On Tuesday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at the BJP over fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s removal from the Interpol database of “Red Notices”, saying talk of patriotism by those giving “protection” to such people is a “joke”.
Kharge also hit out at the BJP for its fresh onslaught on Rahul Gandhi over his democracy remarks.
They are doing things to divert attention from real issues. Our embassies are being attacked. People who have run away with money from banks, Mehul Choksi, and those giving protection to such people talk about patriotism, it is a joke,” the Congress president told reporters before leaving for Parliament.
“We will ask the government to clarify this,” he said.
Choksi, wanted in a Rs 13,000-crore scam at the Punjab National Bank, is understood to have been removed from the Interpol database of “red notices” on the basis of his plea to the Lyon-headquartered agency, people in the know of the development have said.
Earlier in a tweet in Hindi, Kharge said, “ED-CBI for opposition leaders but release from Interpol for “our Mehul bhai” of Modi ji.” When Parliament can be stalled for ‘best friend’, then how can help for the ‘old friend ‘ be denied who absconded five years ago”.
“Thousands of crores of the country were lost, and ‘Na khaane doonga’ became another ‘jumla’,” the Congress chief also said.
On the BJP’s attack on Rahul Gandhi, Kharge said the question of an apology doesn’t arise.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday charged that Gandhi is the present-day Mir Jafar of Indian politics. “It would not be an aberration to say that Rahul Gandhi is the present-day Mir Jafar of Indian politics. What he has done in London is the same thing that Mir Jafar did,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told a press conference. Parliament has remained paralyzed due to protests from rival sides.
While the BJP has demanded an ”unambiguous apology” from Gandhi for his remarks in the UK that democracy in India is ”under attack”, several opposition parties have accused the government of not wanting Parliament to function is finding ways to divert attention from their demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe (JPC) into allegations against the Adani Group.
During his interactions in the United Kingdom, the Gandhi scion alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a “full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions. He also told British parliamentarians that microphones are often “turned off” in the Lok Sabha when an opposition member raises important issues.
Gandhi’s remarks triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign interventions, and the Congress hitting back at the ruling party by citing instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising internal politics abroad.
Maharashtra cabinet nod for Cow Service Commission to implement strict beef ban 3
The Maharashtra cabinet has cleared a proposal to set up a cow service commission to strictly implement a 2015 law to ban beef and take measures for the overall betterment of livestock.
The decision was taken in the state cabinet meeting held on March 17.
The ‘Maharashtra Gau Seva Aayog’ (Maharashtra Commission for Cow Service) will supervise the rearing of livestock and assess which of them are unproductive and rendered unfit for milking, breeding, carrying out agricultural work, etc., said the animal husbandry department official.
The Cabinet has approved funds of Rs 10 crore for setting up the commission, and a draft bill for its formation as a statutory body is likely to be placed before the state legislature this week. According to the official, the state government has estimated that the population of livestock will go up owing to the beef ban.
The cow service commission is being formed by the Eknath Shinde-BJP government on the lines of similar bodies set up by other BJP-ruled states such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
“The commission is expected to coordinate with various government agencies to stop non-productive cattle from going to slaughterhouses, which is now illegal under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, passed in March 2015,” the official said. He said the commission will also monitor all gaushalas (cowsheds) formed to shelter stray and unproductive cattle and has the power to provide them financial assistance wherever required.
The commission will be a 24-member body, and its chairman will be nominated by the state government.
“It comprises 14 senior officers from various government departments, including commissioners from animal husbandry, agriculture, transport, and dairy development departments; a deputy inspector general of police; and nine nominated members who are associated with either cow protection organizations or NGOs involved in running gaushalas,” said another senior official.
He said the commission will not only execute all the existing schemes for gaushalas in the state but will also introduce new schemes and programs for the betterment of the livestock. “The cow commission has also been mandated to take up the cultivation of improved breeds of cattle with the help of gaushalas and launch research schemes to increase local varieties.” “It is expected to take up schemes for generating biogas and power from cow dung and their urine and coordinate with universities and other research institutes that are working in the field of cattle and cattle development, among others,” the official added.
