Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with BJP’s booth-level workers from South Goa parliamentary constituency through tele-conferencing on January 20.
Around 4,000 booth-level workers would attend the interaction to be held at a school ground in Margao town of South Goa, located around 35 km from Panaji, BJP Lok Sabha member Narendra Sawaikar told reporters on Wednesday.
Sawaikar, who represents South Goa constituency in the Lok Sabha, expressed confidence that the BJP will retain both the parliamentary constituencies (the other being North Goa) from the state in the forthcoming general elections.
“Goa has witnessed a big development push as the BJP has been at the helm at the Centre and in the state,” he said.
Various infrastructure works, including the construction of bridges, are among the highlights of the Union government’s performance, he added.
Amidst the fever of elections across the nation from Panchayat to states to the Centre, all the political parties are leaving no stones unturned to come to power. But since the BJP has come back to power, after a sabbatical of 10 years, the party is determined to win them all, by hook or crook. In a new shock to BJP ahead of the elections, a huge cache of weapons was seized from a shop owned by BJP leader in Mumbai have hit the headlines. However, the question here arises that can this word prove to be a drawback to the party that earlier promised for clean governance?
When Afternoon Voice called the CMO asking why the leader was not expelled from the party and why the CM of the state, who’s also a BJP leader, is maintaining silence on such crucial issue ahead of the 2019 general elections, while the CM was unavailable for comment, his office bearers too maintained blatant silence to our queries.
Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde stated, “Kalyan and Dombivali which was earlier popularly known for its cultural activities will now be known as a criminal hub. Strict action should be taken against the BJP leader interrogating him on how and where he got the weapons from. As claimed, if the ammunition are kept for business purposes, he must be having a legal license. Since it’s not, there must be some illegal intention behind that.”
On Wednesday, the police have recovered around 180 weapons including swords, knives and kukris, worth Rs 1.86 lakh during a raid at a fashion products shop in Dombivli district owned by BJP leader Dhananjay Kulkarni. The raid was conducted on early Wednesday following a tip-off, the official said, adding that the owner of the shop has been arrested. The weapons were kept on sale at the shop named Tapasya House of Fashion, which deals in fashion and cosmetic products, Sanju John, senior inspector of Kalyan unit of Thane Crime Branch, said.
“During the raid, around 170 weapons, including air guns, 10 swords, 38 press button knives, 25 choppers, nine kukris, nine guptis (bladed weapon concealed in a wooden case), five knives, three axes, one sickle, were recovered,” he said.
As per the reports, the outlet has been in operation over the last seven months. According to police, the accused had procured the arms from Crawford Market in south Mumbai, as well as from Punjab and Rajasthan. Kulkarni was on Wednesday produced before a local court, which remanded him in judicial custody at Kalyan Court.
BJP spokesperson Shweta Shalini said, “According to my knowledge, the weapons found with Dhananjay Kulkarni were air guns and brought for the purpose of his personal business use. BJP will never support such criminals nor the party is linked with any such illegal works. The investigation is on and soon the truth will come out. In case, if weapons were brought for the illegal reasons, justice will be done.”
NCP MLC Vidya Chavan stated, “BJP is becoming an organisation that supports the criminals and it’s a hub for the leaders that are involved in crimes. The saffron party is always ahead to provoke communal violence ahead of the elections. Looking at the history of the BJP leaders like its party President and the PM, Dhananjay Kulkarni is also following their footsteps and ideology. The BJP-led government always tries to shut such cases. The party is at back foot both at the Centre and State; hence, by creating violence, they are trying to gain the vote bank which they have always been doing.”
In a similar case, earlier in August last year, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police arrested Vaibhav Raut, who was a suspected member of a right-wing Hindu organisation, Sanatan Sanstha at Nalasopara in Palghar district near Mumbai and seized eight crude bombs and explosives from his house. Nonetheless, in a recent revelation where BJP leader was caught red-handed with arms and ammunition, many fingers are being pointed out at Kulkarni for his connections with the outfit linked to two high profile murder cases, including that of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, and also terror activities in Goa and Maharashtra.
