Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Saturday demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, over the violence tied to a Maratha quota protest in Jalna district.
Nearly 40 policemen and a few protesters were injured on Friday after cops used baton-charge and fired teargas shells to disperse a violent mob at Antarwali Sarathi village on Dhule-Solapur Road in Ambad tehsil.
Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, Wadettiwar said the government should conduct a fair probe into the incident and seek an apology from the Maratha community. He also demanded the resignation of the home minister.
The Congress leader claimed that the agitation and subsequent police action were the results of the “wrong” decisions of the government.
The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike at the village demanding reservations for the Maratha community since Tuesday. The trouble began when police tried to shift Jarange to a hospital on doctors’ advice, according to officials.
Wadettiar said the Maharashtra government did not take any steps to resolve the quota issue after the Supreme Court’s decision one and a half years ago, due to which the “unfortunate incident of lathi charge took place on members of the Maratha community fighting peacefully for their rights”.
The reservation in government jobs and admission to educational institutions provided by the state government for the politically dominant Maratha community was quashed by the Supreme Court earlier.
Wadettiwar said the Jalna violence indicates that the government is not interested in ensuring reservation for the Maratha community and that it made a false promise for political benefits. He said the government misled the people as the Maratha quota could not be implemented unless reservation was increased beyond 50 per cent and for that, amendments to the law were needed.
“However, those in power at that time (he did not specify when) and now those who are in power took wrong decisions for selfish motives and misled the Maratha community,” he claimed. The government should apologize to the community of Wadettiwar, he said, demanding that Fadnavis resign as the home minister. Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh also condemned the Jalna incident.
Suicide attack by TTP militant in northwest Pakistan kills 9 soldiers 4
A suicide attack by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on a security forces convoy has killed nine soldiers and injured five others in Pakistan’s restive northwest, the military said.
A bike-ridden bomber hit the convoy on Thursday in the Bannu district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, said.
The bomber rammed his bike into a vehicle in the convoy, killing nine soldiers and injuring five others, the statement said.
The banned TTP has accepted responsibility for the attack.
Following the incident, law enforcers rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the entire area. A massive search operation was launched to arrest the perpetrators of the blast, it said.
Taking to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar condemned the attack. He called such acts “utterly reprehensible” and said his thoughts were with the families of those killed and injured.
Recently, Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorist activities orchestrated by the outlawed terror outfit.
The TTP was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007.
Last month, two policemen were killed and as many injured when TTP militants attacked a police checkpoint in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.
In February, TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief’s office in Pakistan’s most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.
The outfit, which is believed to be close to Al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
The TTP also orchestrated the heinous Army Public School attack in Peshawar in 2014, in which over 130 students were killed.
In a major relief to LPG consumers, Public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have slashed the price of 19 KG commercial LPG gas cylinders by Rs 158, according to the sources. The new prices will be effective today, and Delhi’s retail sales price of a 19kg commercial LPG cylinder will be Rs 1,522.
Earlier, on the eve of Raksha Bandhan, the price of Domestic LPG was reduced by Rs 200 by the central government as a gift to women in the country. Monthly revisions for both commercial and domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders occur on the first day of each month, with the new rates becoming effective on September 1.
Earlier in August, the prices of commercial LPG cylinders were slashed by Rs 99.75 by the OMCs. In July, the prices of commercial LPG gas cylinders were increased by Rs 7 each.
Before this hike, there had been two consecutive price cuts for commercial LPG cylinders, which were in May and June of this year. While in May OMCs reduced the price of a commercial LPG cylinder by Rs 172, in June it was reduced by Rs 83. In April, too, their prices were reduced by Rs 91.50 per unit.
Petroleum and oil marketing companies hiked the prices of commercial LPG cylinders on March 1 this year by Rs 350.50 per unit and domestic LPG cylinders by Rs 50 per unit.
SC gives life imprisonment to ex-MP from Bihar Prabhunath Singh in 1995 double murder case 7
The Supreme Court sentenced former Lok Sabha MP Prabhunath Singh to life imprisonment in a 1995 double murder case. On August 18, a three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul convicted Singh while overturning the orders of the trial court, and the Patna High Court acquitted him in the case.