BJP's state chief Bawankule brings unrest in alliance with Shinde 5
According to Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the seat-sharing formula for the 2024 assembly elections has already been decided, with the BJP contesting around 240 seats and the Shiv Sena contesting 48. “The BJP will contest 240 seats, while the Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde will contest 48.”
The assembly has 288 seats. By declaring these seat-sharing numbers, a political controversy broke out. Bawankule made the statement at a meeting of BJP office-bearers late on Friday, but on Saturday he claimed that the seat-sharing formula wasn’t finalized.
With the intention to control the damage, he said his statements were misinterpreted. Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad claimed the Sena will fight for at least 130 to 140 seats. “As Shiv Sena, we are going to contest at least 130 to 140 seats.” “Since that party (BJP) is bigger than us, surely it will fight for more seats. But we, as Shiv Sena, will not contest less than 125 seats. Party leaders should censure him (Bawankule) for making such statements,” Gaikwad said.
Senior Shinde Shiv Sena leader said, “I am sure the BJP will dump Shinde Sahab in due time.” They are just waiting for the elections to happen; if by fluke they manage to win the most seats, they will bend Shinde to their terms. Shinde is not a mass leader; he is known in Thane and Mumbai, but beyond Maharashtra, no one knows him. BJP can easily sideline him.”
The BJP’s veteran leader told Afternoon Voice under the condition of anonymity that “the BJP has its typical way of functioning. Devendra is a tall leader with extensive administrative experience, whereas Shinde is merely a rebel with no administrative experience. He was in need of time; what the BJP needs is Thackeray’s name associated with them; gradually, they will pitch Raj, but Shinde might become irrelevant.
Bawankule said he had made the statement that the BJP was planning to contest 240 seats in the upcoming assembly elections while guiding office-bearers of the party in terms of election preparedness so that they could be ready. On Saturday, Bawankule said his speech had not been shown entirely. He clarified, “We will fight all 288 seats together in the assembly polls and 48 Lok Sabha seats as the NDA.” The seat-sharing will be decided by the central and state leadership. There have been no talks about this so far.
We are only preparing; no matter who gets the seats, if we have to fight and win, we have to prepare for all the seats. In an alliance, we work for our party and alliance partners, too. So they will benefit from our preparedness, and vice versa.” The Shinde-led Sena has 40 MLAs, while the Sena (UBT) has 16. The BJP has 105 MLAs. The Sena and BJP in government have the support of around 20 independents and MLAs of smaller parties.
In the video released from the meeting, Bawankule was heard saying, “Hundred percent, we will get around 150 MLAs. The Vidhan Sabha has 288 seats. Thus, in the 2024 assembly elections, the BJP will contest 240 seats, while 48 seats will be given to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. They don’t have more than 50. So they will get 48 or 50 seats. So there will be tremendous work for all the teams; they will have to travel across all districts for two days each.”
Amritpal Singh, a 28-year-old, not only resembles Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in appearance but also in speech. On March 18, the Punjab Police launched a crackdown against Waris Punjab De, arresting 78 people and detaining several others for questioning. Amritpal Singh was reported to be escaping. He has big fan-falls across Punjab and overseas countries. Some of the hard-core Punjabis believe that Amritpal Singh is fighting for the rights of Punjabis and Sikhs. His arrest is seen as deliberate propaganda to delegitimize and discredit his demands. A fight for justice and human rights is being deliberately painted as a separatist movement.
Almost every Hindu who is radical on social media openly calls for a Hindu nation, so are they separatists and extremists for attacking secular principles and threatening minorities? Is India a Hindu nation solely based on the majority religion of its people? The Constitution of India says one can support a personal stance, be it an independent nation, but shouldn’t do any violence. The history of Kashmir, Sikkim, Punjab, and Junagarh as provinces is such that they justified separatism to some extent in the past, present, and future, though separatism is never justified if it gets violent and can lead to bloodshed in a particular society.