Congress MLA Arif Naseem Khan commented, “Until now, wherever raid has been conducted, the accused are linked to either BJP or Sangh Parivar. Their agenda is to create violence and riots in the nation; in this case, the accused arrested is also somewhere linked to BJP and the party is linked to Sangh Parivar and has brought the weapons for the same purpose. The right-wing organsiations are harmful to this country. There has been no conclusion on any such previous matters like the most recent one, where a Sanastha member from Nalasopara was arrested but currently there is no update on it and the cases are being manipulated. The ruling party is supporting all the criminal-minded people.”
Recently in the assembly, BJP faced a major flow and is already biting the dust in all its bastions, while the Congress and other oppositions are making all efforts to dethrone the saffron party. However, the Congress has managed to recover its sheen and their leaders are not giving any opportunity to take a dig at them, be it corruption or other cases. The opposition is looking out for a chance to return to power; in such a scenario, BJP and its leaders need to be more careful in their conduct.
Justice (retired) B.G. Kolse-Patil expressed, “In our country, BJP and Sangh Parivar are the masterminds behind all the riots that have taken place after 1993. Dhananjay Kulkarni is caught, however, the mastermind behind this is yet to be caught. Since the elections are near, BJP is planning to create communal riots. In the past, BJP created violence in Bhima-Koregaon and no action was taken against the main accused Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote and they were released soon. Similarly, in this case, also, Dhananjay will also be released soon without any investigation. BJP and Sangh Parivar always want to create riots and never want this country to be in peace.”
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A bacchanalia of self-destruction is underway in the BJP. The party that claims to be different has many skeletons in their back yard. Our Prime Minister who promised the people of India about intolerance towards criminal and corrupt politicians are now energetically backing his ministers who brazenly intervened in the CBI’s investigations into scams. He keeps silent on all those politicians who have committed blunders. BJP in its nature has always taken a U-turn on every promise that they made to the voters during the 2014 election campaigns.
This is not the first time that a BJP leader is arrested for keeping arms. Nearly 108 types of weapons including guns, swords, machetes, and knives were recovered from the shop of the BJP leader Dhananjay Kulkarni in Maharashtra’s Thane. However, the State, as well as the Central BJP governments, have maintained silence. The weapons were recovered in a raid conducted by the Kalyan Crime Branch. Kulkarni is the Deputy Chief of BJP in Dombivali (Thane). He has been sent to judicial custody.
In a similar case, a few months ago, the BSF personnel recovered a pistol, live ammunition, and contraband drugs from a residential house in Tarapur area of Dhanpur constituency, an area very close to the India-Bangladesh border. Commandant of the 145 battalion of the BSF recovered the arms and ammunition from the house of Abdul Rahman, who is a BJP leader. A large number of arms and ammunition that was supposed to be smuggled across the India-Bangladesh border before the Assembly election in Tripura was recovered from his house. Rahman is an active BJP worker and he has contested the 2015 Panchayat elections as a BJP candidate. This is a very dangerous trend; go to any state, some or the other violence cases are lodged against the BJP leaders but our beloved Prime Minister has no time to sack them or condemn these acts. Ahead of the elections, if such things are hitting headlines, one can imagine what kind of violence is expected in the future. Kalyan Crime Branch conducted raid early on Wednesday morning on the shop of the BJP’s Dhananjay Kulkarni leading to the recovery of a huge arsenal from the premises. Kulkarni was in the business of procuring the weapons from Mumbai and selling it to the local goons in Kalyan and Dombivli. He was an arms mafia and how can BJP ever entertain such candidates as their leaders?
