Let us strive to improve the patient-doctor ratio: BJP candidate Piyush Goyal 2
“It is my privilege that today I am thanking those who have saved the entire country during the covid era. I salute you for your noble contribution towards society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a roadmap to create a developed India. In the next 10 years, we all have to come together to realize Modiji’s dream. Today there are 23 AIIMS hospitals in India, today their number has increased significantly. There were 337 medical colleges in 2014 and today there are 706. There were 51 thousand seats in medical colleges, today they have become 1 lakh 60 thousand,” Union Minister and BJP North Mumbai Mahayuti candidate Piyush Goyal expressed at Doctors meetup held at Divine Banquet, Chikuwadi, Boriwali (w) Tuesday evening.
MP Gopal Shetty, MLA Sunil Rane, Ophthalmologist and Dr. Nimesh Mehta of North Mumbai Doctors Society (NMDS), Dr. Bipin Doshi, Dr. Prafulla Navalkar, Phoenix Hospital’s Director Dr. Saurabh Sangore, Dr. Shilpa Sangore, Dr. Yogesh Dubey along with large number of doctors and medical professionals were present.
Dr. Nimesh Mehta and Dr. Saurabh Sangore gave the introductory speech. MP Gopal Shetty thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the fact that India has made the Covid vaccine available to other countries during Corona. Goyal highlighted the need to emphasize on preventive measures, yoga practice as well as alternative medicine. Due to the vision of Modiji, today Ayushman Bharat Yojana has reached the poor and the number of beneficiaries is increasing.
Shrikant Shinde has failed to develop Kalyan, says UBT candidate Vaishali Darekar-Rane 4
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has declared candidates for 21 seats in Maharashtra, which will vote in five phases starting April 19. Shiv Sena (UBT) named two-time municipal corporator Vaishali Darekar-Rane as the party’s candidate from the Kalyan parliamentary constituency, challenging current MP and CM Eknath Shind’s son Shrikant Shinde.
Darekar-Rane previously fought the Lok Sabha election in 2009 when she was fielded as a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate and finished third, securing 1,02,063 votes. Anand Paranjpe, who was then with the Shiv Sena, won the election. This time Maharashtra CM Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde is contesting against her and people speculate it is challenging for Darekar.
When asked about her chances of winning this seat, she told Afternoon Voice, “Shrikant Shinde has not done any major development for the people of Kalyan; he has not even built any good government schools or hospitals to improve the quality of life of people in Kalyan.”
She added further that even though Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde was nobody, Uddhav Thackrey-led Shiv Sena has given him the seat and a sense of identity, while she added that the people of Thane who have supported Shiv Sena before will do it now.”
Unfortunately, Congress, the oldest political party in India, which had led India from the central stage for almost six decades, is now sinking brutally. The Congress suffered due to various political bloopers in the past timeline, which has led it to battle for its existence. Congress lacks ideology; Congress has been misrepresenting both the right and left stances, which has led to nothing but criticism of its party members. In the 80s, Indira Gandhi was successful in marketing her left-wing stance to the general populace, but since the BJP is in power with a firm Hindutva stance, the Congress is shifting towards the right stance and that has not only annoyed the cadre that supports Congress for its core ideals but also led to the party being taken as an ounce of salt by the masses.
The biggest reason for the Congress’s downfall is sentiments against “Hinduism” and “nationalism.” They have given these keywords to the BJP and hence the votes of most Hindus go to the saffron party. Since 2014, the scenario has been such that the nationalist voters gave their devoted votes to Modi, which is why even with less than 50 per cent of vote shares, the BJP could move the carpet. Many Congress veterans left the party and on the other hand, many tall leaders of different parties joined the BJP.
With the Lok Sabha elections nearing, the year has witnessed the departure of leaders from their respective parties citing multiple reasons, including negligence, differences in vision or ideology, and future gains, among others. The Gujarat Congress started suffering with the exit of former state party chief Arjun Modhwadia, which is just a glitch in the spectrum of leaders who have jumped on the political bandwagon.
The downfall Congress has seen in the last decade has been worse than what it saw after the emergency. After being a ruling party for two complete terms, it has now shrunk to such an extent that it cannot form an opposition. From a party with 404 seats in 1984, it has failed in the last two elections to cross the double-digit mark and has hardly been able to cross the half-century mark.
