Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Prasad Lad on Wednesday demanded the Maharashtra government take over the upcoming memorial of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray in Mumbai.
Shiv Sena president and Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray had said the construction of the memorial, coming up at the Mumbai mayor’s bungalow at Shivaji Park in Dadar, will be completed by the end of 2023. Lad said a memorial cannot belong to any family or person. “An individual from the Thackeray family can be the member of the memorial committee,” he told reporters.
The coalition government of ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ and BJP is headed by Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray led to the collapse of the then MVA dispensation in June.
Former chief minister Thackeray had said earlier this month the history of Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray’s speeches will be the highlights of the memorial.
Senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Subhash Desai had said the memorial is the state government’s project and is getting the necessary funds from the government.
A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court while hearing the 2008 Malegaon blast case on Wednesday issued a bailable warrant against a witness who failed to appear despite being summoned twice for recording his statement.
The witness was in the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad team which investigated the blast case initially.
According to the sources related to the case, the said witness is not keeping well for around a year and so he is not coming for recording his statement.
However, the witness conveyed that he would come for recording his statement once he gets well.
Since he did not appear after two summons, Court has issued a bailable warrant against him.
Pertinent to mention, 29 witnesses in the 2008 Malegaon blast case turned hostile so far.
On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and over 100 others were injured after an explosive device placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharashtra’s Malegaon city in Nashik town.
All the seven accused in the case are currently on bail.
On October 23, 2008, the Maharashtra ATS made its first arrest in connection to the case by apprehending BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
On January 20, 2009, the ATS filed a charge sheet in the case after completing its investigation.
In April 2011, the central government transferred the investigation into the case to the NIA.
Later, other accused including Sameer Kulkarni, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahilkar and Sudhakar Chaturvedi were also caught.
Amidst the drive to ‘crush’ the Cannabis plantation in Andhra Pradesh, Director General of Andhra Police Rajendranath on Wednesday said that 7500 acres of Cannabis cultivation have been destroyed in the state since last year.
“1,599 cases have been registered and 1,32,000 kg of cannabis has been seized so far in the state due to the efforts of the Police”, said AP DGP in his statement.
He further stated that the police seek support from the tribal farmers to farm alternative cultivation.
Stating about the cases that have been filed so far in the matter, DGP stated that the police have identified the accused from 12 states of the country.
DGP further informed that the arrests of the accused will be made soon, with the cooperation of the states where the accused belong.
The Andhra DGP talked at length about various issues persisting in the state and briefed about the police’s plans and preparedness.
Speaking about the issues of the states, the DGP informed that the police are soon going to organize a conference on the border cannabis and red sandalwood in Tirupati soon.
He further stated that some Maoist activities are still continuing in the Andhra-Orissa border areas and that police are trying their best to curb them.
“At present, continuous combing of Maoist-affected areas in the Andhra-Orissa border area is going on with a plan to make them unitary”, said DGP in his statement.
When questioned about the recent attack on the opposition leader and ex-CM Chandrababu Naidu, the DGP said that the investigation is underway in the case.
Speaking about the incident, DGP informed that, “somebody threw a stone at Chandrababu Naidu, and his security officials got injured. The culprit has not yet been identified”.
Briefing further about the incident, he said, “Something went wrong at the Visakhapatnam airport. We know when we need to act. We are currently investigating the case”.
The DGP further talked about the increasing number of cyber crimes and stated that training programs on cyber crime complaints are being conducted at all police stations across the state. The training is being conducted by the Anantapur Police Training Center.
DGP further briefed about the process involved in the case of cyber complaints and stated that when cases related to cybercrime are being registered separately.
The police further proceed in the case with a standard operating system in a pre-planned approach. Stating further about raising awareness, the DGP stated that people should be informed about fake loan apps and various cyber-crimes through various programs and posters.
DGP, talking about the availability of sufficient staff in the police force assured that the state government has approved the appointment of 6500 staff in the force and the police would take responsibility for the appointments soon.
AAP’s Sisodia accuse BJP of abducting Surat East candidate fearing defeat ahead of elections 5
The Aam Aadmi Party alleged on Wednesday that its Surat East candidate Kanchan Jariwala was abducted at the behest of the BJP, which ”feared” a defeat in the seat in the Gujarat Assembly election.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Jariwala had been missing along with his family members since Tuesday, adding that the last time the candidate was seen was at the Election Commission’s office in Surat for scrutiny of his nomination papers.
Sisodia alleged that Jariwala was forced to withdraw his nomination when he went to the returning officer’s office.
”In this election, the BJP is miserably losing in Gujarat and has become so rattled that it has stooped to the level of kidnapping our candidate from Surat East,” Sisodia told reporters in New Delhi.
”Fearing defeat, the BJP goons have kidnapped the AAP candidate from Surat, Kanchan Jariwala,” he said.
