Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said that the investigating agencies have got “some leads” and would soon catch the culprits, behind the grenade attack on a gathering at Nirankari Bhawan in Rajasansi village on Sunday.
Talking to media persons after visiting the blast site, Singh said, “We are taking this blast very seriously. A full investigation is going on. Some leads have been found and I am hopeful that we will soon catch the culprits.”
“In this case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the national forensic team are already on the blast site. It is difficult to say anything before the investigation is completed,” he said.
He also said that among the injured everyone was out of danger and free treatment was being provided to all of them. He also announced to give jobs to the victims of this incident. “We will give jobs to the injured and to a next of kin of those who have died in the blast,” he said.
The Punjab Chief Minister denounced any attempts to link this incident with a targeted attack on the ‘Nirankari sect.’
Continuing his tirade against Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Monday said the Gandhi scion was suffering from “Modi Phobia.”
Addressing an election rally here, Shah said, “Rahul has developed Modi phobia. He keeps on saying Modi-Modi in his speeches. Rahul wants to remove Modi, while we want to remove poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy from the country.”
Further sharpening his attack, Shah said, “Recently, he took Prime Minister Modi’s name 44 times in his 22-minute long speech. I wonder if he is campaigning for the BJP or for the Congress.”
Lauding the efforts of Prime Minister Modi, Shah assured that India would soon surpass the United Kingdom in terms of economy.
“By the time counting of elections is over, India would surpass the United Kingdom to become the fifth largest economy in the world,” he added.
The 230- assembly seats of Madhya Pradesh will go to polls on November 28. The results will be declared on December 11.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced the postponement of a November 22 opposition conclave in Delhi to chalk out details of the proposed anti-BJP front.
Emerging from an hour-long meeting with his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee here, Naidu told reporters that the fresh date for the meeting of non-BJP parties will be announced very soon.
Flanked by the Trinamool Congress chief, Naidu attacked the NDA government at the Centre alleging that institutions like the CBI, ED, Income Tax department, RBI and CAG are under “severe pressure”.
Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal governments had on Friday withdrawn the ‘general consent’ accorded to the CBI to conduct probe and raids in their states.
“We wanted to meet on November 22 earlier because of the elections… We wanted to make it before Parliament (winter) session.
“Those who are opposing the BJP will join and discuss. We will chalk out a programme to move forward take this momentum further on the agenda to protect the nation,” the Telugu Desam Party chief said, adding the fresh date for the meeting will be decided very soon.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed all the head of departments of the Delhi government to redress public grievances on “top priority”.
Kejriwal issued the directives while he held a review meeting with the HoDs on the functioning of the government’s Public Grievance Monitoring System (PGMS), an official statement said.
It said that the Chief Minister will hold meetings with the HoDs twice a month to personally review the functioning of the PGMS.
The department heads have been asked to review the cases of those individuals who are unsatisfied with the grievance redressal done by the respective department.
No complaint should be left unattended and it must be resolved within the time limit (15 days) specified by the department, it stated.
The government shared department-wise complaint data according to which 39,449 complaints were received against the Delhi Police between February 2015 to November 16 this year at the PGMS. Of which, 1,937 complaints were overdue which could not be resolved within 15 days of receiving the same.
A total of 2,59,512 complaints have been received in government departments during the same period.
It stated that 94,205 complaints were received at all the three municipal corporations ruled by the BJP.
“The chief minister will hold meetings with the HoDs on 15th and 31st (or whichever will be the last working day of the month) to personally review the PGMS functioning,” the statement said.
In the meeting, Kejriwal said, “Since the government stands committed towards public welfare, it is important that individual grievances of the residents of Delhi are duly addressed within the specified time limit given by each department.”
The CM also said, “It has to be the topmost priority of all the HoDs to ensure that no grievance remains unattended and after a grievance is resolved there should be no dissatisfaction of the citizens with the concerned department.”
The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would direct all the states to implement the draft witness protection scheme framed by the Centre in consultation with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench of justices A K Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer that the draft scheme, which has now been finalised, would be made into a law “in due course”, but till then the court should direct the states to start implementing it.
“We will pass an order. We will give directions to all the states to start implementing it (scheme),” the bench told Venugopal. The issue of the witness protection scheme had cropped up earlier when the top court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking protection for witnesses in rape cases involving self-styled preacher Asaram Bapu.
During the hearing on Monday, advocate Gaurav Agrawal, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, told the bench that the government has finalised the draft witness protection scheme after discussing it with all the states.
