Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested by ED in liquor policy case

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March 21, 2024

20240321 220953 — Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested by ED in liquor policy case 2

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday night in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said.

The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency.

The 55-year-old leader’s arrest, amid campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, drew angry reactions from his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The party said Kejriwal ”will continue as the chief minister of Delhi. If need be, he will run the government from jail.” The BJP though demanded that Kejriwal step down as chief minister on moral grounds.

In a day of fast-paced developments, a 10-member ED team led by an additional director reached his official residence on Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines in the national capital soon after the high court order and carried out searches. He was arrested more than two hours after the ED team arrived at his residence, officials said.

Officials said the ED would produce the chief minister before a court here on Friday and seek his custody for interrogation in the case.

Kejriwal had skipped nine summonses issued by the agency for questioning in the case, the latest being for Thursday, March 21. He has called these summonses ”illegal”.

As the ED officials carried out their action inside, additional Delhi Police personnel and Rapid Action Force (RAF) and CRPF teams were deployed around the chief minister’s residence.

The additional deployment was made as the ED sought extra security measures in anticipation of protests by AAP supporters, sources said.

A large number of AAP workers and leaders gathered near the chief minister’s residence and shouted slogans hailing Kejriwal and denouncing the ED action.

The Delhi Police also stepped up security around the agency office on A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi.

During the day, Kejriwal moved the Supreme Court against the high court’s order denying him any relief in the matter. Later, AAP leader Atishi said they have moved the Supreme Court for quashing the arrest of Kejriwal and ”asked for an urgent hearing…tonight itself.” The ED’s action is virtually a replay of what transpired during the arrest last week of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, who is now in ED custody in the same case.

The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case.

Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED. The agency has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal for formulating the excise policy that resulted in undue benefits to them in return for which they paid kickbacks to the AAP.

The ED had recently alleged in a statement that BRS leader Kavitha and some others ”conspired” with top AAP leaders like Kejriwal and Sisodia to get favours in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy by paying Rs 100 crore to the political party that rules Delhi.

Forty-six-year-old Kavitha, the MLC daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was arrested by the federal agency last week from her Hyderabad home and she is in custody till March 23.

AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, who reached Kejriwal’s residence soon after the ED team’s arrival, told reporters, ”It seems that the ED is carrying out raids. I have not been allowed to go inside. Its looks like ED is planning to arrest him.” Atishi who were among those gathered outside the chief minister’s residence, told reporters, ”This entire episode shows how scared Prime Minister Narendra Modi is of Kejriwal. He has hatched a conspiracy to send him to jail before the Lok Sabha election.” Reacting to the ED action, AAP MP Raghav Chadha alleged a ”big conspiracy” to arrest Kejriwal just before the Lok Sabha elections. In a series of posts on X, the party said, ”ED reached the house of Delhi’s son @ArvindKejriwal! BJP should know that it is trying to move the mountain in whose support the entire country stands today. The people of Delhi are watching everything. No one will sit silent today.” Using the hashtag #IstandWithKejriwal, it said, ”The BJP can stoop down to any level to make Arvind Kejriwal bow down. The people of the country including entire Delhi are standing with their hero Arvind Kejriwal today. This dictatorship of yours will not last. And a Kejriwal will emerge from every house.” Reacting to the agency action, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, ”If Kejriwal has any morality left he should step down and cooperate with the ED.” Earlier in the day, a Delhi High Court bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain refused to grant Kejriwal any protection from coercive action in the case.

The bench listed the AAP leader’s application for further consideration on April 22 when his main petition challenging the summons is fixed for hearing, and asked the Enforcement Directorate to file its response.

Kejriwal is also facing an ED case in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Indian political parties are geared up for 2024 elections

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Vaidehi Taman

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March 21, 2024

political flags, parties, mumbai, lok sabha elections, lok sabha, elections 2024, ls polls, congress, bjp — Indian political parties are geared up for 2024 elections 4

The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be starting on April 19. The nationwide elections will be held in seven phases and the results will be declared on June 4. This time elections are going to be long, and the opposition is finding it difficult. 2024 Lok Sabha polls being the second longest elections ever held in India. General elections will be held across 28 states and eight Union territories. Besides, India became the world’s most populated country across the world last year. So far, 17 general elections, over 400 state assembly elections, 16 presidential elections, and Vice-presidential elections have been conducted.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) held a crucial meeting to discuss the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls that are scheduled to be held in seven phases beginning from April 19. Earlier on 18 March, the BJP held one more core committee meeting at the party headquarters to announce potential candidates for various states for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, Odisha, Sikkim, Maharashtra, and Gujarat were discussed in the core committee meeting.