After hearing submissions on the quantum of sentence, the bench, also comprising Justices A S Oka and Vikram Nath, awarded a life sentence to the convict.
The bench said a detailed order would be uploaded. The case involved the killing of two people on the day of polling for assembly elections in Chapra in Bihar’s Saran district in March 1995.
The apex court, while convicting Singh, a multiple-term former MP from Bihar’s Maharajganj, observed that there was not even an iota of doubt that Singh was instrumental in making all possible efforts to ”wipe out” the evidence against him.
Ex-President Kovind-headed committee to explore possibility of 'one nation, one election' 9
The government has constituted a committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind to explore the feasibility of ”one nation, one election”, opening the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly contests.
Sources said on Friday that Kovind will explore the feasibility of the exercise and the mechanism to see how the country can go back to having simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, as was the case till 1967.
They said he is expected to speak to experts and may also consult leaders of different political parties.
The government’s decision comes a day after it decided to call a special session of Parliament between September 18 and 22, the agenda for which is under wraps.
Since coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a strong advocate for the idea of simultaneous polls, which include those at local bodies, citing the financial burden caused by the almost continuous election cycle and the jolt to development work during the polling period.
Kovind too had echoed Modi’s view and expressed his support for the idea after becoming President in 2017. Addressing Parliament in 2018, he said, Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct.” Like Modi, he had called for a sustained debate and expressed hope that all political parties would arrive at a consensus on this issue.
With the Modi government approaching the end of its second term, there is a view in its top echelon that it can no longer let the issue drag on and needs to move decisively to underscore its purposefulness after debating on the topic for years.
With the ruling BJP under Modi always animated by grander themes and big ticket ideas to rally popular support, the issue will also suit the party politically and catch the opposition off-guard, leaders in the party believe.
Assembly polls are due in five states—Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Rajasthan—in November-December, and they are scheduled to be followed by the Lok Sabha elections in May-June next year.
However, the recent moves by the government have thrown open the possibility of advancing the general elections and some state polls, which are scheduled after and with the Lok Sabha contest.
Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh assemblies are scheduled to go to the polls with the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP enjoys good relations with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik, even though they are not formally part of its alliance. The BJP is in power in Arunachal, while Sikkim is ruled by an ally.
Maharashtra and Haryana, two states where the BJP is in power with allies, and JMM-Congress-ruled Jharkhand are slated to go to the polls after the Lok Sabha contest.
Irrigation scam involving NCP's Ajit faction resurfaces amidst political alliances and allegations 11
During 1999–2009, the UPA was ruling Maharashtra, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar was the irrigation minister. On April 25, 2008, then-Deputy Secretary TN Munde issued a circular stating that the Irrigation Department was making inflated payments for the various raw materials and apparatuses instead of following the scheduled rates fixed by the department.
On May 14, 2008, Pawar’s office issued a letter asking Munde to repeal the circular, and cautioning him against issuing any circular without the minister’s sanction. During December 14–19, 2009, the Marathi-language newspaper Loksatta carried a series of articles accusing Pawar of awarding two projects worth Rs 1,385 crore to the builder-cum-contractor named Avinash Bhonsle, at a magnified cost. In November 2010, Pawar handed over the Irrigation Department to fellow NCP leader Sunil Tatkare. He also appointed two inquiry committees, which found several financial irregularities.
In August 2012, a non-profit organization called Jan Manch petitioned the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court to order an inquiry into the irregularities. The Court then sent a notice to the Government. The petition stated that the cost of 38 irrigation projects under the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) had escalated from Rs 6,672.27 crores to Rs 26,722.33 crores within a span of 7 months in 2009. In 2013, the present Deputy CM of Maharashtra used this issue for his election campaign, pledging that he would send Ajit Pawar behind bars.
On November 26, 2018, the then ACB chief and current Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Barve filed an affidavit in the same court stating that the alleged multi-crore irrigation scam had revealed major lapses on Pawar’s part and by other government officials. The ACB DG claimed that the latest affidavits were based on “a painstaking investigation conducted by two special investigation teams and after questioning Pawar.” Based on evidence and a reply filed by Pawar, the ACB concluded that, apart from cost updates and mobilization advances to contractors, no fault could be found with Pawar.
