Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday demanded the Centre to resolve the issue of Maratha reservation by calling a special session of Parliament.

Addressing a press conference here, he said all Union ministers from Maharashtra should raise the reservation issue in the cabinet meeting.

He also urged the Union ministers to resign if the (Maratha reservation) demand is not met.

“This issue should be addressed by the Centre. This can only be resolved in the Lok Sabha. I have been saying this and I say this again that the government should call a special session of Parliament (to resolve the issue),” Mr Thackeray said.

“Even if a special session of the state legislature is required it should be convened,” he added.

The Sena (UBT) president said there was unease in the state over the Maratha reservation issue.

Incidents of violence erupted in parts of Maharashtra over the past few days with the Maratha quota supporters vandalising the residences and offices of some politicians.

Activist Manoj Jarange has been on an indefinite fast since October 25 at his Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district to demand Maratha reservation.

The modification window for Indian Institute of Technology Joint Admission Test for Masters 2024 (IIT JAM 2024) applications is set to open on November 20, 2023, at jam.iitm.ac.in. The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), which is organising Institute the test next year, will allow registered candidates to make changes to their applications on the official website – jam.iitm.ac.in. The IIT JAM 2024 exam will be held on February 11, 2024. The exam will be conducted in two shifts, with Chemistry, Geology, and Mathematics in the morning session and Biotechnology, Economics, Mathematical Statistics, and Physics in the afternoon. Candidates can choose to appear in one or two test papers, but they can only take two papers if they are not scheduled at the same time.

Following the examination, candidates will be able access their responses and the answer key through the JOAPS login. The results will be announced on March 22, 2024, and scorecards will be available on April 2, 2024. The application for admission will commence on April 10, 2024.

The JAM 2024 examination will take place in eight zones, and the list of cities for each zone can be found on the official website. Candidates are required to specify their first, second, and third city choices during the application process. Once the first city is selected, the zone will be alloted, and candidates can then choose their second and third choices only from within the same zone.

The JAM 2024 is open to all nationals (Indian and foreign), and there is no age restriction. It is a computer-based test (CBT) to be conducted in seven Test Papers at the undergraduate level. Test Papers will have three types of questions: (i) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), (ii) Multiple Select Questions (MSQ), and (iii) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions. Candidates may appear in ONE or TWO Test papers.

Candidates qualifying in JAM 2024 are eligible to apply for admission to around 3,000 seats in IITs for the academic year 2024-25. No additional evaluation process, such as a suitability test or interview, is required for admission to the programmes in Admitting Institutes under JAM 2024.

JAM Scores are used for admission to programmes such as MSc, MSc(Tech), MS Research, MSc(MTech) Dual Degree, Joint MSc-PhD, and MSc-PhD Dual Degree in various institutes.

A former BJP MP has lost his son in Lucknow’s SGPGI Hospital, allegedly due to shortage of beds at the Emergency Ward. The grieving father sat on a protest at the ward with his son’s dead body, till the government suspended the doctor in question and promised further action.  

Bhairon Prasad Mishra’s son, 41-year-old Prakash Mishra, was suffering from a kidney ailment and was taken to the SGPGI’s Emergency ward around 11 PM yesterday.  Mr Mishra claims no bed was available and the Emergency medical officer did nothing to help. His son died shortly after, the former MP has claimed.

Later, Mr Mishra — who represented Banda in parliament — sat on a protest outside the Emergency ward with his son’s body.   

“I have lost my son, but I sat there so these guys fall in line. After me, some 20-25 people got the treatment… When I was sitting on protest everybody was complaining about him. He should be punished,” he told reporters.

The hospital authorities have promised strict action and formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter.  

“The doctor said to him to take him to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).  But there were no beds available. Don’t know why it was said… We have formed a committee. Strict action will be taken… The doctor has been suspended as of now,” said Dr RK Dhiman, the hospital chief.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the state’s BJP government over the incident. “It is not the hospital’s fault. But it is the fault of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Why no budgets are being given to hospital?” he said.  

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has promised strict action and visited the leader at his home. “This is an unfortunate incident. A three-member committee has been formed and the matter will be investigated thoroughly,” he said.