Arjun Modhwadia, former Gujarat Congress chief, is the latest in the line of leaders who quit the party, resigning just days before Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered the state. He felt “suffocated” and that ending his 40-year association with the Congress was a “respite.” Modhwadia, who was a sitting MLA and a prominent OBC face, has been among the most vocal critics of the BJP-led Gujarat government over the years, first as the Leader of the Opposition from 2004 to 2007 and then as the president of the GPCC from 2010 to 2014.
Ambarish Der Gujarat Congress Working President and former Rajula MLA Ambarish Der also quit the party with Modhwadia, citing the Congress leadership turning down the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya in January for his decision. Der announced that he would be joining the BJP, saying it was necessary to differentiate between the work of a political party and an NGO. Veteran leader Tapas Roy (67) announced he was leaving the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on March 4, declaring himself a “free bird.” Roy’s political sojourn began in Kolkata’s Surendranath College with the student organisation of the Congress in West Bengal, the Chhatra Parishad (CP). On a Congress ticket, he entered the state assembly in 1996 by winning a by-election from the erstwhile Vidyasagar segment in central Kolkata. Having joined the TMC in 2000, Roy was elected to the Assembly for the first time the next year, from Barabazar, before winning three times on the trot from Baranagar starting in 2011.
In one of the major setbacks to the Congress in Maharashtra, former chief minister Ashok Chavan quit the party to join the BJP. He said it was his personal decision to quit the party. He was with the Congress from birth. Chavan wanted to become the state unit president and had expressed this to the party leadership. “However, the party leadership wanted to stick with an OBC face ahead of general elections and all equations went haywire.
Deora’s were Congress loyalists for ages, but Milind Deora quit the Congress to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Deora was worried about the Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat, which he has contested the last four elections and represented from 2004 to 2014, going to the Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray, who is now the Congress’s ally. Deora lost Mumbai South to the Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant in 2014 and 2019, abruptly quitting as the Mumbai Congress president in the middle of the Lok Sabha campaign to focus on his efforts to win back the constituency.
Mumbai Congress’s high-profile face from the swank Bandra belt, Baba Siddique, joined the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Announcing his resignation on X, former minister and three-time MLA Siddique, 66, said: “I joined the Indian National Congress party as a young teenager and it has been a significant journey lasting 48 years.
Congress’s only MP from Jharkhand and the wife of former CM Madhu Koda, Geeta Koda, quit the party to join the BJP. Her exit has left the Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) ruling alliance with only one MP—Vijay Hansdak—from the state. Then comes the Bahujan Samaj Party’s Ambedkar Nagar MP, Ritesh Pandey, who resigned, alleging neglect, and joined the BJP.
Congress’s C. J. Chavda offered his resignation as the MLA from north Gujarat’s Bijapur constituency and is likely to join the BJP. Chavda, a three-time MLA, is a veteran Congress leader who held the post of chief whip in the previous Assembly when he was elected from the Gandhinagar North constituency. In 2022, Chavda changed his constituency and contested from Vijapur in Mehsana district. Chavda was also elected to the Gujarat Assembly from the Gandhinagar constituency in 2002.
Nagarkurnool MP Pothuganti Ramulu of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti joined the BJP along with his son Bharat Prasad. Speaking to The Indian Express, Ramulu said his decision was guided by the voters’ sentiments ahead of the parliamentary elections. Former BRS MP BB Patil from Zaheerabad also joined the BJP and has been fielded from the same constituency in the Lok Sabha elections by the saffron party. Although his exit jolted the BRS, the two-time MP from Zaheerabad was not being considered for his seat by the party, sources say.
BRS MP from Telangana’s Peddapalli, Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta, joined the Congress. Borlakunta, a one-time MP elected in 2019, joined the party in New Delhi. He was reportedly unlikely to be renominated by the BRS. BRS leader Manne Jeevan Reddy also joined the Congress along with Venkatesh, with both leaders eyeing Congress tickets to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Reddy, a former member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams board, was welcomed by All India Congress Committee general secretary K. C. Venugopal and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
Assam Congress working president and former Jorhat MLA Rana Goswami resigned from the party, formally joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. Goswami wrote to Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah, tendering his resignation as the APCC working president as well as a member of the Indian National Congress. Another Assam Congress working president, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, and Mangaldoi MLA Basanta Das declared support for the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government.