BJP’s IT cell and its local leaders are geared up for 400 plus seats this time. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India asked the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to halt sending out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s letter on WhatsApp seeking support in building a ‘Viksit Bharat’. The poll body has also sought a compliance report immediately from the Ministry. This comes days after the Opposition had written to the Election Commission to act against what they said was a “blatant violation” of the model code of conduct. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress has been repeatedly raising that how is it that the BJP’s campaign message on ‘Viksit Bharat’ is reaching millions of India, not only in India but in the UAE by getting access to a government database of telephone numbers. How did the BJP get access to a government database?

Well, the powerful BJP tactfully clutched Congress and blocking its resources. The Congress appealed to constitutional bodies to allow them to access bank accounts if they want free and fair polls. Addressing a special briefing, senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Holding fair polls is essential, and there should be level playing field. Those in power should not have monopoly over resources.”

While India’s both national parties locked horns with each other, the state level politics has their own challenges to deal with. A meeting of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders got underway at the residence of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and the allies are likely to finalise their seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Balasaheb Thorat, who were in Delhi for the party’s Central Election Committee meeting, returned to Mumbai for the meeting.

Tamil Nadu’s main opposition AIADMK released its final list of 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and also named its candidate for the lone Puducherry Parliamentary constituency. The AIADMK has completed the exercise of naming nominees and allotting seats to allies, and party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is all set to launch his election campaign from Tiruchirappalli on March 24. In total, the AIADMK contested in 32 segments and it has allotted seven constituencies to allies, the DMDK, Puthiya Tamizhagam and SDPI. Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha constituencies.

For the Tirunelveli LS seat, Palaniswami announced Simla Muthuchozhan who was formerly with the DMK. She had unsuccessfully contested in 2016 against late AIADMK matriarch J Jayalalithaa from the RK Nagar Assembly constituency. Daughter-in-law of former DMK leader SP Sarguna Pandian, Muthuchozhan joined the AIADMK recently. An advocate, she is also the only woman candidate announced by the AIADMK for the Lok Sabha polls. For the Vilavancode Assembly bypoll, the main opposition party has named a woman candidate.

This day The Supreme Court dismissed applications seeking a stay on the appointment of two new election commissioners. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said it will examine the main petitions challenging the validity of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Act, 2023. During the hearing, the bench questioned the Centre over the procedure adopted for appointment of two new election commissioners. It said the selection committee should have been given more time to apply its mind on the appointment of election commissioners.

2024 is also crucial for Aam Aadmi Party, there are so many allegations and court cases on their party leaders. The Delhi High Court refused to pass any orders for “no coercive action” by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while hearing his application for interim relief in the excise policy case. Kejriwal’s application for interim relief for no coercive action was filed in his main writ petition challenging the summons issued to him by the ED and the validity and interpretation of certain provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In Maharashtra, with the INDIA alliance having the backing of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis has played a crucial role in balancing the alliance. Fadnavis not only has to focus on achieving the target of winning 45 seats for the BJP-led alliance in the state, but he also has to play the role of a ‘peacemaker’ and resolve frictions among party workers and allies – new and old. But in back-to-back meetings that continued till the wee hours of Thursday, Fadnavis has reportedly not been able to resolve differences over Satara and Madha Lok Sabha seats in western Maharashtra.

“No democracy in India today” alleges Rahul Gandhi, blames PM for freezing of Congress’ accounts

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ANI

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March 21, 2024

rahul gandhi, gandhi, congress, account freeze, freezing, lok sabha elections, lok sabha — "No democracy in India today" alleges Rahul Gandhi, blames PM for freezing of Congress' accounts 6

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday lashed out at the Centre and asserted that there is “no democracy” in India today, alleging that the idea that India is a democracy is a lie. The Congress MP asserted that by blocking the accounts of the largest opposition party the BJP had caused great damage to Indian democracy.

