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EC allots ‘Two Swords and Shield symbol’ to Shinde faction

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ANI
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Election Commission Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena Election Symbol
Image: PTI

The Election Commission of India on Tuesday alloted the ‘Two Swords and Shield symbol’ to the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena a day after the group was alloted ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena) as the name for the group of the party.

Shinde faction had submitted ‘shining sun’, ‘shield and sword’ and ‘Peepul tree’ as its election symbol options to the Election Commission (EC) for the upcoming bypoll in Andheri East assembly constituency next month.

However, the ECI said that the symbols furnished by the Shinde faction are not from the list of free symbols as notified in the Commission.

Giving the reason for not allotting Sun/Surya/Sooraj as a symbol, the Election Commission said, “The Name of the symbol resembles with already reserved symbols ‘Sun (without rays)’ and ‘Rising Sun’ of recognized Political Parties namely ‘Zoram Nationalist Party’ (recognized party in the state of Mizoram) and ‘Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’ (recognized party in the state of Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Puducherry) respectively.”

“The Commission has decided to declare Do Talwarein aur Ek Dhal (Two Swords & Shield)’ to be a free symbol and allots it as the symbol to be allotted to the candidate set up, if any, by your group in the current bye-elections and till the final order is passed in the Dispute case number I of 2022,” the EC added in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Whereas the ‘flaming torch’ (mashaal) election symbol was allotted to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, rejecting their claim to the ‘Trishul’ citing religious connotation.

The Election Commission also allotted ‘ShivSena – Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the party name for the Thackeray faction Meanwhile, the ECI rejected ‘Trishul’ and ‘Gada’ (mace) as election symbols claimed by the two factions of the Shiv Sena, citing their religious connotation.

Moreover, the election body noted that the ‘Rising Sun’ election symbol sought by both factions was reserved for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The poll panel had earlier barred the group led by former Maharastra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and State Chief Minster Eknath Shinde from using the symbol “Bow and Arrow, reserved for “Shiv Sena, in the upcoming Andheri East bye-election on November 3.

A day after the Election Commission froze the ‘Bow and Arrow’ symbol of Shiv Sena barring both the rival factions in the party from using it in the upcoming Andheri East Assembly bypolls, the party president and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray lambasted the rival Shinde camp saying the “40-headed Ravana froze the bow of Lord Sri Ram”.

In a Facebook live, Thackeray said, “I did not expect this decision from the Election Commission. I believe in the judiciary. We will get justice. The 40-headed Ravana froze the bow of Lord Sri Ram. I am sad but angry because you stabbed your mother in the chest. Do not use Balasaheb’s name if you have guts.”

Eknath Shinde took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 30 earlier this year. This came after a faction of Shiv Sena under Shinde shifted the alliance to Bharatiya Janata Party BJP from MVA.

Since then, Maharashtra has been witnessing a tussle between both the factions of Sena as to who is the real inheritor of the legacy of Bal Thackeray.

Supreme Court refuse to cancel Anil Deshmukh’s bail

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ANI
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Supreme Court Money laundering case Anil Deshmukh
Image: PTI

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to cancel the bail granted to former Maharashtra’s former home minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Anil Deshmukh in the money laundering case lodged against him by Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court order which granted bail to Deshmukh. The bench clarified that the observations made by the High Court will not influence the trial and are only confined to the issue of bail.

Enforcement Directorate has approached the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to Deshmukh, who was arrested in connection with a money laundering case.

On October 4, the Bombay High Court had granted bail to Deshmukh in a money laundering case being investigated by the ED. The High Court had ordered that the bail order would be effective from October 13, in order to enable the ED to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.

Deshmukh will continue to be lodged in judicial custody in Arthur Road prison as he is also being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a corruption case.

Earlier, on Deshmukh’s plea, the top court had directed the High Court to hear and decide expeditiously his bail plea. The top court had expressed displeasure that the Bombay High Court has kept the bail application of Deshmukh pending for so many months and asked it to hear the plea of Deshmukh within this week and decide it expeditiously.

It had noted that Deshmukh’s bail plea is pending in the High Court since March 21 and it observed that keeping bail applications pending for eight months is not in consonance with the jurisprudence of bail.