The ACB DG also claimed that his predecessor had overlooked the reply filed by the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) in March 2018. This reply, he said, had rejected the involvement of Ajit Pawar. Barve’s affidavit pointed the needle of suspicion at Pawar by mentioning that norms were tweaked and tenders were manipulated. Procedures were bypassed, pecuniary benefits were passed on, and sub-standard work was allowed, leading to a drain on the public exchequer. This irrigation scam made headlines, but Ajit Pawar, who was once the target of the BJP, is now in alliance with them. Addressing booth workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bhopal last month, Modi said there were allegations of scams of nearly Rs 70,000 crore against the NCP, including the Maharashtra Cooperative Bank scam, the irrigation scam, and the illegal mining scam.
Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his comments on a “Rs 70,000 crore scam” by the NCP. Uddhav asked, “What happened to the Rs 70,000 crore scam? Who all will be there on the stage? NCP president Sharad Pawar also asked PM Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to probe the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam and the multi-crore state cooperative bank scam in which Ajit Pawar’s name had cropped up. Pawar said that at a rally in Bhopal, Modi had alleged the Congress and NCP were the most corrupt parties, and a Rs 70,000 crore scam in the irrigation department and a scam in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank had rocked the state.
If Modi has specific information that there was abuse of power in the state, then as PM, he must initiate a probe and submit the report. It will be wrong to make baseless allegations. You have power, you conduct the probe. Farmers and activists in Maharashtra fear that the new alliance between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Ajit Pawar and the BJP may end up burying the alleged Rs 70,000-crore irrigation scam involving top NCP leaders, including Pawar.
The scam was unearthed after Maharashtra’s Economic Survey in 2012 reported that the irrigation potential of the state had increased by only 0.1 per cent despite Rs 70,000 crore spent on various projects over a decade. Later, the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) informed the Bombay High Court about major lapses on the part of Pawar and other government officials. Pawar, along with other NCP ministers, was in charge of the irrigation department between 1999 and 2014 under the Congress-NCP regime in Maharashtra.
During the 2014 and 2019 state elections, the BJP made the irrigation scam its main election plank, targeting Pawar directly. The irrigation scam relates to alleged corruption, cost escalation, irregularities in the approval and execution of projects, inflation of tenders, and the allocation of work to specific contractors.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently spoke to BJP MLAs and other leaders in Mumbai to address the concern. The BJP cadre in the state is unhappy with the NCP faction joining hands with the party. Fadnavis reportedly said that the party has followed orders from the high command and that everyone must work to ensure that the BJP gets the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.
In Maharashtra, about 20 per cent of arable land is under irrigation, while the rest is dependent on monsoon showers, with even a few days’ delay in rain disrupting the agriculture cycle. Raju Hinge, who owns agricultural land in Pune, says farmers in the state have suffered heavily due to incomplete and delayed irrigation projects. Maharashtra tops the list of farmer suicides, as the lack of irrigation facilities and dependence on the monsoon push many farmers into distress.
The Alliance of INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) meeting was held in Mumbai on August 31, 2023, and September 1, 2023. Ahead of this meeting, UBT Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi’s statement went viral when asked who would be the next face for PM candidate, over which she mentioned that “There are many faces as candidates for the post of PM, but if asked my opinion, then according to me it is Uddhav Thackeray, and he should be the candidate for the post of PM from the alliance of INDIA.”
In this statement, some NCP leaders expressed their wish to see NCP chief Sharad Pawar as the next candidate for the post of PM, while many other Congress leaders are expecting Rahul Gandhi to be the next PM.
During this ongoing meeting of the INDIA Alliance in Mumbai, we also tried to speak to several leaders to get clarity on who would be the next face as a candidate for the post of PM. Some leaders mentioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while others said that after the completion of this meeting they would come to a conclusion.
Congress senior leader Prithviraj Chavan told Afternoon Voice, “This meeting in Mumbai will focus on how they can win over the BJP, and this is why top leaders of parties in this alliance have come for this national conference.” It is possible that Shiv Sena UBT workers will consider Uddhav Thackeray for PM, but it will be difficult because a number of MPs will be elected, and the outcome will be determined by Lok Sabha elections.”