Sisodia alleged that the BJP ”goons” also tried to get Jariwala’s nomination cancelled, but the returning officer could not do so as there was no lacuna in his papers.
”This is not just the kidnapping of our candidate, but the kidnapping of democracy. This is a very dangerous situation in Gujarat,” Sisodia said.
He appealed to the EC to take cognisance of the incident and ”deploy all machinery to trace and bring back our party’s candidate and his family members”.
Sisodia also hit out at the Gujarat chief electoral officer (CEO) and accused him of not taking appropriate action to ”trace and rescue” Jariwala.
The AAP leader alleged that even after the candidate was missing for the last 24 hours, the CEO was only saying the district magistrate and the superintendent of police had been asked to look into the matter.
”This incident raises questions on the functioning of the CEO as well,” Sisodia said.
He sought time from Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar for a meeting in connection with the incident.
”Kidnapping of our candidate, who was going to defeat the BJP in Surat East seat, is not an ordinary incident. I appeal to the EC to ensure that such incidents do not take place and a fair and impartial election is held in the state,” he said.
Sisodia and other party leaders staged a demonstration outside the EC office over the alleged abduction.
Several party leaders and workers gathered at the spot and raised slogans against the BJP.
G20 joint declaration features PM Modi's "today's era not of war" message to Putin 7
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “today’s era isn’t of war” message to Russian president Vladimir Putin in the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia conflict has become part of the outcome statement of the G20 joint declaration at Bali in Indonesia.
Modi, in his statement to Putin in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Samarkand in September this year in the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russian conflict, had said, “today’s era not of war”.
“It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. This includes defending the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and adhering to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts. The use or threat use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible The peaceful resolution of conflicts, and efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue are vital. Today’s era must not be of war,” according to the G20 joint declaration adopted on Wednesday.
During a special briefing, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “PM Modi’s message that “era not of war” resonated very deeply across all delegations and helped bridge the gap across different parties.”
Kwatra said, “India played a key role in the successful negotiations of the outcome document.” In the special briefing, Kwatra also said that India contributed “constructively” to the drafting of the G20 outcome document.
Talking further about PM Modi and UK PM Rishi Sunak’s meeting, Kwatra said, “he will also meet UK PM Rishi Sunak, this will provide an opportunity to review the wide-ranging India-UK partnership.” The foreign secretary said that PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged courtesies at the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali, Indonesia.
Both the leaders exchanged pleasantries at the high-profile dinner. Earlier today, PM Modi arrived at the mangrove forest in Bali and was greeted upon his arrival by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo.
Mangroves play an important role in global conservation efforts. India has joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC), a joint initiative of Indonesia and UAE under the Indonesian G-20 Presidency. More than 50 mangrove species are spread over 5000 sq km in India. India is placing emphasis on the protection and restoration of mangroves, which are rich sites of biodiversity and serve as effective carbon sinks.
He also participated in the Digital Transformation Session at the 17th edition of the G20 Leaders Summit.
All the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises issued the list of players retained/released by them ahead of the mini-auction for the 2023 season of the league in December this year.
While many teams chose to stick to their core, there are still some big names who were shown the door either because of their form or the team investing more in their future players.
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) released star all-rounder from West Indies, Kieron Pollard after a disappointing 2022 season, but the player will groom the side’s future as a batting coach.
Chennai Super Kings also released 39-year-old former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, with an eye towards building stars for the future.
Indian players like Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad and England all-rounder Moeen Ali were among some of the players retained.
A poor run of form forced Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans to part ways with Mayank Agarwal and England opener Jason Roy respectively.
Sunrisers Hyderabad chose to let go of West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran and New Zealand skipper Kane Willamson, with the latter under scrutiny for his low strike rate in the shortest format for a while. Though both teams still boast of heavy star power despite such releases.
Royal Challengers chose to retain most of their core squad including captain Faf Du Plessis from South Africa, Virat Kohli, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Indian pacer Mohammad Siraj and Sri Lankan spin sensation Wanindu Hasaranga.
Last year’s runners-up Rajasthan Royals released NZ all-rounder Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham and South African batter Rassie van der Dussen.
Delhi Capitals also kept most of its core team, featuring Aussie opener David Warner, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, opener Prithvi Shaw, Aussie all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and South African pacer Anrich Nortje.
Lucknow Super Giants also let go of experienced players like West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder, Indian batter Manish Pandey and hard-hitting Windies batter Evin Lewis, while Australian batter Aaron Finch and bowler Pat Cummins, Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane were among players released by KKR.
Here is how IPL squads stand ahead of the auction: –
Current squad: Hardik Pandya (capt), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad. –
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
Players Released: Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Jagadeesha Suchith, Priyam Garg, Ravikumar Samarth, Romario Shepherd, Saurabh Dubey, Sean Abbott, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Sushant Mishra, Vishnu Vinod.
