Mumbai: Manoj Jarange’s hunger strike for Maratha reservation has entered its 18th day, and he is marching towards Mumbai with his convoy; however, the Mumbai Police have refused to grant permission for the hunger strike and have rejected his application. The Maratha Morcha had sought permission to hold the hunger strike at Mumbai Azad Maidan starting September 19. Although Manoj Jarange-Patil has set out for Mumbai with his convoy, the police have denied permission for the protest.
Explaining the reasons for the refusal and the rejection of the application, the Mumbai Police stated that the Maratha community had previously organized a protest at Azad Maidan where they continued the demonstration even after the permitted timeframe had expired. This caused significant inconvenience to Mumbai’s citizens and paralyzed normal public life, leading to traffic and law-and-order issues. Furthermore, 13 FIRs were registered in the Azad Maidan area during that protest, as rules and regulations had been violated. Rejecting Manoj Jarange-Patil’s application, the police stated that the Ganesh Utsav festival is currently underway in Mumbai (from September 14 to 26), drawing large crowds of devotees; a Maratha reservation rally would attract further crowds, raising concerns about the disruption of civic order. The police cited potential law-and-order issues and inconvenience to citizens amidst the congestion as grounds for the rejection. They further noted that while Azad Maidan has a capacity for 5,000 protesters, the call has gone out to hundreds of thousands—or even millions—to attend, creating a significant risk of disorder and traffic disruption. Despite the Mumbai Police’s categorical refusal to grant permission, Manoj Jarange-Patil remains adamant in his stance and has already departed from Jalna with his convoy.

Mumbai, Sep 15: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday defended Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid the controversy surrounding his remarks on the Hindi language, accusing the opposition of selectively interpreting his speech and taking his comments out of context.

The controversy erupted after Amit Shah, speaking at the Rajbhasha Sammelan in Navi Mumbai, described Maharashtra as a leading multilingual state and said there was no reason to oppose learning an additional national language alongside one’s mother tongue. The remarks triggered criticism from Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Expressing indirect disapproval, MNS Chief Raj Thackeray posted a cryptic message on social media, stating, “A cow does not die from a crow’s curse. That is all for now.”

Responding to criticism, CM Fadnavis, speaking to reporters, clarified that Shah explicitly emphasized the importance of the mother tongue and highlighted the rightful status of Marathi in Maharashtra. He urged political leaders to avoid taking statements out of context.

On the Mumbai Police denying permission for activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s rally, CM Fadnavis stressed that maintaining law and order remains a priority, particularly during the upcoming festival season.

He noted that fresh applications will be reviewed on merit, adding that the state government has already accepted several of Jarange’s demands while others remain pending before the court.

On reports of a new CBI FIR naming political figures in connection with the Disha Salian case, CM Fadnavis stated he has not yet reviewed the document. He noted that the CBI is acting pursuant to High Court directions and advised against premature speculation while the legal process takes its course.

CM Fadnavis said that the state cabinet on Tuesday approved several key decisions to support sugarcane farmers, strengthen cooperative sugar factories, and improve governance scheme evaluations.

Among the major announcements was the provision of soft loans to cooperative sugar mills, the establishment of the Maharashtra Technical Assistance Cell (‘Maha-Tech’), and a historic decision regarding agricultural land returns in Ahilyanagar district.

To provide financial stability to distressed cooperative sugar factories, the state government approved soft loans. This capital support will help sugar mills clear pending Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) dues owed to farmers for the 2025–26 crushing season and ensure smooth preparations for the upcoming 2026–27 season, said the CM.

The Cabinet approved the creation of the Maharashtra Technical Assistance Cell (‘Maha-Tech’) to evaluate and optimise state government schemes.

Implemented in collaboration with IIM Mumbai and the Center for Planning and Policy Research, the cell will conduct rigorous evaluations of 25 key state policies and 25 major welfare schemes over the next year to enhance decision-making and delivery effectiveness.

In a significant relief for farmers in Haregaon village (Shrirampur taluka, Ahilyanagar district), the Cabinet decided to return lands currently held by the Maharashtra State Farming Corporation to their original owners. Necessary amendments to the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands Act, 1961 were approved to facilitate this transfer.

The cabinet also approved a complete exemption of stamp duty on the lease deed registration for the Nashik branch of the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad (located in the Nashik Municipal Corporation building) to establish a study center and library.

The cabinet gave clearance for the free transfer of 6,240.30 sq meters of government land to the Arvi Municipal Council in Wardha district for the construction of a commercial complex.

Further, the cabinet sanctioned amendments to the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965.

The cabinet also gave administrative approval and expenditure for creating four new administrative posts for the Chairman’s office of the Mumbai Police Housing Township Project.

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Patiala House Court on Tuesday granted three weeks’ interim bail to self-styled “influencer” Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is in judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a minor activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of the Patiala House Court passed the order granting Bhardwaj interim relief.

The development comes a day after the court had reserved its order on Bhardwaj’s regular bail plea. During the hearing on Monday, the court had questioned the Delhi Police on whether Bhardwaj had used caste-indicative words at the time of the alleged incident. The prosecution had submitted that the initial complaint did not mention the use of any such language and that the allegation was made subsequently when the complainant’s statement was recorded again, following which provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were added to the FIR.

Bhardwaj’s counsel had sought bail, while the prosecution opposed the plea. Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Kumar, father of a minor protester, during a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in July.

The police had earlier said that the injuries sustained by the victim were “simple” in nature and were allegedly caused by a steel bracelet.

The FIR invokes relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and provisions relating to criminal intimidation.

The development comes days after the Patiala House Court had declined an out-of-turn hearing on Bhardwaj’s bail plea and listed it for September 14.

Bhardwaj was held in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district on September 4, hours after representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) met senior Delhi Police officials and demanded his arrest.

The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhardwaj challenging his arrest in the alleged assault case.

A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja rejected the petition after the Delhi Police submitted that it was not maintainable as Bhardwaj had already been sent to judicial custody.

The CJP had also demanded the invocation of an attempt-to-murder charge, with the police stating that the provision would be considered after obtaining an expert medical opinion.

A separate FIR was also registered against Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the complaint of the minor activist, who alleged online rape threats and harassment.

The controversy erupted after a purported viral video in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had physically assaulted the father of the minor activist during the Jantar Mantar demonstration and allegedly said that he was let off because of his “political connections”.

Bhardwaj later told the media that he had allegedly acted in self-defence.

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (LJP-RV) chief Chirag Paswan had said that his name was “misused” by Bhardwaj in the purported video. Paswan had said that he filed an official complaint against Bhardwaj and would ensure justice for the minor victim and her family.