Sada Sarvankar, MLA of the Shinde-faction Sena, stated, “First and foremost, there are many differences within the INDIA alliance. But still, if a Marathi-faced candidate from Maharashtra is considered for the PM-post, we might think about supporting him.”
“This is yet another baseless statement coming from the INDIA alliance because nominating a candidate for the post of PM and actually being appointed as a PM are two different things, which is not possible, and this is why they are making such divergent statements,” BJP MLA Ram Kadam said.
“These are all rumors; as of now, there is nothing going on over the PM’s candidate’s face from our party,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare said. As a result, we will provide additional information following the INDIA Alliance meeting.”
“Uddhav Thackeray is not capable of becoming PM because there are many internal differences in their party, and they need an elected number of MPs that can elect him as PM,” MNS leader Amey Khopkar said. “Thackeray should first ensure that his party’s MLAs and MPs are not leaving the party before considering such a high-level position.”
“We definitely have a lot of faces in this alliance, and this INDIA alliance meeting will allow a lot of people to put forward their opinion as we believe in democracy where we listen to everyone’s suggestions and opinions after which we will come to a conclusion,” NCP’s Mahesh Chavan of the Sharad Pawar faction said.
“There are many faces for the PM’s candidate,” VBA Vijay Landge said. “While there is talk of Uddhav Thackeray as a candidate for the post of PM, when we consider a leader at the national or mass level, Rahul Gandhi should be considered as a candidate for the post of PM.”
“INDIA Alliance has many faces as candidates for the post of PM, but that decision will be made only after their final meeting and official declaration given by them, as the agenda of their alliance is to win over the BJP,” Swabhimani President Paksha Raju Shetti said.
Hindenburg 2.0: Adani family secretly invested in own shares, alleges OCCRP; company denies charge 14
Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group was hit on Thursday by fresh allegations of associates of the promoter family using Mauritius-based ‘opaque’ investment funds to secretly invest hundreds of millions of dollars to fuel the spectacular rise in group stocks during 2013 to 2018, a charge the conglomerate denied vehemently.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said documents obtained by it revealed details of a complex offshore operation in two Mauritius-based funds managed by the partners of the promoter family to support prices of shares of group companies from 2013 to 2018—a period during which the ports-to-energy conglomerate saw a meteoric rise to become India’s largest and most powerful businesses.
OCCRP said two close associates of Vinod Adani—the elder brother of the group founder and chairman Gautam Adani—are the sole beneficiaries of Mauritius-based companies through which the money appeared to flow. Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli from the United Arab Emirates and Chang Chung-Ling from Taiwan spent years trading hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Adani group stock through two Mauritius-based funds that were overseen by a Dubai-based company run by a known employee of Vinod Adani.
Market regulator SEBI had been handed evidence in early 2014 of alleged suspicious stock market activity by the Adani Group, OCCRP said, citing a letter.
U K Sinha, who headed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2014, is now a director and chairperson of Adani-owned news broadcaster NDTV. The fresh broadside, which comes months after US short-selling firm Hindenburg Research published an explosive report in January that accused Adani Group of running the ”largest con in corporate history”, sent all 10 listed Adani stocks down.
Shares of flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. closed 3.72 per cent lower after dipping as much as 5.2 per cent. Other group stocks closed 2-3.5 per cent lower.
Hindenburg had alleged corporate fraud and stock price manipulation at the conglomerate and raised questions about Vinod Adani’s role. The Group had denied the Hindenburg allegations, which wiped close to USD 150 billion off the market value of the group at its lowest point and cost Gautam Adani his prime spot on the world rich list, and had stated that Vinod Adani has ”no role in the day-to-day affairs” of the company.
On the OCCRP allegations, the Group on Thursday termed them as ”recycled allegations” and called them ”yet another concerted bid by (George) Soros-funded interests supported by a section of the foreign media to revive the meritless Hindenburg report”.