“Based on the inputs received from the majority of the states, a draft witness protection scheme is finalised in consultation with the NALSA,” Agrawal told the court.
He said that the scheme has three categories of witnesses based on the threat perception, and the states should start enforcing it.
In April this year, the Centre had informed the top court that it had framed a draft witness protection scheme and it was circulated among the states and Union Territories administration for comments.
The court had asked the Centre to finalise the scheme after getting a response from the states and Union Territories.
In November last year, the court had asked the Centre as to why a draft scheme cannot be formulated for witness protection in the country when specific provisions in this regard were already there in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act.
It had said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) could at least come out with a draft scheme for witness protection and had asked the Attorney General to give his suggestions on the issue.
The court had said that the witness protection scheme can be implemented for at least sensitive cases and the MHA could come out with a comprehensive plan.
The petitioners, who are witnesses in cases related to Asaram, have sought a probe into the instances of alleged attacks and disappearances of witnesses in these cases.
The top court had in March last year questioned Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the status of implementation of witness protection schemes till then and had directed them to provide security cover to witnesses in rape cases against Asaram, who is at present in jail.
While Uttar Pradesh has three such witnesses, Haryana has one.
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Monday paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died on August 16, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis describing him as a multi faceted personality who believed in uniting minds.
Moving a condolence motion in the lower House on the first day of the winter session, Fadnavis said Vajpayee believed political opponents were rivals and not enemies.
“He would always say there should be no differences in minds despite having differences in opinion. Pandit Nehru was the first to see potential in Vajpayee to lead the nation. Former PM Chandra Shekhar called him gurudev as Vajpayee’s personality was so huge that everyone could learn from him,” Fadnavis said.
The Maharashtra CM, during his speech, also highlighted the Pokhran nuclear tests that took place under the Prime Ministership of Vajpayee as well as the late Bharat Ratna’s efforts to have good relations with Pakistan.
“Vajpayee led an inspiring life. In his death we have lost a dream. He was an ocean of thoughts. He was beyond politics, religion and linguistic differences. The (Narendra) Modi government is working on the foundations laid by Vajpayee,” Fadnavis said.
The Leader of opposition in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said representing the country in the United Nations was a moment of greater pride for Vajpayee than becoming PM.
“He referred to (former PM) Indira Gandhi as Durga after the (1971) Bangladesh war. In an era in which political discourse has lowered, Vajpayee’s absence is being truly felt,” Vikhe Patil said.
The House also paid tributes to former state minister Anandrao Devkate, former minister of state Vasantrao Dhotre and former member Madhavrao Gaikwad.
Tributes were also paid to former members Keshavrao Pardhi, Vasudev Deshmukh, Shivajirao Nagwade, Vaijnathrao Akaat, Yadavrao Bhoir, Laxmanrao Jadhav, Vasantrao Thorat, Vithalrao Bhailume, Vasantrao Itkelwar and Vimal Rangnekar.
A Shiv Sena delegation Monday met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding that the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Corridor be named after its founding chief late Bal Thackeray.
The Rs 49,250 crore corridor, alternatively referred to as a super communication expressway, is 700 kilometres long and will pass through 392 villages spread over 11 districts in the state.
Sunil Prabhu, Sena MLA, told reporters that the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was completed during Sena-BJP rule and was conceptualised due to the vision of the late Sena chief.
“It is a good coincidence that the Mumbai Nagpur Samruddhi corridor is coming up during the tenure of this alliance government,” he said.
“The Mumbai Pune Expressway is named after the state’s first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan. The Mumbai Nagpur corridor is expected to change the economy of the state and it should be named after late Bal Thackeray,” he said.
The delegation comprised Industries Minister Subhash Desai, Transport Minister Diwakar Raote, Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam, Heath Minister Deepak Sawant, PWD Minister Eknath Shinde and ministers of state Ravindra Waikar, Dadaji Bhuse, Deepak Kesarkar, Gulabrao Patil, Vijay Shivtare, Arjun Khotkar.
A special NIA court here Monday directed that a copy of photographs and videos pertaining to the 2008 Malegoan blast be provided to Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, who is one of the accused in the case.
Purohit, in an application filed last week, had asked the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court to give him copies of photographs and videos related to the incident to prepare his defence.
During the argument on Monday, the prosecution objected to his plea, saying no other accused had asked for these documents and that this was a delay tactic.
However, special judge V S Padalkar directed the court registrar to provide a copy of the photographs and videos of the incident to Purohit.
The matter was then adjourned till November 21.