Sreenivasulu Reddy Andhra Pradesh YSRCP MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy quit the party, citing “self-respect” issues. Sreenivasulu, whose son has turned ‘approver’ in the Delhi excise scam case, is the fifth YSRCP MP to exit the party over the past few weeks. Five leaders from the YSRCP, namely Vallabhaneni Balashowry (Machilipatnam MP), K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju (Narasapuram), Lavu Sri Krishnadevaraya (Narasaraopeta), Sanjeev Kumar (Kurnool), and V Prabhakar Reddy (Rajya Sabha MP), exited the party in February. While Balashowry has joined the Jana Sena Party (JSP), the others have already joined JSP ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Rajya Sabha MP and former five-term Lok Sabha MP from Chhota Udepur, Congress leader Naran Rathwa, and his son, Youth Congress leader Sangramsinh Rathwa, as well as Ahmedabad Congress leader Dharmendra Patel, joined the BJP in Gandhinagar. Former working president of the Maharashtra Congress and ex-MLA Basavraj Patil joined the ruling BJP. Patil, who hails from Latur district in Marathwada, has represented the Ausa assembly constituency in 2009 and 2014. He lost to the BJP’s Abhimanyu Pawar in 2019. Since then, despite being made the party’s working president, Patil has been inactive in the party’s functioning. Patil, a Lingayat leader from Marathwada, is likely to contest from the Dharashiv Lok Sabha constituency.
A day after being expelled from the Congress, former MP Sanjay Nirupam hit out at the grand old party and claimed there is “tremendous arrogance” in the party leadership. Nirupam claimed that Congress is now history and has no future and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi is a merger of three “sick units.” There are five power centres in the Congress: the three Gandhi family members, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary K. C. Venugopal. There is news that the Congress leaders of Maharashtra, such as Nana Patole and others, are quitting Congress to join Ajit Pawar soon. Rahul Gandhi already lost his family seat in Amethi; this time he might even lose his Rahul Gandhi Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. Congress needs to set their party in order, or else they will become history in Indian politics.
EC curbs on volunteers disbursing pensions spark political slugfest in Andhra Pradesh 8
The recent order by the Election Commission barring volunteers associated with the Andhra Pradesh government from performing poll duties and administering welfare schemes has sparked a crossfire between the ruling YSRCP and the opposition NDA, comprising TDP, BJP and Janasena. The YSRCP government introduced a ward and village volunteer system in 2019 as a decentralised governance delivery mechanism. This system enables a volunteer, who oversees 50-60 households, to go to the threshold of the beneficiary to hand-deliver welfare pension.
However, on March 30, the ECI issued orders banning volunteers from extending government schemes, welfare benefits and other related activities, which eventually brought the monthly pensions disbursal to a grinding halt, which otherwise would have been completed on April 1. However, this unforeseen consequence transformed into a major political slugfest between the ruling party and opposition coalition, who are striving to milk the development to their electoral advantage, and whose leaders are desperately trying to turn the tables on each other for the delay in pension disbursals.
”I hope you have seen how low Chandrababu (Naidu) stooped. He made his aides complain with the Election Commission to issue orders restraining volunteers to deliver pensions from April 1 at doorstep,” Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said, addressing an election campaign meeting in Annamayya district.
The CM claimed lakhs of beneficiaries, who include the elderly, specially-abled, widows and people who could not feed themselves are suffering as they did not receive their pension on the first day of the month. Denying Reddy’s charges, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu said TDP neither objected to the distribution of pensions nor the Election Commission issued orders to stop them. ”A massive political controversy is happening with respect to pensions. We don’t need rulers who subject old people and specially-abled people to hardships for their political benefits…As soon as we come to power, we will hike the pensions to Rs 4,000 without unnecessary conditions and deliver them at home,” Naidu said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Immediately after the issuance of EC orders, Naidu wrote letters to the Chief Electoral Officer and chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh to make alternative arrangements for the distribution of pension. ”Though volunteers are barred from handling the distribution work, EC has permitted to engage other government employees to carry out the programme. Since a large number of village level and ward level employees are available with gram and ward schivalayams (secretariats), they may be pressed into work immediately,” Naidu wrote. Near Amalapuram in Konaseema district on Wednesday, Naidu claimed the 1.26 lakh-strong staff in the ward and village secretariats was an ample workforce which can easily distribute pensions in every village with an average of 45 pensioners. Further, he alleged this move is fraught with the conspiracy to convey a message to the public that TDP is responsible for obtaining orders from ECI, because of which distribution of pensions at the doorstep is not being done and delays in this process are being attributed to the party. Meanwhile, Janasena chief and actor-politician Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday urged his party cadres to take responsibility of lending a helping hand to the old and specially-abled pensioners by taking them in their vehicles to receive their pension and safely drop them back home, considering the scorching summer temperatures.