On the allegation of about USD 1 billion of over-invoicing scam money being routed to the two Mauritius funds, it said, ”These claims are based on closed cases from a decade ago when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) probed allegations of over-invoicing, transfer of funds abroad, related party transactions and investments through FPIs.” An independent adjudicating authority and an appellate tribunal had both confirmed that there was no over-valuation and that the transactions were in accordance with applicable law, it said, adding the matter attained finality in March 2023 when the Supreme Court of India ruled in the group’s favour.
”Clearly, since there was no over-valuation, there is no relevance or foundation for these allegations on transfer of funds,” it said.
Opposition parties, which stalled proceedings in Parliament for nearly one full session when the Hindenburg allegations first came out, were quick to latch on to the OCCRP to attack the government and Adani group.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned the role of SEBI in investigating the role of shell companies linked to the Adani Group.
”Despite the Modi government’s best efforts, the truth will not stay suppressed forever. However, the full story about the flow of Benami funds into the Adani Group, how foreign citizens came to play a role in critical national infrastructure and how PM (Narendra) Modi ‘violated rules, regulations and norms to enrich his close friends’ can only be revealed by a JPC,” he said.
CPI(M) charged that the links of the Gujarat-based business conglomerate with Modi have ensured no action against it.
The documents show that, through the Mauritius funds, they ”spent years buying and selling Adani stock through offshore structures that obscured their involvement – and made considerable profits in the process,” the OCCRP said. ”They also show that the management company in charge of their investment paid a Vinod Adani company to advise them in their investments.” The trove of documents lays out a complex web of companies that date back to 2010, when Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli, who have both been directors of Adani-linked companies, began setting up offshore shell companies in Mauritius, the British Virgin Islands and the United Arab Emirates.
Four offshore companies established by them sent hundreds of millions of dollars into a large investment fund in Bermuda called Global Opportunities Fund (GOF), with those monies invested in the Indian stock market from 2013 onwards.
Another layer of opacity was introduced as the money from the duo’s offshore companies flowed from GOF into two funds to which GOF subscribed: Emerging India Focus Funds (EIFF) and EM Resurgent Fund (EMRF).
These funds then appear to have spent years acquiring shares in four Adani-listed companies — Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Power and Adani Transmission.
The foreign portfolio investors named in the OCCRP report ”are already part of the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)”, Adani Group said. ”As per the Expert Committee appointed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, there is no evidence of any breach of the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) requirements or manipulation of stock prices.” ”These attempts are aimed at, inter alia, generating profits by driving down our stock prices and these short sellers are under investigation by various authorities. As the Supreme Court and SEBI are overseeing these matters, it is vital to respect the ongoing regulatory process,” it said.
”We have complete faith in the due process of law and remain confident of the quality of our disclosures and corporate governance standards. In light of these facts, the timing of these news reports is suspicious, mischievous and malicious – and we reject these reports in their entirety.” PTI had on August 24 reported that the Soros-funded organisation, which calls itself an investigative reporting platform formed by 24 non-profit investigative centres, spread across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, is planning the publication of fresh allegations against a top Indian corporate.
Separately, 360 ONE Asset Management (Mauritius) Ltd said it is the investment manager for Emerging India Focus Fund and EM Resurgent Fund.
Both funds ”are fully compliant broad-based funds registered with Financial Services Commission, Mauritius,” it said in an exchange filing. ”In neither of these two funds, the Adani group or any of the individuals mentioned in the (OCCRP) article, are investors. These funds as on date have zero investments in any of the shares of the Adani Group.” It went on to state that in the past among many other portfolio investments; the funds have had investments in shares of Adani Group companies; all of which were sold in 2018.
The investments by Chang and Ahli raise a stink of stock price manipulation. Also questions were raised if the funds they controlled should be classified as promoter group, which would potentially lead to a breach of listing regulations.
The rules provide that 25 per cent of a company’s shares must be kept ‘free float’ or available for public trade on the stock exchange – while 75 per cent can be held by promoters. Vinod Adani has recently been acknowledged by the conglomerate as a promoter and so holding of funds controlled by him should be classified as a promoter group, OCCRP alluded to.
OCCRP asked if Ahli and Chang should be considered to be acting on behalf of Adani promoters. ”If so, their stake in the Adani Group would mean that insiders altogether owned more than the 75 per cent allowed by law,” it said, adding this violated Indian listing law.