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari was so right in saying that the BJP has so much power that it can change a criminal into Maharishi Valmiki. He was speaking at the Maharashtra BJP’s two-day annual convention. Arrogance, lust for power, and religious bigotry have unfortunately made these politicians inhuman, ignoring thousands of years of our heritage, our culture of tolerance and acceptance; and our ability to assimilate with fellow human beings. The foot soldiers of the political parties are bullies who always pick on those of our countrymen who are simple voters. Unfortunately, over a period of time, our past and present political leaders have encouraged them to do only their bidding and not what they are trained to do, viz. upholding the laws of the land. One can cite the innumerable instances of recent years where the keepers of the law and order have not just shirked their duty but colluded with the culprits because they are either in awe of them or for currying their favours for rewards of one kind or the other. We are now in an election year of numerous elections from Panchayat to states to the Centre. Elections in our country have always been a no holds barred affair, but since the BJP has come back to power, after a sabbatical of 10 years, it is determined to win them all, by hook or crook. Unfortunately, all governments since Independence have failed the people; some more than the others. Dear voters, vote with responsibility by choosing a good leader who can think of your well-being and progress by not luring in false sentiments or promises.
The time has come that the saffron masterminds should learn from the grave blunders even once. They had got wild to lose Manipur and Goa. They were boastful about Bijepur in Odisha but had to bite the dust like never before. Their boss began to talk like an extortionist wherever he went to campaign for the party before polls. Lately, they lost major states recently. BJP workers were made to believe that the turn belongs to the BJP as Shah has made all arrangements to ensure win to form a monopoly government in MP, Rajasthan and, Madhya Pradesh, but they have to take the humiliating loss. No Modi magic or strategies of Amit Shah worked here. People are switching to Congress because of nonsensical blunders committed by the BJP leaders. To take voters in confidence, this is the time that BJP should come forward and must condemn the charlatans within the party. The more they maintain silence; more would be the doubts in the voters about PM’s integrity. As the BJP is already biting the dust in all its bastions, the Congress is celebrating. However, Congress has managed to recover its sheen. The most attacked Rahul Gandhi has matured to challenge the ruling party and the PM. Their leaders are maintaining their stand as such there is nothing fresh to take a dig at them, be it corruption or other cases. Congress is looking out for a chance of returning to power; in such a scenario, BJP and its leaders need to be more careful in their conduct.
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Telangana BJP President K Laxman on Wednesday took a swipe at opposition parties over their proposed grand alliance, saying that they were not able to decide their prime ministerial candidate.
On the other hand, the BJP would go to the people seeking their mandate to bring back the “decisive leadership” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he told reporters here.
There can be no comparison between the leadership of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Modi, he claimed.
Noting that the previous experiments of forming fronts at the national level had failed, he also said that the regional parties come together without a national prospective.
Though BJP did not fare well in the December 7 assembly elections in Telangana, the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls would be different, he added.
A tankar carrying inflammable chemicals overturned near Poladpur Mumbai Goa National highway no.66 on Wednesday morning. Two men suffered minor injuries .A minor leakage of the toxic chemicals caused difficulty in breathing and spread a panic among the locals. Traffic was affected for five hours as the toxic fumes spread in the Kashedi Ghat .
The truck carrying toxic chemicals is owned by Vinati Organics Mahad which was moving towards Gujarat while it upturned at a steep turn in Kashedi ghat .The fire fighters from Mahad MIDC, Kashedi traffic police reached the accident spot soon after the mishap. The Traffic was affected for five hours and was regulated in late evening.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova’s scintillating return to form continued on Wednesday as she powered into the Australian Open third round to set up a mouth-watering clash with defending champion Caroline Wozniacki.
Sharapova, who is seeded 30th at the tournament and seeking to recapture former glories after coming back from a drugs ban in 2017, brushed aside Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-1. The 31-year-old has only conceded three games en route to round three at Melbourne Park, where she won the title in 2008 and has reached the final a further three times.
I’m really happy the way I performed today and obviously it’s always great to be back on this court. Overall, I thought I played a really solid match, she said.
The pair emerged on Rod Laver Arena late in the night due to a long-running men’s match, meaning only a smattering of fans were there to cheer on the former world number one. While Sharapova served a 6-0, 6-0 “double bagel” to her first-round opponent Harriet Dart, Peterson initially promised more of a fight as she rallied against the Russian from the baseline.