Deshmukh had sought bail from the High Court in the money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate after the Special Court declined his plea. Deshmukh was arrested by the ED in November 2021 and is currently in judicial custody.

According to the ED, Deshmukh had misused his position as state home minister and collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars in Mumbai through some police of officers.

Unfortunate – The original Shiv Sena’s name and poll symbol got freezed

By
Vaidehi Taman
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uddhav, uddhav thackeray, aaditya, shiv sena, sena, symbol, bow and arrow, balasaheb, thackeray
Image: PTI

A 50-year-old political party that ruled the hearts of Maharashtra has landed in an awkward situation due to the divide in politics. The freezing of Shiv Sena’s name and poll symbol by the Election Commission was disastrous. The late Bal Thackeray’s efforts to build the “bow and arrow” symbol became famous due to his tireless work. Unfortunately, the current political situation in Maharashtra is highly unstable, which is vivacious. Amid a face-off with the Uddhav Thackeray faction, the Eknath Shinde camp submitted a list of their three choices for the party symbol to the Election Commission of India through an email.

The EC had last week frozen the “bow and arrow” symbol of Shiv Sena amid a deepening rift. The matter had even reached the Supreme Court. On Monday, Team Eknath Shinde was allowed by the poll body to name the party – ‘Babasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena). The team’s other choice – Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Thackeray) – was rejected on grounds that it was team Uddhav’s first choice also.

After the EC granted the name, Shinde in a tweet roughly translated from Marathi – said: “Finally the victory of Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva ideals. We are the inheritors of his ideals.” Ever since he revolted against Uddhav Thackeray and later took charge as Maharashtra chief minister, Eknath Shinde has been insisting that he continues to follow the ideals of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

The Uddhav Thackeray camp has already got a symbol cleared by the EC – a flaming torch or a “mashaal”. Team Uddhav’s second choice of name, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), has been cleared. Now there is another challenge, that the Uddhav Shiv-Sena has to battle with Balasaheb Shiv Sena that Eknath possesses. Uddhav loyalists may stick to him but Shiv Sainiks at large can switch their loyalties to Shinde as he has been claiming as Balasaheb Shiv Sena. Most of the ruler population is devoted to Sena due to their love and devotion for Balsaheb Thackeray.

Shiv Sena is a right-wing Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultranationalist political party in India founded in 1966 by cartoonist Balasaheb Thackeray. Originally emerging from nativist movements in Bombay (present-day Mumbai), the party agitated for preferential treatment for the Marathi people over migrants from other parts of India. Its election symbol for Maharashtra was Bow and Arrow.

Although the party’s primary base is still in Maharashtra, it has tried to expand to a pan-Indian base. In the 1970s, it gradually moved from advocating a pro-Marathi ideology to one supporting a broader Hindu nationalist agenda and aligned itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party started taking part in Mumbai (BMC) Municipal elections after its inception. In 1989, it entered into an alliance with the BJP for Lok Sabha as well as Maharashtra assembly elections, the latter of which was temporarily broken in October 2014 Assembly elections.

The alliance was quickly reformed and Shiv Sena became part of the BJP government in Maharashtra in December 2014. It was a coalition partner in the National Democratic Alliance during 1998–2019, including the Vajpayee Government during 1998–2004 and the Narendra Modi Government during 2014–2019. After the Maharashtra elections in October 2019, Shiv Sena claimed that promises were not kept by their alliance partner BJP and broke ties. The party later joined hands with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in a bid to form the government in Maharashtra. Later this alliance lost power after Eknath Shinde, a rebel Shiv Sena leader gathered the support of 2/3rd of the Sena MLAs along with BJP and became the Chief Minister on June 30, 2022.

The Uddhav Sena versus Balasaheb Sena saga started in June when Eknath Shinde led 48 MLAs in a BJP-backed coup against then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, bringing down his coalition government. Shinde then formed a new government with the BJP. Uddhav Thackeray, who lost a majority of the Sena’s elected members to team Shinde, was fighting to keep the name, election symbol and legacy of the party founded by his father Balasaheb Thackeray. But by freezing the name, two factions of the Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray and his rival Eknath Shinde, were assigned new names and symbols for an upcoming by-election. The Election Commission’s order stands until it decides on the “real” Shiv Sena question. Uddhav Thackeray’s faction will be the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and its symbol will be the mashaal (flaming torch).