“This is a criminal action on the Congress party, a criminal action done by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. So, the idea that India is a democracy is a lie. There is no democracy in India today. The idea that India is the world’s largest democracy is a lie. A complete lie,” he said. “20 per cent of India votes for us and we are not able to pay Rs 2 for anything. It has been orchestrated to cripple us in the elections. Even if our bank accounts are unfrozen today, huge amount of debt damage has been done to Indian democracy,” he added.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi claimed that all Congress’ bank accounts have been frozen, the party can do no campaign work, cannot support party workers, and cannot support party candidates. “All our bank accounts have been frozen. We can do no campaign work, we cannot support our workers, we cannot support our candidates. This has been done two months before the election campaign. One notice comes from the 90s, another from 6-7 years back. Quantum amount is Rs 14 lakhs and punishment – our entire financial identity. All the institutions are quiet and the Election Commission has not even said anything,” he added.

He further said that the party has already lost a month fighting the IT case and its ability to fight elections has been damaged. “This is not freezing of Congress party’s bank accounts; this is the freezing of Indian democracy. As the biggest opposition party, we are unable to take any action – we can’t book advertisements or send our leaders anywhere. This is an assault on democracy,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi said that there is an Election Commission in the country but it has not even said anything. “What’s interesting to me is that there are institutions in this country that are supposed to protect the democratic framework. There is an Election Commission in the country but it has not even said anything; that you have frozen the bank accounts of one of the biggest political parties and largest opposition in the country,” he added.

Earlier on March 8, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) dismissed the plea moved by the Congress Party which sought a stay against Income Tax Department proceedings of recovery and freezing of their Bank accounts and said the Stay Application is without merit. Soon after the press conference the former Congress leader reiterated on his ‘Shakti’ remark saying “We are fighting against hatred-filled ‘Asura-shakti’.”

The news conference held at the party headquarters on Friday saw the party fielding its big guns Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who trained their guns on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over the “freezing” of the party’s bank accounts.

“Going to see the best of him in IPL 2024”: Brad Hogg heaps praise on Yashasvi Jaiswal

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ANI

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March 21, 2024

yashasvi jaiswal, ipl, ipl 2024, jaiswal — "Going to see the best of him in IPL 2024": Brad Hogg heaps praise on Yashasvi Jaiswal 8

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, former Australia cricketer Brad Hogg hailed youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal and said that the best of him will be seen in the upcoming season. The left-handed batter made his debut in the 2020 season of the tournament with the Rajasthan-based franchise, following that, he has played 37 matches and scored a massive 1172 runs at a strike rate of 148.73.

While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Hogg said that in IPL 2024, Yashasvi would have “extra confidence” after his stupendous performance against England in the five-match Test series. “I’ve been studying the RR team, and I could find only two holes in their lineup . They are set up by a very strong top order. Jaiswal has got extra confidence going into this particular season, the way his Test career has taken off. I think we are going to see the best of him in IPL 2024,” Hogg said.

He added that the Royals have a “well-balanced” top batting order with big names like Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, and Rovman Powell. “RR have a well-balanced top six with Hetmyer, Parag and Powell in that line-up. The other thing I like about this lineup is that Ashwin can play as a floater. If they lose early wickets, they can drop their hitters down the order and Ashwin can come up the order. Their bowling, although quality, none of them can hold a bat,” he added.

The former cricketer also added that India pacer Prasidh Krishna’s injury will “hurt” the Rajasthan-based franchise. The 53-year-old added that Krishna could have had a big season in IPL 2024. “Prasidh Krishna’s injury really hurts RR, he could have had a real big season. I really like Avesh Khan, I think he is going to have one of the best seasons that we have seen of him,” he further added.

The Royals will kick off their IPL 2024 voyage against the Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. RR strengthened their squad in the IPL 2024 auction by acquiring the likes of Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq and Nandre Burger.

Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2024 Squad: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger.

Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balkrishna submits unqualified apology to Supreme Court over alleged misleading ads

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ANI

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March 21, 2024

supreme court, sc, acharya balkrishna, balkrishna, patanjali, sc — Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balkrishna submits unqualified apology to Supreme Court over alleged misleading ads 10

Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna has tendered an unqualified apology in the Supreme Court over alleged misleading advertisements. In an affidavit, Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna said that he submits an unqualified apology before the top court for the breach of the statement recorded in the order copy of the top court dated November 21, 2023.

Acharya Balkrishna said that he will ensure that such advertisements are not issued in the future and submits that its intention is only to exhort the citizens of this country to lead a healthier life by consuming products of the Ayurvedic company, including products for lifestyle ailments, through the use of age old literature and materials supplemented and backed by Ayurvedic research. “The deponent regrets that the advertisement in question, which was meant to contain only general statements, inadvertently included the offending sentences. The same was bona-fide and added to the routine course by the media department of the Respondent No. 5 Company. The personnel of the media department of the Respondent No. 5 Company were not cognizant of the order dated November 21, 2023,” read the affidavit.

Acharya Balkrishna further submitted that Schedule J of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, read with the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1955, is in an archaic state and the last changes were introduced in 1996. The Drug & Cosmetic Act, 1940, was passed when scientific evidence in Ayurveda research was lacking. The Ayurvedic Company now possesses evidence-based scientific data with clinical research conducted in Ayurveda, which would demonstrate the advances made through scientific research in the context of diseases mentioned in the said schedule. In light of the same, it is humbly submitted that the deponent’s only quest is for a better and healthier life for each and every citizen and to reduce the burden on the country’s healthcare infrastructure by providing holistic, evidence based solutions for lifestyle-related medical complications through the use of the age-old traditional approaches of Ayurveda and Yoga, the affidavit said.

In fact, the idea was to promote the Ayurvedic products, which are based on age old literature/material backed by scientific research, the affidavit said. The affidavit came as a response to the SC’s earlier order, whereby the court sought from Patanjali Ayurveda Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna a response to the show cause notice in contempt proceedings against him over alleged misleading advertisements of Patanjali Ayurved.

In the earlier hearing, the top court issued notice to Ayurvedic Company, asking it to show cause why contempt of action should not be initiated against the company and its managing director for giving misleading advertisements. The top court had observed that the ayurvedic company has prima facie violated the top court’s order dated November 20, 2023, where it cautioned against misleading advertisements about its medicines.

The court had also restrained the Ayurvedic Company (Patanjali Ayurved) from advertising or branding their products specified as treating disease under the drug norms and also cautioned it from making any statements against any system of medicine in the media. The court’s observation came when it noted that the company has given alleged misleading advertisements.

The court was dealing with an Indian Medical Association plea seeking to frame guidelines for prohibiting false and misleading advertisements in relation to allopathy and modern medicine. IMA, a registered society, has more than 3,30,000 medical doctors as its members all over the country.

The petition also raised the issue of the campaign of misguidance, misinformation and disparagement against the modern system of medicine. IMA, in its plea, had sought to pass an order directing the Center and others to immediately take strict and prompt action, in accordance with law, for the violation of the provisions of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 by the repeated acts of omission and commission of Respondent Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., including by publishing advertisements all over the country making illegal and prohibited claims.

Shinde must rein in motormouth leaders of Shiv Sena; coalition dharma should be followed: NCP

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ANI

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March 20, 2024

eknath shinde, shinde, lok sabha, pawar, ajit pawar, lok sabha, shivtare, lok sabha elections — Shinde must rein in motormouth leaders of Shiv Sena; coalition dharma should be followed: NCP 12

The NCP on Wednesday claimed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde apparently lacks control over leaders of his party and demanded the coalition dharma be followed, an outburst coming in view of Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare launching a diatribe against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

The Nationalist Congress Party is livid as Shivtare continues to criticise Pawar, whose wife Sunetra is likely to contest from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, even after meeting Shinde in Mumbai recently.

Notably, the NCP has gone public against Shiv Sena led by Shinde twice in the last ten days. Mahayuti comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena led by Shinde, and NCP of Ajit Pawar.