Before 1947, Sikhs initially proposed Sikhistan, though it was rejected by Sikh leader Tara Singh Malhotra on the advice of Nehru and Gandhi, with Baldev Singh given defence ministry. The word Khalistan was itself coined by Jagjit Singh Chouhan (a former Congress member who later resigned). Amritpal Singh is new blood; he is still carried away with the concept of having a separate Khalistan. He believes that the Sikhs are still slaves in their own country. There is anger, denial, and dissension; these young Sikhs need to be given a sense of belonging and confidence. Just arresting them and hounding them will not solve the purpose.
He spoke against Christian missionaries converting low-class Sikhs and Hindus in villages, which is a valid point. For this, he got support from many Hindus as well, though unlicensed Shiv Sena in Punjab, particularly Amit Arora in Ludhiana, objected to it as well. Many Sikh-born Christians converted to Sikhism and came back to their roots. Nowadays, villagers object to building churches in their villages because it creates superstitions like exorcisms, blind men having vision, and dumb and deaf people speaking and hearing, which are commonly used by pastors. More than 8% of Sikhs came back to their roots and said they were lured and given money or financial aid when Sikh committees failed.
Later, he spoke against Deras, who not only lured backward Hindus but also backward Sikh classes, which is also a valid point. He’s against Dera Sacha Sauda Sirsa, and all those deras, such as Derawaad or the priesthood, are contradictory to Sikh ideology. He got support in this regard from many Sikhs and even some Hindus. He was vocal about Sikhs going into drug use; he made many speeches and attempts to bring these drug addicts into the mainstream. For this, he got support from many local Hindus.
Then he started expressing his support to separate Khalistan; he got support from many Sikhs on social media but no Sikhs in real life because he was labeled as a separatist. Though he never explicitly stated it, when asked about Khalsa Raj, he openly supported it. Khalsa Raj meant a Sikh nation or sovereignty. He uses words likeHukumat,” which means “government in power,” which is most common for him, when addressing any policies of the government that he thinks are wrong against Sikhs. He toured many villages, telling people to stop propagating Sikhism. This young man definitely has some good objectives for Sikhism.
T-shirts and even vehicles with Bhindranwale’s photographs are a common sight in Punjab. Two ubiquitous photographs seen across Punjab are those of Bhindranwale and Bhagat Singh. In 2003, the Akal Takht declared Bhindranwale a “martyr” of the Sikh community, and his photograph is displayed. On display in the Central Sikh Museum, which is part of the Darbar Sahib Complex in Amritsar, “all is not black and white.” If some Sikhs remain critical of Bhindranwale, some Hindus too want a nuanced understanding.
Kharar resident Navdeep Gupta even filed RTI applications to ask if Bhindranwale was mentioned as a “terrorist” in police records or if there was any FIR registered against him before Operation Blue Star. After getting negative replies, he made his point. While some of his TV interviews are already available, Bhindranwale’s supporters often refer to these to drive home their point on April 23, 2016.
Sant Bhindranwale was born in the village of Rode, in the Faridkot District of Punjab. His father, Joginder Singh, was a farmer and a local Sikh leader who had one daughter, Manjeet Kaur, and seven sons, of which Jarnail Singh was the youngest. Jarnail Singh was brought up as a strict vegetarian. His six brothers were Jagir Singh, Jagjit Singh, Jugraj Singh, Harjeet Singh, Veer Singh, and Captain Harcharan Singh.
Sant Gurbachan Singh Khalsa Bindrawale was the 12th Jathedar of the Taksal. Under his guidance, Sant Jarnail Singh began a year-long course in spiritual, scriptural, theological, and Sikh historical studies. A year later, Sant Jarnail Singh went back to his village and returned to farming. In 1966, he was married to Bibi Pritam Kaur, the daughter of Bhai Sucha Singh of Bilaspur. His wife bore him two sons, Ishar Singh and Inderjit Singh, in 1971 and 1975, respectively. The successor to Gurbachan Singh Khalsa, Kartar Singh Khalsa, who died in a road accident on August 16, 1977, mentioned Bhindranwale as being the new leader of the Damdami Taksal. Sant Bhidranwale was formally elected at a bhog ceremony at Mehta Chowk on August 25, 1977.