The paper trail that links Ahli and Chang to Vinod Adani, and leads them all to a Bermuda fund provided by 360 ONE, can be traced back to Dubai in July 2009.
It went on to state that there was no evidence of Chang and Ahli’s money for their investments coming from the Adani family, but said its investigation showed there ”is evidence” that their trading in Adani stock ”was coordinated with the family”.
”The Adani Group’s rise has been staggering, growing from under USD 8 billion in market capitalisation in September 2013 — the year before Modi became prime minister — to USD 260 billion last year,” it said.
The conglomerate is active in a dizzying array of fields, including transportation and logistics, natural gas distribution, coal trade and production, power generation and transmission, road construction, data centres, and real estate.
"Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA," says INDIA alliance 16
Almost 28 political parties and all their top leaders arrived in Mumbai to attend the two-day Opposition-led INDIA alliance meeting. The meeting aims to establish an anti-BJP alliance. The agenda includes unveiling a logo, appointing coordinators, and finalizing the formal structure and architecture of the grouping. The two-day meeting includes a get-together of Opposition leaders, followed by a formal sitting on Friday to take important decisions, including one on seat-sharing.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra called it a “selfish alliance” with the agenda of “maximum profit from corruption”. He also drew a parallel with ISRO’s recent Moon mission, comparing the ruling government with ‘Chandrayaan-3’, whose rover “is already working on development”. “Whereas the Congress Party’s missile will not take off as it does not have fuel.”
A day before the INDIA alliance’s third meeting in Mumbai, Maha Vikas Aghadi parties held a press conference where Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that though parties in the alliance have different ideologies, they are driven by the common goal of saving the country and Constitution. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the alliance will be an alternative forum that will bring change to the country.
“I am happy that the INDIA alliance is holding meetings consistently. People have faith that our alliance will succeed in defeating the BJP,” says Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at INDIA alliance meeting.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi speaks ahead of INDIA alliance meeting in Mumbai. “Those taking potshots at the INDIA alliance brought unemployment, inflation, and insulted women in the country,” she said, addressing media persons.
“This selfish alliance already has six contenders for the PM post so far. I believe people know that the country has achieved many milestones under PM Modi’s leadership, and their trust continues to be with him,” says UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya on INDIA alliance in Mumbai.
CPI General Secretary D Raja said, “The country is in great trouble and is facing multiple crises, and the country has to be liberated from the clutches of the BJP-RSS.” Adding further, he said that the INDIA alliance is confident that the BJP government will be removed from power in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha election.”
“We all want Rahul Gandhi to become PM,” said Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam.
“People love Rahul Gandhi, they want to work under his leadership. But all of us will sit together and discuss on putting an end to the differences between some of the parties,” says Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Will protest against Rahul Gandhi over Savarkar remarks, says BJP leader Shelar 18
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mumbai unit chief, Ashish Shelar, said on Thursday that his party would protest against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks against Hindutva ideologue late VD Savarkar.
Gandhi has often said that Savarkar apologized to the British to get out of jail.
”Rahul Gandhi has consistently insulted V D Savarkar. Our party workers will stage a strong protest this evening near the venue where he will be speaking,” Shelar told reporters.
The third meeting of the opposition bloc INDIA will begin here during the day to discuss its strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections due next year and the inclusion of new allies.
Gandhi is among a large number of opposition leaders who will be in the city for the INDIA meet.
Shelar also took a swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, saying the latter says he is a staunch follower of Savarkar but keeps quiet when Gandhi makes such objectionable statements.
”Thackeray and his party workers have become hosts to people who used to hate Sena. These people (members of the opposition bloc INDIA) hated (Shiv Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray for several years. They all have now come together, and Uddhav Thackeray is serving them,” Shelar alleged.
The BJP MLA said Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar must feel ”ashamed” for laying down a red carpet for these leaders ”who used to hate Maharashtra”.
”The members of the opposition bloc INDIA claim they have come together to save democracy, but in reality they are trying to save their families,” Shelar asserted.
As many as 63 representatives from 28 political parties will attend the meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on August 31 and September 1 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai.