The photographs and videos are part of the charge sheets submitted by the prosecution in the case.
The special court had on October 30 framed terror charges against Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and five other accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, setting the stage for their trial to commence.
On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in Maharashtra’s Nashik district and located about 200 km from Mumbai.
The Maharashtra government on Monday tabled supplementary demands of Rs 20,326 croreon the first day of the winter session of the Legislative Assembly.
The supplementary demands include funds for Maratha reservations, which was announced by the state government Sunday, for a proposed committeeto recommend simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls as well as to provide relief to drought-hit farmers.
The government said supplementary demands included provisions required during the current financial year in respect of itemssanctioned by the Government in anticipation of the approval of the legislature and for repayment of Contingency Fund as well as additional expenditurelikely to be incurred during the remaining part of the year.
A fund of Rs 500 crorewill be provided for expenses to be incurred to implement Maratha reservation.
The Rs 5,000 crore advance drawn from the Contingency Fund on October 8 this year will be recouped through the supplementary demands.
Another Rs 2,200 crore for financial assistance to farmers in drought affected areas has been provided while a Rs 200 crore provision has been made for implementation of the Ayushman Bharat health scheme in the supplementary demands.
A sum of Rs 26 crore has been provided to the General Administration department (GAD) to hold Parliamentary polls.
This amount includes expenses connected to awareness programmes to be held for voters regarding EVM and VVPAT machines and checking of EVMs by the Electronics Corporation of India and Bharat Electronics Ltd.
Similarly, a fund of Rs 60 lakh will be provided for administrative expensesof a two-member committeeto be appointedto give recommendations to curb misuse of resources and conductsimultaneous polls for Parliament, Assembly and local bodies.
A supplementary demand of Rs 42 crore has been proposed for honorarium and office expenses of the Commission of Inquiry to probe the Bhima Koregaon violence, since the budgeted provision for this purpose was found inadequate.
It has been decided to provide a fund of Rs 12 crore for maintenance and repair of 206 “Hutatma Smaraks” (martyrs’ memorials) in the state.
Another Rs 19 crore will be allocated for additional funds for engine repairs of government aircraft and to cover the expenses of rental aircrafts for VVIP travel.
A provision of Rs 42 crore has been made for monetary relieffor people jailed during the Emergency, which was imposed between 1975 and 1977.
The supplementary demands included Rs 4.5 crore to be allocated to produce a biopic on social reformer and thinker Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
A sum of Rs 1.5 crore will be provided as additional fund for “secret services” of the police.
Australia’s towering pacers are at an advantage against the “not that tall” Indian batsmen, says visiting vice-captain Rohit Sharma but insisted that his team is ready to rewrite the script of the battle this time.
India start the tour with the T20 Internationals from November 21 here and Rohit said said it would a tough task to counter the fast pitches.
“India have always played either at Perth (venue for second Test from December 14-18 this time) or Brisbane. These two conditions are challenging and the Australians have tall bowlers who exploit those conditions and use it to their advantage,” he said.
“Indian batsman are generally not that tall, so it is not easy for us but the guys are determined to change things this time, we are ready to accept the challenge,” he asserted.
“It is challenging for our batsmen…But most of the guys have come to Australia before. So they understand the conditions. Of course their bowling attack will challenge us whichever format we play but as a batting unit, we are prepared,” Rohit said.
“We want to make it count this time around, there is a real good feeling inside the group. The motive is to seize all the moments and win.”
Stressing on the significance of putting up a good performance in Australia ahead of the 2019 World Cup, Rohit said: “When you do well in Australia, you feel good as a team and thinking about the World Cup ahead, it can only give you confidence winning in places like Australia.”
Rohit said everybody in the team needs to step up against a formidable side like Australia.
“Australia in Australia will always be dangerous without a doubt. In places like Australia you want the whole unit to come together, that is our focus,” he said.
“We have some quality bowlers, in particular, spinners, so we will try to challenge them with our spinners. They still have a quality batting line-up, so let’s see how we go.”
Rohit said that the idea behind landing up early here was to adapt to the conditions as much as possible.
“This time around, we want to change our fortunes and come out with some exceptional performances. It is not going to be easy but we have quality in our group.”
“I have done well in limited overs here but the challenge obviously is red-ball cricket which right now I am not thinking of, just want to do well in T20 format and take it forward where we go.”
“I am not thinking about anything else but to go out there and put up a performance which my team expects me to do.”
The three-Test series begins at Adelaide, followed by the second, third and fourth Tests in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney respectively.