Eknath Shinde’s group will be called the ‘Babasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena). Team Shinde has laid claim to the Shiv Sena’s “bow and arrow” election symbol, but the Election Commission asked it to pick a new option. Uddhav Thackeray challenged the freeze in the Delhi High Court, arguing that his faction was not heard before the decision, which, he said, was “against principles of natural justice”.

A man has been arrested in Jaipur for chopping off woman’s feet for stealing her silver anklets

By
PTI
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Arrested,Police,Jaipur
Arrested,Police,Jaipur | Image : Representative

The man who allegedly chopped off the feet of a 100-year-old woman for stealing her silver anklets has been arrested, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, Prakash Prajapat (27), was arrested from Toda Meena area in Jaipur’s Jamwa Ramgarh on Monday night, they said.

Prajapat used to live as a tenant at the victim Jamuna Devi’s residence in Meena Colony, police said.

The incident took place in the Galta Gate area at around 5 am on Sunday, they added.

The silver anklets that were stolen from the woman have been recovered from the accused, Station House Officer (Galta Gate) Mukesh Khardia said.

Meanwhile, Devi who was admitted to Sawai Man Singh Hospital succumbed to injuries during treatment on Tuesday afternoon.

The SHO said on Sunday the accused fled from the spot after robbing the woman and chopping off her feet with a sharp weapon.

A case has been registered against the accused under sections 302 (murder), 397(robbery), 407 (criminal breach of trust), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), of the Indian Penal Code, and sections under Arms Act, he said.

The police said during interrogation, the accused revealed that he robbed the elderly woman to repay his loan.

NCPCR opposes Mohd Zubair’s plea for quashing FIR in POCSO case

By
ANI
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NCPCR Mohd Zubair POCSO
Image: Twitter

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Tuesday opposed Mohammed Zubair’s petition seeking the quashing of FIR of August 2020 by the Delhi Police under Section 19 of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The complainant, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, had referred to a tweet allegedly shared by Zubair, which had the photo of a minor girl, with her face blurred out, during an online spat that he (Zubair) was having with the girl’s father.

The matter is currently being examined by the Delhi High Court Judge Anu Malhotra. It was listed for hearing on Tuesday, but later got adjourned for December 7, 2022, as the concerned bench did not assemble.

Mohammed Zubair is the co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News. NCPCR in its affidavit filed in Delhi High Court requested for directions to the Delhi Police to conduct a thorough investigation in this case and complete the same on priority.

The affidavit further submitted that the case involved harassment and online stalking of a minor, which is a serious problem that arose through the wide usage of social media platforms like Twitter.

The act of the petitioner has not only violated the rights of a minor but has also violated the provisions of law as given under the IT Act, 2000, IPC, 1860 and POCSO Act, 2012, the affidavit said.

The NCPCR submitted that the information provided by the Delhi Police through its status report dated May 14, 2022, clearly showed that the petitioner was “trying to evade the investigation of the law enforcement authorities and is not ‘fully cooperating'”.

“The mala fide intention of the petitioner to conceal the facts is evident as it is seen to be causing a severe delay in the investigation of this case,” the affidavit said.

NCPCR said that the submission made by the Delhi Police as to no cognizable offence being made out against the petitioner is also incorrect and indicated the casual attitude of the police in the matter.

It said the court may consider that in the complaint received by NCPCR with regard to the case, the retweeting of the picture of a minor girl by the petitioner “initiated the indecent and obnoxious comments against her”.

In addition, the retweeting of the picture contributed to the disclosure of her identity through her father and seriously jeopardized her safety and security, stated NCPCR reply copy.

Petitioner Mohd Zubair knocked the doors of the Delhi High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for direction to the Delhi Police to quash the said FIR and also sought directions to respondents to pay costs to the tune of Rs. 50 lakhs for harassing and defaming him.

