Abandoning its long-held restraint when it comes to commenting on extremists originating from minority communities, the Kerala unit of CPIM has included warnings about ‘attempts to spread extremism’ among students belonging to Muslim and Christian communities in Kerala. The warning, contained in this year’s guidebook for student leaders, was in addition to the traditional instruction […]
Government of India on Wednesday said lack of economic and social data about intermediate castes will not impact their inclusion in OBC reservations for government services and higher education. Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, was replying to a question by MP TR Baalu on why the government is not collecting socio-economic data […]
Even as one survey after another predict a win for the incumbent Left Front alliance in Kerala, an opinion poll conducted by the Media One news channel has thrown up some interesting figures on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s support levels among various religious communities. Pinarayi Vijayan, an atheist and a communist, is four times as […]
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has, for the first time, used his daily Coronavirus update to attack a newspaper’s coverage of the crisis in the first sign that the Left Front is worried about the work-in-progress alliance of the Kerala unit of Jamaat-e-Islami — which works to establish the Islamic way of life in India […]
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has sent a directive to all private news channels urging them to be cautious about the coverage of events that may lead to violence or promote ‘anti-national attitudes’. The missive came in the background of massive protests in North Eastern states, particularly Assam, against a decision by the central government […]
Justice UU Lalit, who was part of a constitutional bench that was set up to hear the controversial Ram Temple Babri Masjid matter today, today recused himself from the bench hearing the matter. The judge withdrew himself after one of the advocates RK Dhawan pointed out that Justice Lalit had represented one of the implicated […]
Narendra Modi government’s new 10% economic reservation quota will not be open to economically weaker members of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. The 124th constitutional amendment bill introduced by Thawar Chand Gehlot in Parliament today makes a specific exclusion for the above categories from being admitted under ‘economic reservation’. The poor within […]
The government will present a new bill to amend the constitution and introduce a new 10% quota for ‘forward communities’ at 2 PM today. The bill will be presented by minister of social justice and empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot. The bill will add a new criteria for providing reservation — economic backwardness — to the […]
Shiv Sena MP Anil Desai today asked the government if it had taken steps against TV channels who were “creating hatred among various sections of Hindu community” by identifying victims of certain attacks as dalits. The government responded that it had already sent directives to channels and newspapers against using the world dalit. In a […]
The cabinet is reported to have approved a move to seek 10% reservation in jobs and educational institutions for all those castes and communities that currently do not get such reservations. The government will create a law to raise the upper ceiling of reserved seats from 50% of the total to 60% of the total. […]
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has dropped a hint that the Maratha community will get reservation in jobs and education on December 1. Speaking at a rally today, Fadnavis said that people who are preparing for demonstrations to demand reservations for the community should instead prepare for celebrations on Dec 1. “Some say we will […]
Kerala BJP state president Sreedharan Pillai has been shown bragging in a leaked video that the recent agitation by Ayyappa devotees in the temple courtyard was set off by a BJP worker, and that he considers the issue the ‘golden opportunity’ that the party has been waiting for in Kerala. Speaking at a convention of […]
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against continued control and oversight of temples by the state government of Kerala. Unlike in other places, the control of temples in Kerala — which used to rest with the kings before independence — was directly transferred to the newly […]
The ministry of social justice and empowerment said that a committee looking into the need for sub-categorization of OBC groups is expected to submit its report by 31 July. The committee, comprising four members headed by retired Supreme Court Justice G Rohini, was formed in October last year. Minister Krishna Pal Gurjar said the committee […]
BJP President Amit Shah is not a very expressive person, but the relief and happiness on his face during the party’s regular press conference today was hard to miss. Among the questions asked of Shah was whether today marks the ‘golden period’ of the BJP in India. Though the question sounded like a compliment, it […]
The Congress Party’s star campaigner for the upcoming elections in Nagaland, Gaurav Gogoi has once again appealed to the voters to listen to the advice of the Church when they go to polling station tomorrow. Asked what was the Congress Party’s stategy for the upcoming polls, the Lok Sabha member said: “First of all, the […]
The Supreme Court has lifted the bans imposed by certain state governments like Gujarat and Haryana on the movie Padmavat and said the movie will screen across India next week. The movie is set to release on Jan 25. The court said it was the responsibility of the state governments to keep law and order, […]
The apparent success of Hardik Patel-led campaign for reservations seems to be emboldening other groups to start similar campaigns. Shri Rajput Karni Sena, which was in the news for threatening have artists associated with the film Padmavati beheaded, has now warned the BJP government in Rajasthan that it will unleash a nationwide campaign to seek […]
BJP leaders have expressed worries that the Maharashtra Bandh called by Dalit organizations and some political parties in the state could be part of a political conspiracy by opposition parties to achieve a caste-based polarization in the state similar to what was seen in Gujarat. An election fought on caste-related factors and divisions is BJP’s […]
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has suggested extending reservation benefits not only to Patels, but to all forward communities as well. “Do a census and give everyone reservation according to their population. Nobody will be angry,” Yadav said, when asked about how to deal with the current agitation by the Gujarati community seeking greater educational […]