On March 12, NCP spokesperson and former MP Anand Paranjape asked Shiv Sena to restrain their leaders from making provocative statements or else face the consequences in the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, currently represented by Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde. ”The NCP is abiding by the Mahayuti dharma but the chief minister should control his leaders. Enough is enough. Vijay Shivtare is spoiling the atmosphere for Mahayuti in Baramati. He is also trying to disturb the atmosphere of the Mahatuti alliance,” Paranjape claimed in a statement on Wednesday.

If Shivtare continues to target Ajit Pawar and breaks the coalition dharma in Baramati, then NCP workers can also respond in a similar manner in constituencies to be contested by Shiv Sena. ”Current developments project a picture of CM Eknath Shinde lacking control over leaders of Shiv Sena or they don’t listen to him. We are striving to maintain unity but restraining party (Sena) leaders seemingly poses a significant challenge for the chief minister,” Paranjape added.

He also referred to the issue of the candidate selection for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. Notably, the BJP has so far declared 20 candidates but the seat-sharing formula with the two other allies is not yet finalised, apparently due to a lack of consensus among the allies over certain constituencies. Paranjape said workers of every political party want to contest a certain seat which is natural.

”BJP workers want to contest Kalyan Lok Sabha seat and have written a letter to their state president. But everybody should be mindful that decisions regarding candidates would be taken collectively by senior leaders of the coalition,” he stated. The NCP leader further claimed that the party is not aware of what transpired at the meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and MNS chief Raj Thackeray. ”We all activists of Mahayuti will obey the decision of the leadership,” he said even as he called for unity among Mahayuti workers, urging them to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins a third term.

”We are hopeful that discussions among alliance leaders would lead to a successful seat-sharing formula and victory for more than 45 MPs from Maharashtra,” he added.

Tussle over Madha LS seat: RSP leader Jankar meets Sharad Pawar, says BJP doesn’t need him now

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ANI

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March 20, 2024

mahadev jankar, jankar, sharad pawar, pawar, madha, lok sabha, lok sabha elections — Tussle over Madha LS seat: RSP leader Jankar meets Sharad Pawar, says BJP doesn't need him now 14

Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) chief Mahadev Jankar, an ally of the BJP, met NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar in Pune on Wednesday and expressed displeasure over the saffron party declaring its candidate for the Madha Lok Sabha seat without taking him into confidence.

After meeting Pawar at his residence, Jankar, an MLC, told reporters that the discussion was positive.

”I want Madha and Parbhani Lok Sabha constituencies (for RSP). But the BJP has already declared a candidate for Madha without holding any discussion with me. This means I am not required now. The BJP didn’t invite me for any NDA meeting,” he said.

The BJP, which declared 20 candidates from Maharashtra in its first list, has renominated Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar from the Madha LS constituency. Jankar, who contested the Baramati Lok Sabha seat against Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule in 2014, wields influence among the Dhangar community in western Maharashtra.

State Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Jayant Patil told reporters that Jankar has been in touch with Pawar.

He said individual seats will be declared by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents once the seat adjustments are finalised.

Madha Lok Sabha constituency came into existence in 2008 after delimitation. The first election from this seat was won by Sharad Pawar in 2009. In 2014, the NCP (undivided) retained this seat with Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil defeating Sadabhau Khot, an NDA candidate. Parbhani Lok Sabha constituency in Marathwada region is Shiv Sena bastion. Sitting MP Sanjay Jadhav is a loyalist of Uddhav Thackeray.

HC closes plea seeking action against Rahul, Kejriwal, Akhilesh for making ‘false’ statements

By

ANI

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March 20, 2024

Delhi High Court,Tihar Prison,NGO — Delhi High Court | Image : Representative/PTI

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to the Centre to take action against politicians Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, and Akhilesh Yadav for allegedly making false and misleading statements intending to damage the image and credibility of the country.

The high court said the wisdom of the Indian voters should not be underestimated as they know who is leading and misleading them.

The petition referred to news items on news channels and social media platforms and said Gandhi, Kejriwal and Yadav made a misleading and false statement regarding the alleged waving of loans of Rs 16 crore to a few industrialists by the central government.

The petitioner sought to direct the Centre to register a complaint and prosecute these three leaders for allegedly making false and misleading statements and to direct several social media platforms and the political parties to which these leaders belong to remove these statements from their electronic and social media platforms.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P S Arora said the people who are aggrieved will take action and will file petitions. The petitioner should not underestimate the Indian voters as they know who is leading and misleading them and will take their call, it said.