Supreme Court refused to interfere on Bombay HC on granting bail to Anil Deshmukh in money laundering case

By
PTI
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Supreme Court, Bombay High Court,Anil Deshmukh
Supreme Court | Image: PTI

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court order on grant of bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a money laundering case.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said the observations made by the high court in its order will not affect the trial in the case and dismissed the appeal filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

On October 4, the high court had granted bail to the former minister in the case observing two components of credits” in the bank account of his family trust were not the proceeds of crime.

The HC, however, had stayed the implementation of its order till October 13 after the ED submitted it will challenge the order in the Supreme Court.

Two components of credits (Rs 10.42 crore and Rs 1.12 crore) in the account of a trust controlled by the Deshmukh family, flagged by the ED, were “not proceeds of crime,” a single-judge bench of the high court had said in the order.

The high court also said the statements given by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh and dismissed officer Sachin Waze alleging that Deshmukh had taken money from police officers for favourable postings were “prima facie hearsay”.

The Nationalist Congress Party leader, arrested on November 2, 2021, is also facing a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Deshmukh, who was a minister in the previous MVA government, is lodged in Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.

The ED claimed Deshmukh had misused his official position and collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars and restaurants in Mumbai.

The money was channelled to Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sansthan, an educational trust controlled by the Deshmukh family, it alleged. Param Bir Singh had alleged in March 2021 that Deshmukh, then the home minister, had given a target to police officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in Mumbai. The then assistant police inspector Waze, arrested in the ‘Antilia’ bomb scare case in March last too had levelled similar allegations

BEST Workers’ on symbolic protest against the transport authority’s new rule

By
Afternoon Voice
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best workers, best undertaking, best bus, shashank rao, best workers committee
Image: PTI

Almost 300 bus conductors with the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply Transport (BEST) undertaking will stage a protest at Wadala depot in Mumbai at 3 pm Tuesday against the transport authority’s latest ‘diktat’ on ticket dispensing machines, the workers’ union has informed.

BEST Workers’ Union leader Shashank Rao said it is a symbolic protest against a new rule of the authority as per which the salaries of conductors will be cut if the ticket dispensing machine gets damaged. “It is improper to cut salaries of employees. The machine may face technical problems and may not work properly. In such cases, the salaries of employees will get cut. It will be unfair and hence the protest,” he pointed out.

The transport authority has issued a notification with 15 reasons on the basis of which it can cut employees’ salaries if the machine gets damaged. An amount ranging from Rs 490 to Rs 4,737 will be levied from employees, including Rs 506 for the speaker, Rs 538 for USB cable, Rs 1,582 for the back body cover and Rs 1,105 for battery cover. In the notification issued on October 3, BEST has asked employees to take proper care of the electronic (ET) machine.

RIP Mulayam Singh Yadav

By
Vaidehi Taman
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Mulayam Singh Yadav Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party
Image: PTI

‘Antim darshan of Mulayam Singh Yadav started at UP’s Saifai Mela Ground. Etawah district magistrate Avanish Rai paid tribute first on behalf of the President of India, followed by Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav, and other SP leaders including Swami Prasad Maurya, Kiranmoy Nanda, and Ram Govind Chaudhary.  BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi too paid tributes to Mulayam.

SP Founder Mulayam Singh Yadav Last Rites Live Updates: Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, who died while undergoing treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram on Monday (October 10), will be cremated on Tuesday at his native village Saifai in Uttar Pradesh. According to the party, the cremation is scheduled to take place around 3 pm. Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu and BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi have paid their last respects to the leader at Saiafi ground.

Even death cannot destroy two things — the soul and memory. Memories emerge from the kritya (acts) of a person. Mulayam Singh Yadav will live on in the hearts and minds of people through his political acts.

Mulayam Singh, popularly known as Netaji, was the typical zameeni neta (grass roots-level leader). In the early years of his political career in Uttar Pradesh, he would go from village to village, sleep in khet- khaliyans and often eat lai-chana. The matti (soil) was a running theme throughout his life. He grew up in the soil of the akhada as a wrestler and then planted his politics in the soil itself and, for his entire political life, tried to speak for the backward, marginalised and minority groups. Badri Narayan writes

Meanwhile, a sea of people gathered for the last rites of Mulayam Singh Yadav at his native Saifai village in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, amid the cloudy sky and intermittent morning drizzle. His mortal remains were brought to Saifai Monday evening. According to an official statement issued in Lucknow, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had reached Saifai and paid tributes to Yadav yesterday evening. He also paid floral tributes on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and the Uttar Pradesh government, the release said.

