Mumbai:

Hoping to repeat the BJP’s success in Haryana, the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP coalition in Maharashtra, which is seen as facing an uphill battle in the Assembly polls expected to be held later this year, has reached out to two key groups – the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

On Thursday, the Maharashtra cabinet took several key decisions, including approving an ordinance giving constitutional status to the state Scheduled Caste Commission and giving its nod to a proposal urging the Centre to hike the income criterion for inclusion in the creamy layer among OBCs from Rs 8 lakh a year to Rs 15 lakh.

A statement from the office of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the cabinet approved a draft ordinance to accord constitutional status to the Maharashtra State Scheduled Caste Commission. The ordinance, the statement said, would be tabled in the next session of the state legislature and added that 27 posts had been approved for the panel.

A proposal to request the Union government to increase the income limit for inclusion in the ‘creamy layer’ category to Rs 15 lakh per year from the current Rs 8 lakh was also passed. 

A non-creamy layer certificate, stating that the family income of a person is below the prescribed limit, is needed to get reservation benefits in the OBC category.

Lok Sabha Learnings?

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in the state, which comprises the Congress, the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP and the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, had stunned the ruling coalition, known as the Mahayuti, by winning 30 of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP, whose tally was 23 in the last general elections, was reduced to just nine while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP managed to win only one seat.

One of the reasons attributed to the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s big victory was that it managed to get its caste combinations right and Thursday’s cabinet decisions are seen as a way of making a dent in that. The decisions are also being read as a means of blunting the Congress and the INDIA alliance’s attack on the NDA during the Lok Sabha elections that it wanted to end reservations and was seeking over 400 seats to do so. 

The BJP eventually managed to win 240 constituencies while the NDA was comfortably over the majority mark of 272 seats with a tally of 293. 

Ahead of the elections in Haryana, where the BJP was perceived to be on the back foot after ruling the state for two consecutive terms, the state government had hiked the creamy layer ceiling from Rs 6 lakh to 8 lakh. The decision is seen as having contributed to the party managing to defy exit poll predictions and beat anti-incumbency to win 48 seats, two more than the majority mark in the 90-member Assembly.

Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leaves the House floor after being ousted as Speaker of the House at the Capitol in Washington on October 3, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Kevin McCarthy becomes the first speaker ever to be ousted from the job in a U.S. House vote

Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown, a first in U.S. history that was forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and threw the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. Mr. McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, forced the vote on the “motion to vacate,” drawing together more than a handful of conservative Republican critics of the speaker and many Democrats who say he is unworthy of leadership.

Delhi Police arrest NewsClick founder, HR head in alleged terror case

The Delhi Police on October 3 arrested Prabir Purkayastha, founder and Editor-in-Chief of news portal NewsClick and its Human Resources head Amit Chakraborty in an alleged terror case. Deputy Commissioner of Police (PRO) Suman Nalwa said that a total of 46 “suspects”, including nine women, were questioned and their phones, laptops and devices seized for further examination. She added that proceedings were on and two persons had been arrested thus far.

Arguments in EWS verdict may serve as a shot in the arm for seeking more quota post Bihar caste survey

Arguments employed by the Supreme Court in its majority verdict to uphold the 10% economically weaker sections (EWS) quota for the “poorest of the poor” among forward castes can paradoxically become a stimulus for the backward classes to seek reservation over and above the 50% ceiling limit on the basis of the data published after the Bihar caste-based survey. The EWS judgment had excluded the “poorest of the poor” among the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes from the ambit of 10% quota.

PM draws BJP campaign lines for Assembly polls, one rally at a time

The dates for the Assembly polls in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram are yet to be announced but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rallies and meetings have already set the contours of the BJP election campaign.

Despite early gains of Swachh Bharat Mission, toilet use declining since 2018-19: World Bank paper

A departmental working paper by the World Bank on the progress of the Swacch Bharat Mission – Gramin (SBM-G) has now found that despite “breathtaking” gains made by the programme to bring toilet access to rural India since 2014-15, when it began, there has been a clear trend of regular toilet use declining in rural India from 2018-19 onwards, with the largest drop being seen among Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe socio-economic groups.

Black day for Indian democracy: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee after release from police detention

“Today is a black day for Indian democracy,” TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said as he and other party leaders were released by the police on Tuesday night, hours after being detained during a sit-in at the Union Rural Development Ministry office here. Mr. Banerjee said Tuesday’s incident will stand as an example of ‘New India’ as public representatives were “dragged and manhandled” by Delhi Police and journalists questioning the government were booked under the anti-terror law UAPA.

IAF looking at procurement contracts worth over ₹2.5 lakh crore, says Air chief

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is looking at procuring 97 additional indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A fighter jets at an estimated cost of ₹1.15 lakh crore, Air Chief Marshal V. R. Chaudhari said on October 3. The procurement will take the LCA-MK1A fleet strength to 180. The IAF is looking at several contracts worth ₹2.5 lakh crore to ₹3 lakh crore in the next few years, he said.

Armenia’s parliament votes to join the International Criminal Court, straining ties with ally Russia

Armenia’s Parliament voted on Tuesday to join the International Criminal Court, a move that further strains the country’s ties with its old ally Russia after the court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over events in Ukraine. Moscow last month called Yerevan’s effort to join the ICC an “unfriendly step,” and the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Armenia’s ambassador.

Trudeau says Canada not looking to ‘escalate’ situation, vows to engage constructively with India

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Canada was not looking to “escalate” the situation with India amid the diplomatic row between the two countries over the killing of a Khalistani separatist and asserted that his government will continue to have “constructive relations” with New Delhi. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Mr. Trudeau also said that it’s important for Canada to have diplomats on the ground in India, amid a report by London-based Financial Times that New Delhi wants as many as 41 of 62 remaining Canadian diplomats out of the country, the Toronto Sun newspaper reported.

Maldives president-elect says he’s committed to removing the Indian military from the archipelago

The President-elect of the Maldives said he will stick to his campaign promise to remove Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago state, promising he would initiate the process. Mohamed Muizzu told his supporters gathered Monday night at a celebration of his election victory that he wouldn’t stand for a foreign military staying in the Maldives against the will of its citizens.

Indian outbound tourism market to cross $15 billion in 2023, says NIMA chief

Post Covid, the outbound tourism market has been growing steadily and this growth momentum is expected to continue till about 2032, an industry executive said. “India’s outbound tourism market is surging and set to reach $15.2 billion in 2023, with an anticipated 11.4% CAGR through 2032,” said Gajesh Girdhar, Chairman, Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA) at travel show BLTM 2023. “This growth is driven by Indians, particularly millennials, eager to explore international destinations,” he added.

Hangzhou Asian Games | Tejaswin shatters decathlon national record to win silver

Ten events over two days in competitive sports sounds fanciful unless one is talking about decathlon, perhaps the most difficult of athletic events. On October 3, Tejaswin Shankar broke the 12-year old national record in decathlon en route to winning silver at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, becoming the only Indian to hold national records in two different field events.