OBC leaders to meet on Sept 23 to explore ways to seek reservation in women's quota bill: Uma Bharti
Bhopal (PTI): Leaders from Other Backward Classes have agreed to a "big" meeting on Saturday to find ways to seek quota for OBCs in the just-cleared women's reservation bill, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti has said on X.
The former Madhya Pradesh CM, however, has not shared details about the time and venue of the meeting of the OBC leaders on September 23.
The bill to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women received the parliamentary nod on Thursday as the Rajya Sabha unanimously voted in its favour.
"Now, if a path is to be chalked out to raise the demand for another amendment for reservation for OBCs, a discussion (in that regard) was held with backward class leaders from in and around Bhopal. It was decided to call another big meeting on September 23," she wrote on X, sharing pictures of those who were part of the meeting at her Bhopal residence.
Last year, Bharti took to the streets in her party-ruled MP expressing her unhappiness against the opening of liquor shops near public places. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government later tweaked its excise policy to discourage drinking. It also closed all the 'hathas' (small bars attached to liquor shops) across the state in one go.
Recently Bharti expressed her displeasure after she was apparently not invited to the launch of the BJP's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' from Chitrakoot in Satna district on September 3.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
