Connect with us
Friday,21-November-2025
Breaking News

General

Lingayat community seeks OBC status, BJP in a fix

Published

on

The ruling BJP is in a fix over the demand of the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community seeking its inclusion in the Other Backwards Classes (OBC) list by the Centre. The community leaders have also warned that if the demand is not fulfilled, they would start agitation on a large-scale.

Sources in the BJP said that it is not good news for the party, which is preparing to face the upcoming 2023 Assembly elections. Shamnur Shivashankarappa, President of the Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha, who is also a veteran Congress leader from the state has stated that a decision in this regard has been taken in the general body meeting.

Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, considered as a dominant community in the state comprising 18 to 20 per cent of the population, is firmly standing behind the ruling BJP in Karnataka. Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and present Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai hail from the Lingayat community.

It would be a tricky situation for the BJP-led Central government to accord Veerashaiva-Lingayat community the OBC status. According to sources, the decision has to be taken at the national level. Vokkaliga community, another dominant community from Karnataka was accorded OBC status during the tenure of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

Eshwar B. Khandre, Mahasabha General Secretary and also a senior Congress leader stated that though Veerashaiva- Lingayat community is considered as a forward caste, it is one of the most backward communities in terms of socio, economic and academic scenarios.

The share of Veerashaiva-Lingayats is negligible in terms of recruitments in the UPSC, banking sector, railway, Staff Selection Commission and Public Sector enterprises run by the Central government, he said.

However, sources said that the timing of the demand by the Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha is intended to put the ruling BJP in a fix. If BJP commits to the fulfillment of the demand, it will have to address such demands from across the country which will open the Pandora’s box.

If the BJP doesn’t commit to the fulfillment of this demand, the opposition Congress can target them, sources said.

The BJP has not reacted over the issue and is treading cautiously.

Maharashtra

Mumbai robbery fugitive arrested from police station after 20 years

Published

on

Mumbai: Police has claimed to have arrested a wanted accused in a robbery case after 20 years. A case of robbery was registered against Javed Yusuf Shaikh, 47, in the limits of Mumbai’s Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg RA police station in 2005. During this time, the police had also arrested him and he was on bail and did not appear in court proceedings, after which the sessions court issued a warrant against him and declared him a fugitive accused. After the warrant was issued against him, the police arrested him during a search for the fugitive accused. In this regard, the Zone 4 and the police received information that he was staying in a rented house in the police station. The police arrested him from the police station and complied with the court order. The court had earlier issued non-bailable warrants against him and now the police took action after the court order declaring him a fugitive and arrested him. This action was carried out by DCP Zone 4 Ragasudha R on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Samajwadi Party MLA Raees Shaikh criticism of BJP’s hostility towards Urdu

Published

on

Mumbai: The campaign for the Nagar Panchayat and Municipal Council elections in the state has reached its peak and BJP leaders have published booklets in Urdu to promote their candidates. Samajwadi Party MLA from ‘Bhiwandi East’ Raees Shaikh has welcomed the BJP’s Urdu booklet. MLA Shaikh claimed that the BJP has realised, albeit belatedly, that Urdu is not the language of any single religion.

BJP MLA from ‘Aran’ in Raigad district Mahesh Baldi’s workers are distributing booklets in Urdu during the Municipal Council elections. Pointing out this, MLA Raees Shaikh said that ‘on one hand they hate Muslims on the basis of religion and when their votes are needed, they resort to Urdu language’, which is a double-edged sword of the BJP. State Fisheries and Ports Minister Nitish Rane should express his feelings about the printing of BJP’s campaign booklets in Urdu.

The state has an Urdu Sahitya Academy. However, this academy is considered an institution working for Muslims. The condition of the Urdu Academy is such that there is no fund, no office, no staff. Urdu language centers, Urdu schools, Urdu speaking teachers, Urdu homes are not given funds and space. The BJP government has closed the Urdu monthly ‘Lok Rajya’, which has been running for five decades. MLA Raees Shaikh has asked why the BJP, which is so hostile to the Urdu language and Muslims, should regret the Urdu Muslim votes at the time of elections? Urdu is not the language of any religion. Urdu speaking writers and lyricists have contributed a lot to the development of Bollywood. There are 75 lakh Urdu speakers in the state and 25 Urdu dailies are published in the state daily. MLA Raees Shaikh has advised the BJP to curb its conspiracy to spread hatred on the basis of language and religion for selfish politics.

Continue Reading

Mumbai Press Exclusive News

After the Andhra Pradesh Hedma encounter, Venugopal Bhupathi’s appeal to lay down arms, it is not possible to change the situation through violence

Published

on

Venugopal alias Bhupati had surrendered in Mumbai Gadchiroli, now after the encounter of Maoist Hedma, he has released a video and appealed for the second time that there is a need to put down weapons and work among the common people, there is a need to fight a legal battle for the rights of the people through democratic means.

Venugopal, after releasing his latest video, has made a heartfelt appeal to the Maoists that the way they are living with the common people after surrendering, there is a need to fight for development through democratic means. After surrendering, the Maoist said that his faith in democracy has been restored, now the situation has changed, there has been a change in the previous situation and the current situation. Along with this, the lives of many comrades have been lost and in such a situation, the lives of 6 comrades including Hedma have been lost, so now it is necessary to give up arms because it is impossible to continue the war through weapons and violence. Now we need to focus on development work along with the government in a democratic way and work for the rights of the people. This is our responsibility. Therefore, you can also contact me. Venugopal has appealed to the comrades for the second time to give up violence and lay down arms. Earlier, he had appealed to surrender in Gadchiroli because the Maoists had started calling Bhupati a traitor. Bhupati had denied this too and invited them to give up arms. Similarly, he has invited the Turks to lay down arms for the second time. A video of Venugopal Bhupati is viral in which he is saying that now the situation has changed, so the situation cannot be changed through violence, the path of non-violence is better for him.

Continue Reading

Trending