Her aggressive approach was not enough to prevent the veteran going up a break in the third game, while offering the Swede nothing on her own serve. The gulf in experience began to tell as the match stretched into early Thursday, with Sharapova breaking Peterson again to take an iron grip on the first set, which she wrapped up after 34 minutes.
Sharapova’s blistering returns proved too much for world number 64 Peterson and the Russian soon ran away with the second set. Sharapova and third seed Wozniacki have met 10 times, with the record 6-4 in the Russian’s favour. But their most recent clash was in 2015, when Sharapova was still at her peak and the Dane was yet to win her coveted maiden Slam, which she has credited with boosting her confidence.
There is no love lost between the pair. Wozniacki questioned the way the WTA handled Sharapova’s return from her drugs ban in 2017 and was furious when she was bumped from the show court in favour of the Russian at that year’s US Open.
It prompted a withering response from Sharapova after Wozniacki’s elimination. I’m in the fourth round. I don’t know where she is. Their meeting promises to be the standout match in the first week of the women’s draw. It’s a tough third round but I’ve set up the challenge and I’m willing to take it, Sharapova said.
Alleging communalism of education, threat to campus democracy and privatisation of education, Left students’ unions will march to Parliament on February 18 against the government, a statement from the unions said on Wednesday. The unions, including SFI, AISF, AIDSO, PSU and AISM, have made a slew of demands from the government for the education sector.
Communalism has been another severe threat to the secular fabric of education system. Syllabuses have been changed drastically, under the BJP governments in various states, which replaced science and history with myths and puranas. Historical facts are distorted and the Sangh parivar agents are appointed as the head of the different institutions and universities, they alleged in the combined statement.
Their demands include the establishment of a nationwide fully state-funded and free common education system from kindergarten to post-graduation, increased government spending on education, protection of federal character of education, release of money for all pending scholarships immediately and establishment of more fellowships for research scholars from deprived backgrounds.
The budgets of most of the educational institutions in the country have been reduced continuously. We are protesting against stoppage of scholarships in IITs and other institutions, the shutting of hostels of students belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and the privatisation of education from KG to PG, said Mayuk Biswas of SFI, the CPI’s students union, at a press meet.
The statement alleged that campus democracy has been attacked heavily and a sense of fear and surveillance instilled in educational institutions, instead of an atmosphere of free speech, debate and discussion. There will be an intensive campaign throughout the country highlighting the issues of education as part of this Delhi Chalo call by the Left students’ organisations, the statement said.
If day one was for ascetics from akharas and those who braved the surging crowds, day two of the Kumbh Mela on Wednesday was for the many lakhs, including tourists, who lined up along the Sangam for a purifying dip. The pull of the water was as strong on Wednesday, the second day of the largest religious festival on earth, with officials estimating that more than one crore people took a plunge in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.
Tuesday was Makar Sankranti, one of the sacred bathing days of the 50-day fair. But ‘shahi snan’ or no ‘shahi snan’, there was no discernible dip in the number of people. It is called “the greatest show on earth” for a reason, said one visitor.
To be very honest, we were not expecting the crowds to be smaller. Also, most of the roads were open for visitors today. And then it is just the second day. We expect the same throughout the 50-day mela, not just for the ‘shahi snan’, said a police officer who didn’t want to be identified.
On Tuesday, the administration restricted the entry of all types of vehicles other than those required for essential services in the vicinity of Kumbh Nagari, the sprawling 32,000-hectare township that has come up on the banks of the river.
We came yesterday also but didn’t get to take the holy dip. Yesterday, it was a show of akharas. They took a lot of time, first with the procession and then the bath. Today is the day for tourists, said 28-year-old Ranjan Mitra.
Yes, I would have liked less crowd as there was just too much of pushing and pulling at the ghats, Mitra said as the loudspeakers blared out names of people lost in the mela – a familiar trope in many a Hindi film.
Like always, many people were seen making a beeline for the Juna akhara, an organisation of sadhus, and posing with Nagas, naked men with ash smeared on their body and long dreadlocks.