“If the industrialists are aggrieved or the politicians are aggrieved, they will take action. Don’t underestimate the mind of the voter. They are very very smart. They know who is speaking the truth and who is not. Don’t involve us in this. Don’t underestimate the wisdom of Indian voters,” the bench said.

The high court said it was of the view that the industrialists and the individuals who are alleged to have been defamed have the means and wherewithal to approach the court and file appropriate proceedings.

“This court is also of the view that the principle of relaxation of locus standi is not called for in this petition. The petitioner underestimates the wisdom of the Indian voters. Accordingly, this court is of the view that no orders are called in the writ petition and the same is closed,” it said.

Petitioner Surjit Singh Yadav, who claimed to be a farmer and a social activist, said the statements by the opposition politicians have created a negative image of India and degraded the credibility of the country and the central government.

He said now that the model code of conduct is in force, these leaders should not make such statements.

”It is well known that as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI), write off is not same as waive off but writing off loans has been shown by respondent no. 3 to 9 (Gandhi, Yadav, Kejriwal, their political parties, and news outlets) as waiving off loans. This deliberate twist to the actual meaning of writing off loans by these respondents had created confusion in the minds of readers/ viewers including in the mind of the petitioner, thereby, resulting in the image of the central government getting downgraded,” the plea said.

The petitioner said after hearing and going through these news items he started developing a loss of trust in the central government.

“The factually wrong statements made by such political personalities cast an indelible negative impression in the minds of the readers/ viewers across the country, including in the mind of the petitioner,” the plea said.

PM Modi stresses dialogue, diplomacy for Ukraine crisis resolution with Putin

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ANI

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March 20, 2024

pm modi, narendra modi, putin, vladimir putin, ukraine, russia — PM Modi stresses dialogue, diplomacy for Ukraine crisis resolution with Putin 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and reiterated India’s stand on dialogue and diplomacy as a way for the resolution of the ongoing war against Ukraine, said an official release. “The two leaders agreed to make concerted efforts towards further strengthening the Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the years to come. They also reviewed progress in various issues of bilateral cooperation, and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” an official release said.

“While discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch,” it added. Meanwhile, the Kremlin also shared details of President Putin’s conversation with PM Modi and said that the former informed the latter about the ongoing situation in the war-torn region of Ukraine.

President Putin also emphasized Ukraine’s refusal to take political and diplomatic steps to settle the conflict. “The President of Russia gave his assessment of the current state of affairs in the zone of the special military operation. He emphasized Kiev’s categorical refusal to take political and diplomatic steps to settle the conflict,” the President of Russia said in a statement.

“In connection with the events of June 24, Narendra Modi expressed understanding and support of the resolute actions by the Russian leadership to protect law and order and ensure stability in the country and security of its people,” it added. On June 24, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner Group, led an armed rebellion against the Russian defense minister. The rebellion started in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, and forces loyal to Prigozhin marched toward Moscow.

The rebellion was called off after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko intervened. In a televised address on June 24, President of Russia Vladimir Putin denounced Wagner’s actions as treason and pledged to quell the rebellion. Further in the conversation, both leaders discussed the bilateral cooperation between the two countries and expressed their satisfaction over the increase in trade.

“During the discussion of topical issues of bilateral cooperation, the leaders noted the importance of further consistent implementation of large-scale joint projects in different areas and voiced their satisfaction over a tangible increase in trade in 2022 and the first quarter of the current year,” Kremlin said. “Special attention was paid to interaction in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the G20, in which India is holding the rotating presidency this year, and in the BRICS format. In addition, Narendra Modi told Vladimir Putin about his international contacts, including his recent visit to Washington,” it added.

The statement said further, “The conversation was substantive and constructive. The leaders confirmed their mutual desire to strengthen the Russia-India specially privileged strategic partnership and planned future contacts.” Earlier in 2022, PM Modi’s advice to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand grabbed the attention of leading international media organizations.