He made the same appeal to all cadres of NDA partners in the state. Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y S Sharmila also appealed for the timely delivery of pensions. Later on Wednesday, Sashibhushan Kumar, principal secretary, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development said the process of disbursing pensions commenced in all the districts for the 66 lakh beneficiaries. He noted that the state government has released an amount of Rs 1,952 crore for disbursing the pensions. ”The district collectors have made all the arrangements for the smooth distribution of pensions to all the pensioners from April 3 to 6, 2024,” said Kumar in an official press release.
According to the principal secretary, 13,699 ward and village secretariats from a total of 14,994 have already begun the exercise of disbursing pensions, adding that more than 25 lakh beneficiaries received their pensions on Wednesday.
In view of the summer days, Kumar said Collectors have been instructed to start disbursing pension right from 7 am on Thursday.
Gourav Vallabh resigns from Congress, says he can't raise 'anti-Sanatan' slogans 10
Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh resigned from all posts and membership of the party on Thursday, saying that neither can he raise anti-Sanatan slogans nor abuse ‘wealth creators’ day in and day out.
Vallabh shared his resignation letter written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on social media platform X.
He said he was not feeling comfortable with the directionless way in which the party was moving forward.
Vallabh said, ”I can neither raise anti-Sanatan slogans nor abuse wealth creators day in and day out. Therefore, I resign from all posts and primary membership of the party.” He had not been attending television programmes on behalf of the party for several months and had not held any press conference for a long time.
In his resignation letter, Vallabh said, ”When I joined Congress, I believed that Congress is the oldest party in the country which respects youth and intellectual people and their ideas. But for some time, I felt that the party was not able to adjust with the youth having new ideas.” Vallabh claimed the Congress is completely cut off from the ground and is unable to understand the aspirations of a new India, due to which the party is neither coming to power nor is able to play the role of a strong opposition.
He also said that he was upset with the stance taken by the party of staying away from the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishtha’ programme in Ayodhya.
”I am a Hindu by birth and a teacher by profession. This stance of the party has always irritated and troubled me. Many people associated with the party and (INDIA) alliance speak against Sanatan Dharma and the party’s silence on it is like giving it tacit approval,” Vallabh said.
Referring to the issue of caste census, Vallabh said the party is moving in the wrong direction in this context also.
”On one hand we talk about caste census, while on the other hand we are seen opposing the entire Hindu society. This style of working is giving a misleading message among the public that the party is the supporter of a particular religion. This is against the fundamental principles of the Congress,” he said.
Vallabh also claimed in his resignation letter that at present the Congress’ stance on economic matters has always been one that is ”demeaning” to wealth creators and the party’s view on every disinvestment taking place in the country has been negative.
He also stated that he was feeling suffocated by the party’s stance on economic issues.
Biden and Trump win presidential primaries in four more states 12
US President Joe Biden and his Republican rival and predecessor Donald Trump have easily won their presidential primaries in four more states as they are set for a 2020 rematch in November. On Tuesday, hundreds of delegates were up for grabs in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin.
Multiple names remained on the presidential ballots in the four states, though neither Trump, 77, nor Biden, 81, faced any major challenger.
In all the four states where the primaries were held Tuesday, Trump bagged more than 75 per cent of the votes, while Biden, a Democrat, received more than 80 per cent of the votes.
Trump with four wins now has 1,860 delegates. Biden has so far won 3,030 delegates as against the minimum requirement of 1,968 delegates.
Biden and Trump have already amassed enough delegates to win their respective nominations. But the turnout could provide more clues about the election on November 5.
Their rematch is expected to mirror the 2020 campaign, though Trump will run this time under the spectre of 91 felony charges.
Their nominations will be confirmed at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
Connecticut and Rhode Island allowed voters to vote “uncommitted” in the primary, while Wisconsin offered a similar option of “uninstructed delegation”.
There was an effort in Wisconsin on Tuesday by anti-Biden protesters to encourage people in the Democratic primary to pick the ”uninstructed” option in opposition to Biden’s policies on the Israel-Hamas war.
Pressure has been growing on Biden especially, to push harder for a ceasefire in Gaza, with some states, including Michigan, fostering similar campaigns for residents to submit “uncommitted votes” for the president.
These victories offer insights into base voter enthusiasm for the upcoming 2020 rematch, particularly in Wisconsin, a crucial November battleground. Biden and the Democratic National Committee have outpaced Trump and the Republicans in fundraising. Biden claimed the largest single-event fundraising record last week when he received USD 26 million at a star-studded New York event. Trump hopes to bring in USD 33 million at a Palm Beach, Florida fundraiser.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that Democrats have been growing increasingly anxious about public polls showing Trump making unprecedented inroads among Black and Hispanic voters.