You come tomorrow. Today, I have to attend to my international disciples, said a Naga sadhu, readying his chillum.
Guilia, who came here from Italy with her friends, was one of the international disciples. Our train got delayed and we couldn’t reach on time yesterday for the sacred bath. We will be staying with Naga sadhus and exploring the mystic India, she said.
Breaking through the melee with their soulful rendition of bhajans was a group of blind students of the Shri Vrindavan Andh Mahavidyalaya who entertained the crowds.
I, of course, can’t see the expression on the face of the audience, but my guru ji said that people present enjoyed my music, said Ashok, 19, who has been blind since birth.
The mela will come to a close on Maha Shivratri, March 4.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that the information sought by a convict in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case regarding an Intelligence Bureau report purportedly calling for review of evidence in the matter, did pertain to human rights violation and asked the Central Information Commission to consider his request afresh.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru said the Central Information Commission (CIC) “erroneously” concluded that the information sought by the convict, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddique, did not pertain to allegations of corruption or human rights violation.
“The gravamen of his allegation is that he has been falsely implicated by the respondent despite the respondent having information that the petitioner was not involved in the July 11, 2006 blast case. This court is of the view that the said conclusion is erroneous, as the information does relate to violation of human rights,” the judge said.
With the observation, the court set aside the CIC’s March 26, 2018 order denying the information sought by the convict, and remanded the matter back to the commission for fresh consideration.
The order came on a plea by Siddique, represented by advocate Arpit Bhargava, seeking directions to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to provide him with the report which was tabled before the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2009.
Siddique, presently lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail, was given capital punishment for the July 11, 2006 serial blasts when seven RDX bombs ripped through as many Western line local trains in Mumbai leading to the death of 189 persons and injuring 829.
In his plea, filed through Bhargava, he had claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case which amounts to violation of his human rights and therefore, he needed the IB report which purportedly called for review of the evidence in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.
The IB, represented by advocates Rahul Sharma and
C K Bhatt, had opposed the plea saying since Siddique was convicted after trial by a court set up under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), he could not in another forum claim that he was falsely implicated.
The IB’s lawyers had also contended that the convict was “trying to create a parallel trial” since the death sentence to him was pending confirmation in the Bombay High Court.
The court while sending the matter back to CIC for a fresh consideration, made it clear that merely because information regarding allegations of corruption and human rights violations falls within the purview of RTI Act does not mean it has to be disclosed.
It said the commission will examine whether the information sought was relevant and if it found that it was not, then approval for disclosure would not be granted.
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and Maharashtra government on a plea challenging the Bombay High Court order which had refused to restrain authorities from taking steps regarding the proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial project in Arabian Sea.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul issued notices on the plea which has challenged the November 2 last year order of the high court.
Advocate Nishant R Katneshwarkar, who appeared for Maharashtra, said that while issuing notice on the plea, the bench orally told him to ask the authorities not to proceed with the construction activity there.
The petitioner NGO, Conservation Action Trust, had moved the high court challenging the February 23, 2015 order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) granting environmental and coastal regulation zone clearance to the Rs 3,600 crore project in Mumbai.
It had sought interim relief that stay should be granted on the order and the authorities restrained from taking further steps with regard to the project.
The petitioner had claimed in the high court that amendment in a clause of the Coastal Zone Notification 2011 by a February 17, 2015 notification of the MoEF&CC was “illegal” as it permitted the Centre to dispense with the requirement of public hearing in such projects.
The state government had opposed the plea in the high court and had said that clearances were taken for the project from different authorities.
It had argued that final environmental and CRZ clearance of February 23, 2015 was granted by the MoEF&CC after a detailed study and after ascertaining the compliance of all requirements and after following proper procedure.
The high court, while rejecting the petitioner’s request for interim relief, had noted in its order that state has said that the memorial project does not involve rehabilitation and resettlement of public, and the site is located away from human habitation.
“It also cannot be overlooked that the project is considered by the state government to be of national importance,” the high court had noted in its order.
