NEWS

After hearing the problems faced by the Matang community, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said that he would soon lead a delegation of members from the community to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss its various demands.

Athawale was speaking at a state-level meeting of the Matang community organised by leader Hanumant Sathe in Pune on Monday. “There is demand to declare Bharatratna to reformist Annabhau Sathe, reservation for Matang community. I will soon arrange a meeting of leaders from the community with the Prime Minister,” said the Minister of State for Social Justice Department.

He said some of the problems faced by the Matan community should be resolved by the state government. “The Annabhau Sathe Mahamadal of the state government is non-functional from the last six years. I will urge the state government to make it functional again,” Athawale said.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court is expected to pass its order on the bail plea of standup comedian Munawar Faruqui in the next two-three days, according to their advocate. The Indore bench of the High Court heard the plea of Faruqui, who was arrested by the police for allegedly insulting Hindu deities during a show.

Faruqui and four others were arrested last month after the son of a BJP MLA filed a complaint accusing Faruqui of passing indecent remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a show. A local court had then sent them to judicial custody.

According to agencies, during the hearing today, Justice Rohit Arya told Faruqui, "But why you take undue advantage of other's religious sentiments and emotions. What is wrong with your mindset? How can you do this for the purpose of business?”

Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday made more changes within his Cabinet to contain dissent, which threatens to rattle his two-year-old government.

In the latest set of changes, Yediyurappa ceded to demands by health minister K Sudhakar who wanted the medical education portfolio restored. Sudhakar, one of the 17 turncoats who brought down the HD Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S)-Congress coalition government and helped Yediyurappa to power, had publicly aired his disappointment after being stripped of the medical education portfolio.

Sudhakar had led talks with the chief minister on behalf of other turncoat ministers like K Gopalaiah, N Nagaraju (MTB) and KC Narayana Gowda.

JC Madhuswamy was allocated tourism, ecology and environment portfolios as reparations for removing him from law, parliamentary affairs and minor irrigation.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot as on Saturday said that if LDF wins in Kerala, then Modi’s dream of Congress-free India will come true.

Gehlot who reached Thiruvananthapuram as AICC’s observer to coordinate the poll activities of Congress in Kerala,while addressing the party men in Indira Bhavan here, said “In every five years, Kerala witnesses a regime change .

UDF and LDF form government intermittently. Our fight is against BJP. In Bengal, Congress is cooperating with CPI-M .