Purse remaining: INR 42.25 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik. –
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
Players released: Jason Behrendorff, Aneeshwar Gautam, Chama Milind, Luvnith Sisodia, Sherfane Rutherford
Purse remaining: INR 8.75 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 2
Current squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep. –
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Players released: Anunay Singh, Corbin Bosch, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Shubham Garhwal, Tejas Baroka
Purse remaining: INR 13.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Sanju Samson (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa. –
Current squad: Rishabh Pant (capt), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal. –
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS
Players released: Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Dushmantha Chameera, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder , Manish Pandey, Shahbaz Nadeem
Purse remaining: INR 23.35 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: KL Rahul (capt), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi. –
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Players released: Pat Cummins, Sam Billings, Aman Khan, Shivam Mavi, Mohammad Nabi, Chamika Karunaratne, Aaron Finch, Alex Hales, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Sharma, Baba Indrajith, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Sheldon Jackson
Players acquired via trades: Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson
Indonesia on Wednesday handed over the G20 Presidency to India, which will officially assume office on December 1, 2022.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo officially handed over the G20 Presidency to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the closing ceremony.
During the closing ceremony, PM Modi said, “It’s a matter of pride for every Indian as India takes over the presidency of the G20. We will organise G20 meetings in different states and cities in India. Together we will make G20 a catalyst for global change.”
“India’s G20 presidency will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented. In the next one year, it will be our endeavour that G20 works as a global prime mover to give impetus to collective action,” he added.
Earlier, PM Modi addressed the G20’s last working session, Digital Transformation where he said that India is making “digital access public.”
He also noted that there is still a “huge digital divide” at the international level. PM Modi said that only 50 countries have digital payment systems.
In his statement at the third session of the G20 Summit, he called on world leaders for making a pledge to bring digital transformation into every person’s life in order to keep no one deprived of the benefits of digital technology.
“In India, we are making digital access public, but at the international level, there is still a huge digital divide. Citizens of most developing countries of the world do not have any kind of digital identity. Only 50 countries have digital payment systems.
“Can we take a pledge together that in the next ten years we will bring digital transformation in the life of every human being so that no person in the world will be deprived of the benefits of digital technology,” PM Modi said at the G20 summit,” he added.
As India assumes the G20 presidency on December 1, PM Modi stated that his nation will work jointly with G20 partners for achieving the objective.
He announced that the principle of “Data for development” will remain an integral part of the overall theme of India’s presidency ‘One Earth, One Family, One Family.’ Calling digital transformation the “most remarkable change of the era,” PM Modi said that its proper use can be a “force multiplier” in the global fight against poverty.
“During its G-20 Presidency next year, India will work jointly with G-20 partners towards this objective. The principle of “Data for development” will be an integral part of the overall theme of our Presidency “One Earth, One Family, One Future,” PM Narendra Modi said.
The Mizoram Police have arrested one person who allegedly lit a lighter in the middle of the road near a Tank Lorry which claimed 11 lives in the Turial area of Aizawl district in the state.
According to the police, at 4:35 pm on October 29, one Tank Lorry carrying 22,000 litres of petrol that was supposed to be delivered at Champhai met with an accident within the vicinity of Tuirial Airfield by turning turtle on the main road, thus spilling petrol out from the tanker on the surface of the road.
A lot of people had gathered to collect and store the spilt petrol when it suddenly caught fire around 5.50 pm and four people lost their life on the spot.
The police party and fire tenders immediately reached the spot to bring down the raging fire after the injured persons were immediately taken to various hospitals for treatment.
“The Place of Occurrence (PO) was minutely inspected with the help of FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) Team. Prima facie, it appeared that the cause of the accident the truck was rash and negligent driving on the part of the driver and when the people started collecting the spilling petrol, someone apparently lit a lighter or was smoking, etc., which ignited the highly inflammable petrol, resulting in the very unfortunate and tragic accident leading to loss and severe burn injuries to precious human lives,” the police said in its statement.
Bawngkawn Police immediately proceeded with the investigation and based on the information from a reliable source, the police arrested one person identified as TBC Lallawmawma (28) of the Tuirial at midnight of November 1.
“During sustained interrogation, the accused admitted his guilt on the morning of 2.11.2022 at about 11:00 am, stating that on a fateful day, he went to collect the spilling petrol from the Tank Lorry; however, as there was a huge crowd engaged in collecting the spilling petrol and due to the chaos, he was unable to get enough petrol. Infuriated, he came out in the middle of the road and lit a lighter and exposed it to a plastic water bottle containing some quantity of petrol collected by him and being carried by him, just to test whether it could burn or not,” the police said.
As the petrol caught fire, he threw the burning bottle on the ground which eventually resulted in the big fire accident, it added.
