BackPolitical updates: Maharashtra criminalizes social boycott on Ambedkar’s birth anniversary
Maharashtra is set to become the first state in India to criminalize social boycott as the state assembly passed the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill
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North Bengal will go to polls in the second phase of voting on 17 April in West Bengal. Though Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been able to make inroads into the tea estates and Muslim-dominated areas in the region, she faces a tough fight by the informal Left and Congress alliance which, unlike TMC, has had a dedicated vote bank in North Bengal. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has little stake in the West Bengal election, it is actively trying to resolve the agrarian crisis in the country with the government set to launch an electronic trading platform for farmers in its efforts to build a national market. Meanwhile, on the 125th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, the Maharashtra government passed the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill that aims to crack down on extra-judicial bodies that promote social discrimination.
Mamata Banerjee faces North Bengal test
The TMC had swept the 2011 West Bengal assembly election, winning 184 out of 294 seats, but Left bastion North Bengal stood firm. After coming to power, Mamata Banerjee did a lot of development work in the area which has earned her supporters who were previously loyal to the Left. Five years later, the big question is whether the TMC can upstage the Left in North Bengal on Sunday when 56 constituencies go to polls in the second phase of the elections. Read the ground report here.
Jaitley says higher rainfall forecast could mean faster growth
India may grow at a faster pace this year if the latest predictions of higher rainfall in the country this year hold up, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday. “I have seen in the last two or three days the predictions seem to be much kinder to us this year, and if that were to happen, we are capable of...improving upon our growth rate," Jaitley said in a speech on the nation’s growth prospects at a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event in Washington. Read more
Narendra Modi to launch digital platform for trading farm produce today
Trading of farm produce in India is set to go digital as the government plans to introduce an electronic trading platform for farmers in its efforts to build a national market and double farm incomes by 2022. The e-platform called National Agriculture Market (NAM) will connect 21 mandis or markets from eight states in the first phase and will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. The move comes at a time when parts of rural India are reeling under drought and commodity prices have collapsed.
Social boycott to be a crime in Maharashtra
Maharashtra is set to become the first state in India to criminalize social boycott as the state assembly on Wednesday passed the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill. The passage of the bill comes on the eve of the 125th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar and aims to crack down on extra-judicial bodies like caste and community panchayats that promote social discrimination. Read more
Disproportionate assets case: SC to hear fresh plea against Mayawati
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a petition, seeking the registration of a fresh first information report against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati in a disproportionate assets case, spelling trouble for the former chief minister as she prepares for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 13 months. The petition was filed by Kamlesh Verma, a former BSP member. Read more
Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Rajpal Saini says the case was an attempt to defame Mayawati ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls
HC raises finger: IPL out of Maharashtra after 30 April
In a setback to the Indian Premier League, the Bombay high court on Wednesday directed all matches after 30 April to be shifted out of drought-hit Maharashtra. Thirteen matches, including the final, will be affected. The HC order came on a PIL filed by two NGOs on the “misuse" of water for 20 matches, nine of which were to be played in Pune, eight in Mumbai and three in Nagpur. Read more
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