“But there may be reasons for Republicans to feel uneasy about these polls too,” it said, adding that surveys now consistently show Trump leading President Joe Biden nationally and in almost all of the key swing states.
One after another, many Aam Aadmi Party leaders got arrested due to their alleged involvement in the Delhi Liquor Scam. This is purely a political scandal relating to the Delhi government that made its way through the introduction of Delhi’s excise policy from 2021 to 2022. This policy brought in private firms and enterprise companies into the retail liquor sector. The accusations involve favouring the owners and shareholders of private sectors, waivers and reductions of licence fees, and the creation of numerous licences for all the new incoming enterprises in exchange for bribery. The excise policy 2021–22, created by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), projected it as a reform in the excise and retail liquor sectors, thereby boosting revenue by Rs 9,500 crores. This policy mainly focused on moving out of the retail sector and making way for large private sectors and firms. The policy was structured by a group of ministers from the cabinet, and the draft was approved and accepted by the government in March 2021.
When the final draft was brought in front of Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena for approval, he approved the bill with the condition that new liquor vendors in non-confirmed areas could only be opened with the permission of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. In November 2021, a government official from Delhi stated that “for the first time ever, all state-owned liquor shops were going to be shut down and transferred completely to private business players.”. Later, the new policy was withdrawn and the government backed the old policy to be continued.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that the policy was intentionally designed with loopholes to favour AAP leaders and promote cartel formations. It accused AAP leaders of receiving kickbacks from liquor businesses in exchange for preferential treatment, such as discounts, licence fee waivers, and relief during the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions.
The CBI conducted raids targeting then-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and three others. The CBI named Sisodia and 14 other accused in its FIR, including AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair, who was arrested in September 2022. The Enforcement Directorate believes the now-scrapped liquor policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of 185 percent for retailers and 12 percent for wholesalers. Of the latter, six percent—over Rs 600 crore—were bribes and the money was allegedly used to fund the AAP’s poll campaigns. One by one, all the top leaders, including the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, were sent to jail in this scam. Additionally, they were accused of influencing elections held in Punjab and Goa in early 2022. The BJP took advantage of the situation and clutched all leaders with the help of ED.
After six months of his arrest, the Supreme Court granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and posed tough questions to the Enforcement Directorate, which had arrested Singh, including asking why he had been jailed for over six months without a trial or recovery of alleged bribes of Rs 2 crore. The court told the agency, which claims the party received Rs 600 crore in bribes, nothing has been recovered… there is no trace (of money allegedly received by the AAP as bribes for allotting liquor licences to the ‘South Group’)”. This is a big blow to ED and BJP. They tried their level best to bend these leaders but could not sustain their ground.
The court then directed Additional Solicitor General SV Raju to confer with the ED and decide if custody of Singh is warranted at this stage. Singh was released after the Enforcement Directorate said it did not want custody. The court earlier observed that Dinesh Arora, an accused who turned approver, or government witness, did not implicate Singh in his initial statements. Manish Singh was arrested on the basis of statements given by Arora, who got bail in August. Sanjay Singh has been in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since his arrest in October in the alleged liquor policy scam, which has roiled the opposition party and seen the arrests of Mr. Sisodia and his former boss, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, weeks before the election. The ED asserted that Kejriwal himself engaged with key accused individuals, urging them to collaborate with others involved in the case. Despite receiving nine summonses between October 2023 and March 2024, Kejriwal was apprehended after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea for protection from arrest.
Bail for Sanjay Singh is one positive sign that the scam has no grounds. This is purely a politically motivated plot to finish the Aam Aadmi Party, as the BJP in the centre has finished many local and national parties. In the current situation, the Aam Aadmi party is very vocal in opposition to BJP and the BJP is trying to silence all those political parties that are speaking against them. There is a strong possibility that Sisodia and Kejriwal may also come out soon. If all of them get bail, undoubtedly, we can say this scam was used to malign the Aam Aadmi Party.
SC grants bail to AAP leader Sanjay Singh after ED chose not to oppose 16
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to AAP leader Sanjay Singh in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy irregularities case. The court order came after the ED chose not to oppose Sanjay Singh’s bail plea. A bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna directed the release of Sanjay Singh on bail during the pendency of trial in a money laundering case relating to excise policy irregularities.