The police also mentioned that after the accused reached his home and came to know about the casualties, guilty he, tried to end his life by hanging from a tree nearby his house.
However, when his friend and wife saw him, they rescued him by unfastening the noose. The police said that the accused has been forwarded to judicial custody on November 3, after observing all legal formalities under sections 279, 285, 304A, 336, 337, 338, 435 of the Indian Penal Code and section 184 of the Motor Vehicles act.
The total death toll due to the fire incident has reached 11 till date, including the four persons who died on the spot while seven others are still undergoing treatment.
“The person who lit a lighter in the middle of the road near the Tank Lorry was rounded up. He admitted to his guilt on November 2 stating that it was done inadvertently,” it said further adding that the accused has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
As per the police’s information on the day of the incident on October 29, a four-wheeler taxi and two two-wheelers also got damaged.
“At least four people died and 10 others were injured in a fire incident in Tuirial, Aizawl district, after a tanker carrying petrol caught fire. A four-wheeler tax and two two-wheelers also got damaged in the accident,” Aizawl Superintendent of Police C Lalruaia said on October 29.
Call centre employee Shraddha Walkar’s live-in-partner Aaftab Poonawala, accused of brutally murdering her in Delhi, had appeared confident with no trace of remorse on his face when Manikpur police in Maharashtra called him for questioning earlier this month, an official said.
After Walkar’s family members filed a missing person’s complaint when she was not traceable, the Manikpur police in Vasai town of Palghar called Poonawala for questioning twice – last month and on November 3 – and on both the occasions he told the police that Walkar had left his place and they were not staying together, assistant police inspector Sampatrao Patil told Agencies.
Poonawala (28) has been arrested by the Delhi police for allegedly murdering Walkar, who had stayed in Vasai, in May this year, chopping the body into 35 pieces before dumping them at different places in the national capital over several days.
“Poonawala was called for questioning for the first time in October but was then asked to go. Later on November 3, he was again called and his two-page statement was recorded. Both the times he looked very confident and there was no remorse on his face,” Patil said.
The official said last month they visited Mehrauli police station in Delhi and questioned Poonawala. But that time also he kept saying the same thing, that he and Walkar were not staying together, and failed to revealed anything more, he said.
“We questioned him at the police station in Delhi also for hours, but never get suspicious about him,” the official said. Walkar’s close friend Rajat Shukla said it was possible that Poonawala might have been forcing her to convert (her religion). “He (Poonawala) is not an ordinary man…Love Jihad, terrorism, or may be some mission in the entire case…an investigation should be done into the case and the truth should come out. He was misleading people but the reality has to come out now,” Shukla said.
“Poonawala did not seem to be a lover as such a person cannot commit a heinous crime like chopping the body of a person he loved into pieces, keeping them in a fridge and disposing them in a forest,” he said.
Shukla also said they came to know in 2019 about Poonawala being in a live-in relationship with Walkar. “But, it seems both of them were in a relationship since 2018 and kept it a secret. A few of our friends had also met Poonawala,” he added.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea moved by Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission of India (ECI) decision to freeze Election Symbol of Bow and Arrow.
The Bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula on Tuesday while dismissing the plea, also directed ECI to decide the dispute as expeditiously as possible which is pending before it.
The writ petition moved by Uddhav Thackeray sought direction to quash the order passed by the Election Commission of India on October 8, 2022, freezing the election symbol of the Shiv Sena Political Party.
Election Commission counsel told the court that this is purely an interim arrangement. The commission will decide the matter after hearing from all parties.
Appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray faction, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal submitted that the party functioning has come to a standstill after EC froze the Shiv Sena party name and the symbol.
The impugned Order is liable to be set aside for the same having been passed in complete violation of principles of natural justice, without granting any hearing to the parties and without giving an opportunity to lead evidence.
The plea submitted that ECI had been vested with wide powers under Article 324 of the Constitution of India and the Symbols Order to ensure the effective functioning of our democratic system.
It is submitted that a symbol reflects the ideas/ethos of the party and ECI should grant recognition of any such symbol which reflects the true ideology, ethos, and aspirations of a political party.
The plea further stated that on January 23, 2018, the Organizational Elections of the party for the term 2018-2023 were held as per Rule V of the Rules and Regulations of Shiv Sena, which mandates intra-party elections to be conducted once in five years.
In the said elections, the Petitioner/Uddhav Thackeray was unanimously elected as the Shiv Sena Paksha Pramukh of the party.
Notably, EC passed the interim order saying in Andheri East bye polls, neither of the two groups shall be permitted to use the symbol “Bow and Arrow”, reserved for “Shiv Sena”.
The Commission’s ruling came amid the ongoing symbol war between the Uddhav Thackeray camp and rival Eknath Shinde camp.
