Patels hold mega rally for OBC quota demand; warn BJP govt

August 25, 2015

Ahmedabad, Aug 25: In a mega show of strength for their demand of inclusion in OBC category for reservation, the Patel community today warned that if they are not made eligible for quota, the BJP government in Gujarat will face consequences in 2017 polls.

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After the rally, the Patel community's young leader Hardik Patel, who is spearheading the agitation, said he will sit on a hunger strike at the venue till the Chief Minister (Anandiben Patel) does not come to take a memorandum from them.

The numerically and economically strong Patel community of Gujarat converged here in large numbers to take part in the rally, which brought the city to a grinding halt.

The 'Maha Kranti' rally comes after a month-long agitation by the Patel community for their demand of reservation.

"If you do not give our right (reservation), we will snatch it. Whoever will talk of interest of Patels will rule over Patels," Hardik told the gathering.

"In 1985, we had uprooted Congress from Gujarat, today there is BJP. 2017 (state election year) is coming...lotus will not bloom in the mud, it will never bloom. If you will talk about our interest then only we will nurture your lotus," he said, warning the state government.

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Patels are unrelenting even though Chief Minister Anandiben Patel earlier expressed her inability to include the community in the OBC category and requested the leaders to end the agitation and come forward for negotiations. The CM had citied Supreme Court guidelines and judgements for her inability to include Patels in OBC category.

"Some parties say you do not not know about Supreme Court guidelines (of 50 per cent cap on reservations), this cannot happen. If SC can open at 3.30 in the morning for a terrorist, then why not for the youth the future of this nation?" Hardik Patel said amidst cheers from the crowd.

"If the country's youth come on the streets to demand their right and if they do not get those rights, some of them will become Naxalites, some of them will become terrorists," he said.

Addressing the rally, 22-year-old Hardik said their agitation was apolitical. "Some said your agitation is supported by Congress, some said your agitation is inspired by BJP, while some others said it is sponsored by Aam Aadmi Party, but we are apolitical," he stressed.

"We have elected representatives from Gujarat and we have sent representatives to the Centre, they are not there just to make laws or to amend the Constitution. We have sent you to serve our community...we only need our rights," he said.

He said that they expect their demand to be respected or they will "snatch" it. "One of the friends told me you have led agitation against our people (as the Chief Minister is also Patel), I replied we have started this agitation because they are our people. They should also understand we have came out with this agitation to demand for our right," he said.

Holding that the community forms a major chunk, Hardik said, "We (Patel-farming community) are not in Gujarat only... We are 1.80 crore in Gujarat..., we also have a large presence in the country."

"A person told me that you (Patels) have a political clout in Gujarat, I told him...have you just seen Gujarat don't you see Bihar...even Nitish Kumar is ours...Don't you see in Andhra Pradesh... Chandrababu Naidu is ours," he said. "In Gujarat we have six MPs, while in India we have 170 MPs...Nobody is aware of that...our seal will be there on dollars," he said.

Asserting his community's demand for OBC quota, Hardik further said, "The day when 1.80 crore Patels of Gujarat will come on the roads, then they (government) will itself come to us to offer OBC.

"This nation runs on shoulders of farmers, soldiers and labourers. If any of the three shoulders will feel pain, you will be uprooted from the power."

Bringing up the issue of farmers' suicide in his address, he said, "When we talk about farmers...6,000 farmers committed suicide in ten years...He (those who committed suicides) was our brother...Who will take responsibility for that (suicides) ...If any farmer will commit suicide in future, not only entire Gujarat, but entire India will have to bear our rage. We are not going to tolerate farmers' suicide."

Attacking the Narendra Modi government, Hardik said, "You are making 180-metre tall idol of Sardar (Statue of Unity) to take political advantage, but look inside your heart if there are still values of our Sardar Patel in it.

"We, Patels wish to be included in reserved category to fulfil the dream of Modi saheb of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas'."

Hardik also said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister of the country, could not become the Prime Minister or else things would have been different.

