. The original base of the party was lower middle-and working-class Marathi people in Mumbai and surrounding urban areas. In the last 30 years, however, Shiv Sena and the BJP began gaining a foothold in the state of Maharashtra especially in the rural areas hit by drought and unemployment. The Shiv Sena and the BJP came into power at the state level in 1995 which was a big blow to the INC. The BJP is closely related to the RSS and is part of the Sangh Parivar, originally deriving its support from the urban “upper caste” Gujarati’s and Marwari’s. Shiv Sena’s leaders mostly came from the so-called “high castes” i.e. Brahmins, CKPs and Pathare Prabhus. But in the recent years, the party has been able to penetrate the Maratha group by fielding Maratha candidates in elections.

To summarize, there isn’t much of an ideological difference between different political parties in Maharashtra. Hindutva is a strong factor but meat and fish are considered a part of Maharashtrian cuisine and Marathi politicians have frequently spewed vitriol against the Jain community for attempts to impose vegetarianism in their premises. The main factor of politics of Maharashtra is the Maratha community which accounts for 31 per cent of the state’s population. They dominate the cooperative institutions and with the resultant economic power control politics from the village level up to the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. Of the 18 chief Ministers so far, as many as 10 (55 per cent) have been Marathas. As of December 2016, of the 366 MLAs combined (Legislative Assembly has 288 MLAs and Legislative Council has 78 MLAs) 169 are Marathas (46 per cent).

(With inputs from various agencies)

Also read: Maharashtra and its ongoing politics – Part I

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Sena supporters beat up Wadala man, shave off his head for FB comment on Maharashtra CM

By

Web Team

-

December 23, 2019

A 30-year-old man from Wadala in Mumbai was thrashed allegedly by Shiv Sena supporters after he posted a derogatory comment about Sena supremo and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray centering on the December 15 police action on Jamia Millia Islamia students, police said on Monday.

On December 17, the CM had said, “The way the police opened fire on students by forcefully entering (JMI) compound, it appeared like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.”

The police said, the man uploaded his post on December 19 from his Facebook account which he operates by the name of ‘Rahul Tiwari’. However, the police identified him as Hiramani Tiwari.

According to the police, the post berated Uddhav for comparing the police action on JMI students protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act with the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Tiwari who had deleted the post after he got threats from some people, however said on Sunday that the Sena functionaries Samadhan Jukdeo and one Prakash Hasbe beat him up and shaved his head outside his Shanti Nagar residence.

After that, the Wadala TT police issued a notice under Section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to both the sides. The CrPC’s Section 149 is a legal tool given to police to prevent the commission of a cognisable offence.

Tiwari told to police, “I want the police to take action against these Sena men. I was just airing my views.”

A police official said that Tiwari and the Sainiks who were accused of beating him up, had reached a compromise and added that a case would be taken if they receive a complaint. Tiwari’s statement was being recorded, he added.