“Today’s era is not of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we will get the opportunity to talk about how we can progress on the path of peace. India and Russia have stayed together with each other for several decades,” PM Modi told Putin expressing his concerns about the impact of the war on food and energy security. “We spoke several times on the phone about India-Russia bilateral relations and various issues. We should find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security, and fertilizers. I want to thank Russia and Ukraine for helping us to evacuate our students from Ukraine,” he added.

International media praised PM Modi’s diplomatic acumen, who in a friendly tone pushed the concerns of the global community to its long-standing friend Russia. American publication -CNN praised PM Modi’s hold on world politics and reported ” Indian leader Narendra Modi tells Putin: Now is not the time for war.”

BJP is unstoppable in India

By

Vaidehi Taman

-

March 19, 2024

narendra modi, modi, lok sabha, lok sabha elections, bharatiya janata party, modi, pm modi, modi in 2024 — BJP is unstoppable in India 19

The 2024 elections will decide the existence of many small parties and one of the oldest national parties, Congress. This election has the potential to decide the faith of the Congress will still remain as the opposition party or not. It will also have the potential to make the opposition delegated giving BJP an upper hand in upcoming elections. Indian National Congress is a binding power and is the only effective national political party which has the potential to challenge the BJP due to its history as a grand old political party. One side Congress is sinking but making efforts to unite like minded political parties against BJP, on the other hand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set an ambitious target of winning 400 plus seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, much more than in 2019. The Lok Sabha has 543 seats, and the BJP had won 282 and 303 of them in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

The 2024 elections are one the crucial elections India is going to see and the winner of it will decide the fate of India for more than 5 years. The two main political parties The BJP and The Congress and their alliances the N.D.A and the I.N.D.I.A are the main candidates of the elections and everyone is looking up to them. I.N.D.I.A alliance is led by the Congress and is not a stable alliance as many members of that alliance are fighting among themselves making the alliance weak and fragile while on the other side there is the N.D.A alliance lead by the BJP which is comparatively a stable alliance and an alliance with the promoting ideology of Hindutva is a strong alliance. The I.N.D.I.A alliance is formed by leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Stalin and so on to unitedly fight against the BJP led N.D.A alliance.

I.N.D.I.A Alliance is formed on the bases of math which means if they combine the seats of every other political party which are not on the side of BJP we will win the elections easily and this math this calculation is not bad but on ground they have to compete with BJP by campaigning and they should also have a prime ministerial candidate because as of now there are no prime ministerial candidates recognized in the I.N.D.I.A Alliance. The India alliance should realize that opposing every action of BJP will not make them win elections as BJP even though they want to play politics on the bases of Hindu-Muslim divide.

The opposition was almost united in 2019 in many states but that opportunistic alliances could hardly dent the Modi juggernaut. The idea that a common opposition alliance with a common leader, common political program and a common candidate will be successful is an inherently flawed idea. The visibility of more unity by disparate outfits is unlikely to impress people. This clearly sent the message that the Congress is not ready to cede its leadership role, which is the biggest hindrance to opposition unity.

AAP Supremo, Arvind Kejriwal visualizes himself as the only alternative to Narendra Modi and his political gains are at the cost of the Congress party. He is unlikely to be in the same basket as the Congress party. At present almost all the good leaders of his party are in jail under some or the other allegations. BJP is tightening the snooze to build pressure on him, in such circumstances he has no scope to aim for the PM seat. The Samajwadi Party is focused on Uttar Pradesh and is unlikely to cede its predominant position as main opposition in the largest state. Moreover, it has limited national ambitions. Mamata Banerjee has already declared that her TMC will go it alone in the next General Elections. She herself has Prime Ministerial ambitions. Will Rahul sacrifice his own ambitions to bring her to the opposition fold? Will other regional satraps like Stalin, Sharad Pawar etc accept Mamata as their leader? There’s no clarity about who will finally become the leader and that is a bone of contention. Most probably, the opposition parties will keep the contentious issue of leadership aside for the post poll period. But that will erode voter confidence in the fragile unity of the opposition. The regional aspirations of the leaders and parties will pose immense difficulties in forging a national unity. The voters know that such a combination of disparate political outfits will not provide a stable government. There will be voter hesitation in coming forward to vote for such a combination to power.

I strongly believe that Modi is expected to triumph in 2024.