Meanwhile, in view of the public gathering, major roads of the city were declared 'no go' areas by the police, resulting in quite less traffic on the roads.

The Patel community had yesterday given a call for city bandh due to which also many business establishments and schools and colleges remained closed today. The community members after the gathering took out a procession to hand over a memorandum of their demands to the District Collector.

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News Network
May 10,2024

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New Delhi: In a big blow to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a Delhi court has ordered the framing of charges against the former Wrestling Federation of India chief in the sexual harassment allegations levelled by women wrestlers. The court has said there is sufficient evidence on record to do so, and the trial against him can now begin. 

Friday's order by the Rouse Avenue court comes days after the BJP decided not to repeat Mr Singh, who is the party MP from Uttar Pradesh's Kaiserganj, as the candidate from the constituency and decided to field his son Karan Bhushan Singh instead. 

The court has ordered the framing of charges under Indian Penal Code sections Ordered to frame charges against Brij Bhushan under sections 354 (outraging a woman's modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet against under these sections and one additional section - 354D (stalking) - on June 15 last year. 

Charges should also be framed against the former assistant secretary of the Federation, Vinod Tomar, under Section 506, the court said. 

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot said the charges will be framed against Mr Singh for sexually harassing five wrestlers and that he stands discharged in the allegations levelled by the sixth.

The six-time MP has been at the centre of a huge political storm since last year, when sexual harassment charges were levelled against him and protesters had hit the streets led by Olympic medallists Sakshee Malikkh and Bajrang Punia, as well as Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallist Vinesh Phogat.

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May 8,2024

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Nearly 80 Air India Express flights were canceled after the cabin crew members went on a "mass sick leave", official sources said on Wednesday.

As many as 79 international and domestic flights were canceled after about 300 senior cabin crew members reported sick at the last minute and switched off their mobile phones.

The Air India Express management is currently trying to reach out to the crew, who are protesting against the new employment term at the Tata Group-owned airline, sources said.

The cabin crew has also alleged that there was a lack of equality in the treatment of the staff after the merger with Tata Group. They claim that some staff members were offered lower job position despite clearing interviews, sources said.

"A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result," an Air India Express spokesperson said.

"We sincerely apologise to our guests for this unexpected disruption and emphasise that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide," the spokesperson added.

Guests impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date, the airline said.

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Some "very disappointed" passengers on X said that they had reached the airport when they were informed that their flights were canceled.

"We apologise for any inconvenience. Please be informed that your flight has been canceled due to operational reasons," Air India Express said in response to one of the posts on X.

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May 14,2024

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Jerusalem: Israel and India will continue to deepen their bilateral ties and lead to greater prosperity, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.

Katz was responding to India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s message on the occasion of Israel’s 76th Independence Day.

“Thank you for the warm wishes, FM @DrSJaishankar. In celebration of our Independence Day, Israel and India will continue to deepen our ties and lead to greater prosperity,” Katz said in a post on X.

Earlier in the morning, Jaishankar posted on X a 2:03-minute video showcasing the India-Israel relationship through photos of various bilateral meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself, and other Indian ministers with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers.

“Congratulate FM @Israel_katz and the people of Israel on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of Israel’s Independence. Mazel Tov!,” Jaishankar posted along with the video and repeated the same message in another post in Hebrew.

Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu wished her Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog as she said on X, “I join the people of India in conveying our best wishes to President @Isaac_Herzog, and the people of Israel on the 76th anniversary of Israel’s independence.”

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla too took to X to post his greetings to his counterpart Amir Ohana, the Speaker of The Knesset: “On the occasion of Israel’s 76th anniversary of independence, I congratulate Speaker of the Knesset @AmirOhana and the people of Israel.”

Both Murmu and Birla also included greetings in Hebrew.

“Thank you, my dear friend @ombirlakota. May the friendship between our nations grow stronger,” Ohana replied to Birla and also added a line in Devnagari script in Hindi, loosely translated as, “Thank you my dear friend Om Birla. May the friendship between our countries be stronger.”

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