The Enforcement Directorate informed the SC that the agency has no objection to Sanjay Singh getting bail. The ED response came after the court sought to know from the investigating agency whether it needed further custody of AAP leader Sanjay Singh in the excise policy case.
The court observed that Sanjay Singh had spent six months in jail. The Supreme Court clarified that Sanjay Singh will be released on terms and conditions to be fixed by the trial court. The court also made it clear that concession shall not be cited as precedent. Meanwhile the court said that Sanjay Singh may continue with his political activities. In the meantime the top court disposed of the Sanjay Singh another plea challenging his arrest and remand in the case observing that it has become infructuous
The top court was hearing AAP leader Sanjay Singh’s plea against the Delhi High Court order refusing to grant him bail in the excise policy irregularities case. Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh has approached the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court order refusing to grant him bail in connection with an excise policy irregularities case.
In his bail plea, Sanjay Singh has challenged the Delhi High Court order dated February 7, 2024. Sanjay Singh moved to the High Court when, on December 22, 2023, the trial court dismissed his bail. Sanjay Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on October 4, 2023, in the case.
According to ED, Sanjay Singh was alleged to be involved in creating a special purpose vehicle to launder the proceeds of crime that would have been generated from the business arising out of the policy changes as conspired by him and his co-conspirators. ED had also stated that Sanjay Singh has been in possession of certain confidential documents pertaining to the investigation of this case that are not in the public domain.
Sanjay Singh in the Delhi High Court denied charges and said that he is guilty of any criminal wrongdoing or any violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in any manner whatsoever and therefore, the applicant’s life and liberty must be protected from unwarranted and unjustified encroachment at the hands of the Directorate of Enforcement on the basis of a false, malicious and motivated case without any merit.
Advised to join BJP or be prepared to be arrested in a month, claims AAP's Atishi 18
Senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi on Tuesday claimed a person close to her said that she should join the BJP or be prepared to be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate within a month.
At a press conference here, Atishi claimed that besides herself, three Aam Aadmi Party leaders — Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, MLA Durgesh Pathak and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha — would also be arrested.
The Delhi minister claimed that she was told that in the coming days, the ED would conduct raids at her residence and that of her relatives.
The BJP has been rattled by the success of the INDIA bloc’s Ramlila Maidan rally on Sunday and has realised that sending Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to jail would not lead to the disintegration of the AAP, she asserted. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested on March 21 by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy of his government, was on Monday sent to judicial custody till April 15 by a city court.
The AAP has accused the BJP of wanting to impose President’s rule in Delhi by poaching its legislators and breaking the party. The AAP’s Kirari MLA Rituraj Jha claimed he was offered Rs 25 crore to join the saffron party.
Ex-Mumbai cop Pradeep Sharma moves SC against conviction in fake encounter case 20
Former Mumbai police officer Pradeep Sharma has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court verdict convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonment in a 2006 fake encounter case. As per the apex court website, Sharma has filed the special leave petition through lawyer Devina Sehgal on March 21.
On March 19, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse of the high court had convicted and sentenced Sharma to life imprisonment in the fake encounter case of Ramnarayan Gupta, an alleged close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan. It also upheld the conviction of 13 other accused in the 2006 case. The high court had said the ”prosecution has proved that Gupta was killed by the police, by trigger-happy cops, and the same was made to look like a genuine encounter”. The high court had also upheld the conviction and life sentence imposed on 13 other accused in the case, including 12 former policemen and a civilian.
It had quashed the 2013 judgment passed by a sessions court acquitting Sharma due to lack of evidence.
On November 11, 2006, a police team picked up Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakkhan Bhaiya from the Vashi area in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, along with his friend Anil Bheda, and killed him in a staged encounter near Versova in western Mumbai the same evening.
The convicts are former policemen Nitin Sartape, Sandeep Sarkar, Tanaji Desai, Pradeep Suryavanshi, Ratnakar Kamble, Vinayak Shinde, Devidas Sapkal, Anant Patade, Dilip Palande, Pandurag Kokam, Ganesh Harpude, Prakash Kadam and Hitesh Solanki, who is a civilian.
The high court had overturned the conviction and life sentence of six others, leading to their acquittal.
Manoj Mohan Raj, Sunil Solanki, Mohammad Shaikh, Suresh Shetty, Akhil Khan and Shailendra Pandey, all civilians, have been acquitted.
Sharma is also accused in the case of the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiran related to the recovery of gelatin sticks outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani in 2021. The Supreme Court has granted him bail in the case.