International Criminal Court justified in issuing arrest warrant for Putin over war crime allegations: Prez Biden 8
According to the US-based The Hill newspaper, US President Joe Biden stated on Friday (local time) that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is justified in issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on allegations of war crimes. “Well, I think it’s justified,” Biden told reporters before leaving the White House for Delaware. “But the question is, it’s not recognized internationally by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”
On being asked whether Putin should be tried for war crimes, Biden did not directly answer but said the Russian leader has “clearly committed war crimes.” The ICC had earlier on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Putin and another Russian official. The warrant is believed to be one of the first charges against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine, part of a global effort to hold the Russian president and the Russian Federation accountable for atrocities beginning with the full-scale February 2022 invasion.
Putin is named in the warrant for alleged war crimes. The warrant cites him and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, commissioner for children’s rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territory to Russia. The Kremlin blasted the allegations, noting it does not cooperate with the ICC.
“We consider the very posing of the question outrageous and unacceptable. Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court, and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for the Russian Federation from the point of view of the law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tweeted on Friday, The Hill reported. The United States is no longer a party to the ICC and does not recognize its authority.
Last month, US Vice President Kamala Harris told an international security conference that the U.S. had formally determined Russia had committed crimes against humanity, arguing Russian soldiers had conducted widespread attacks against Ukrainian civilians that included murder, torture, and rape. Next week, Putin is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. US officials have warned that China may be considering providing support to Russia for its war effort in Ukraine, according to The Hill.
Asked about his expectations for the meeting between Xi and Putin, Biden said, “We’ll see when that meeting takes place.”
YouTuber Manish Kashyap sharing fake videos of attacks on migrants in Tamil Nadu, surrenders 10
Manish Kashyap, a YouTuber wanted by the Bihar Police for allegedly sharing fake videos of “attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu,” surrendered to authorities in Bihar’s West Champaran district on Saturday.
The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police has registered three cases against Kashyap and others on the charges of ”indulging in spreading fake videos of migrants being killed and beaten up in Tamil Nadu on social media”.
The EOU has also frozen four bank accounts belonging to Kashyap.
”Kashyap, wanted by Bihar Police and Tamil Nadu Police in a fake news matter of laborers’ issues in the southern state, surrendered before the police on Saturday, fearing arrest and attachment of his belongings,” a statement issued by the EOU said.
”Six teams constituted by the EOU, along with Patna and Champaran Police, were continuously conducting raids on his locations at various places and hideouts since yesterday (Friday). He surrendered at Jagdishpur police station in Bettiah on Saturday, fearing arrest and other legal action,” it added.
The EOU had on March 6 registered its first FIR in connection with the case and booked four persons, including Kashyap. EOU sleuths have already also arrested Aman Kumar from Jamui in connection with its investigation into the first FIR. Those named in that FIR included Aman Kumar, Rakesh Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh Rajput, and Manish Kashyap.
J S Gangwar, Additional Director General of Bihar Police (Headquarters), told reporters last week that the EOU probe has found that 30 fake videos of migrants getting beaten up and killed in Tamil Nadu were widely shared on social media, spreading panic among the laborers and forcing them to flee the southern state.
The Tamil Nadu Police has also registered 13 cases to probe the matter. Earlier, the Bihar government had also sent a four-member team of top officials to Tamil Nadu to coordinate with officers who were investigating the matter in the southern state.
A 58-year-old Maharashtra farmer participating in long march died 12
A 58-year-old participant in the long march of thousands of farmers and tribals from Nashik district in north Maharashtra to Mumbai has died, an official said on Saturday.
Pundalik Ambo Jadhav, a resident of a village near Dindori in Nashik, was taken to a hospital in Shahpur on Friday afternoon after he complained of uneasiness. After he felt better, Jadhav returned to the place where the protesters were camping, said the official.
The 200 km march by thousands of farmers and tribals started from Dindori on Sunday last in support of their demands. It reached Thane district’s Vasind town, around 80 km from Mumbai. Their demands include Rs 600 per quintal of relief to onion farmers, a 12-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers, and a waiver of farm loans.
After having dinner around 8 pm on Friday, Jadhav vomited and again started feeling uneasy. He was rushed to the Shahapur hospital, where doctors declared him dead, said the official.
The station house officer at Vasind police station says that a case of accidental death has been registered and Jadhav’s body has been sent for a postmortem.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told the state Assembly on Friday that he had held discussions with a farmers’ delegation over 14 points, including forest rights, encroachment on forest land, transfer of land belonging to temple trusts, and grazing grounds to cultivators for farming.
Appealing to the farmers to withdraw their long march, Shinde said the decisions taken would be implemented immediately.
Onion growers, facing losses due to low prices of the commodity and damage to crops by unseasonal rains, will be given Rs 350 per quintal as financial relief, he said.
Good news! Women get 50 per cent concession on state-run MSRTC buses in Maharashtra 14
Women passengers will get a 50 per cent concession on tickets on all types of buses run by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) starting March 17, the state-owned transporter has announced.
The benefit will be extended under the ‘Mahila Samman Yojana’ and the state government will reimburse the concession amount to the corporation, said a press release by MSRTC on Friday morning.
While presenting the state’s budget for 2023-24 on March 9, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the finance portfolio, announced a 50 per cent concession to all women passengers on the buses of the public transport body.
MSRTC has a fleet of over 15,000 buses and ferries over 50 lakh passengers every day. It now offers 33 per cent to 100 per cent concessions on tickets to various social groups, according to the release.
MSRTC officials said it would be difficult to determine how many women will benefit from the scheme as they were not issuing gender-linked tickets earlier. MSRTC expects the population of women passengers to be in the range of 35-40 per cent of its total bus users, they said.
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, the Maharashtra government had announced a 100 per cent concession to senior citizens over 75 years of age and a 50 per cent concession to travelers aged between 65 and 74 years on all types of MSRTC buses.
Farmers have stopped long march, but will head to Mumbai if demands are not met: CPI(M) leader Nikole 16
The long march of farmers and tribals has halted after assurance from the government, but their representatives on Friday said they will continue to head to Mumbai if they see no concrete steps from the government to address their issues.
“We have halted the long march.” But we need to see concrete action from the government that our issues will be addressed, or else we will head to Mumbai,” Vinod Nikole, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA, said.
His party colleague and former MLA Java Gavit is leading the long march, which includes thousands of farmers who began their journey in Nashik. He said that as long as the government does not issue orders to officials on the ground, they will stay put. Their demands range from Rs 600 per quintal of relief to onion farmers, a 12-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers, and a waiver of farm loans.
The march is currently at Vasind, around 80 kilometres from Mumbai.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who led the talks with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday, termed the discussion with farmer representatives as positive. He will also make a statement on the issue in the state legislature on Friday.
The state may soon cross or touch the 40-degree Celsius mark as the region has been experiencing above-normal maximum temperatures. The neighboring states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Goa are under the grip of heat waves conditions.
Maharashtra may soon cross or touch the 40-degree mark as the region has been experiencing above normal maximum temperatures, unusually high for this time of the year.
It’s not just the neighboring states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Goa that are under the grip of heat wave conditions. Maharashtra, too, is having a hard time. What’s unusual is the fact that several coastal areas are facing extreme heatwave conditions. Soaring temperatures in Mumbai and several other parts of Maharashtra are beginning to ring alarm bells now.
February is never associated with heatwave conditions. However, in the last week of February itself, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heatwave alert for Raigad and Ratnagiti districts of Maharashtra. The situation took a turn for the worse in March. The maximum temperature in several districts, such as Wardha, Washim, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Nagpur, and Chandrapur, among others, has crossed the 35-degree mark.
Mumbai is also reeling under intense heat. The IMD issued a heatwave warning within the first 10 days of the month. On March 12, the city recorded 39.4 degrees, the highest maximum temperature of the season so far.
In Mumbai’s Santacruz, the maximum temperature recorded was 39.4 degrees Celsius, six degrees above normal for this time of the year and the highest maximum temperature to be recorded in the country on March 12.