Palghar mob lynching case: Maha Govt tells SC to transfer case to CBI

By
ANI
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Maharashtra Government Palghar Mob leeching Case
Image: PTI

Maharashtra Government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it has no objection on transferring the 2020 Palghar mob lynching case of two Hindu sadhus to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government in an affidavit said that it is ready and willing to hand over the investigation to the CBI and would have no objection to the same.

Maharashtra State filed the affidavit on the petitions arising out of the unfortunate attack and lynching of two sadhus and seeking the transfer of the investigation into the matter to CBI in order to conduct an independent and impartial investigation.

The pleas sought a CBI or a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe in the incident that took place in the Palghar district in April 2020.

Earlier, the Maharashtra government had told the apex court that an investigation has been completed in the Palghar lynching case. Maharashtra government had earlier informed Supreme Court that all guilty police officials have been punished or suspended from services.

Earlier, the apex court had asked the Maharashtra government to bring on record the chargesheet and details of the inquiry against police officials in connection with the Palghar mob lynching incident.

The pleas have also sought a probe by the CBI and the registration of an FIR against police officials for their alleged failure to prevent the mob from gathering in violation of the lockdown norms.

On the night of April 16, 2020, two sadhus and their driver were travelling from Kandivali in Mumbai to attend a funeral in Gujarat’s Surat amid the nationwide lockdown when their vehicle was stopped and they were attacked and killed by a mob in Gadchinchile village of Palghar in the presence of police officers.

India-South Africa’s final ODI will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, in Delhi

By
ANI
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India,South Africa,BCCI
India, South Africa | Image: BCCI

The final ODI of the India-South Africa series promises to be a thrilling affair as the two teams lock horns at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in Delhi today with the series on the line.

Both teams will look to put their best foot forward as the two teams have plenty to gain from the match. South Africa’s desperate for a win as it will not only help the Proteas win the series in India but also gain some crucial Super League points, helping them with their qualification in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup.

India will hope that the Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan and opener Shubhman Gill perform brilliantly to throw in their hats for the ODI World Cup next year to be played in front of the home crowd.

South Africa are currently placed in 11th place on the Super League points table, but a win would move them up to ninth, ahead of Sri Lanka and Ireland, and only nine points behind the West Indies in eighth place – the cut-off for direct entry for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

A win here will give South Africa the chance they so gravely need. With five matches remaining, they might just be able to avoid adding World Cup qualifiers next June if they score 10 points.

As per the points tally, only Sri Lanka has a substantial chance of catching them. India have ticked most of its boxes with fantastic performances coming from the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Kishan, Mohammad Siraj, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and last match debutant Shahbaz Ahmed.

The Proteas will also be wary of the fact that their head coach Mark Boucher will relinquish his role as the team’s coach after the T20 World Cup and the India series will be his last bilateral series.

The team will also hope for the captain Temba Bavuma to find form before the T20 World Cup as the batter has been able to score only 11 runs in four innings since recovering from the elbow injury that sidelined him for three months.

He then sat out the last match with illness and desperately needs time in the middle. South Africa won the first ODI by 9 runs in a rain-curtailed match, with India running them close, thanks to a brilliant display of batting by Sanju Samson.

David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen starred with the bat for South Africa helping them put up a formidable total.

The Indian team put on a clinical performance in the second ODI to hand the Proteas a crushing 7-wicket defeat and tie the series 1-1. Shreyas Iyer smashed a brilliant unbeaten century to take India home with Ishan Kishan narrowly missing out on a century.

Over the weekend, heavy rain poured in Delhi, causing waterlogging and traffic jams, as well as threatening to wash out the series finale.

The forecast for Tuesday has been significantly improved, with the possibility of rain reducing from 40 per cent in the morning to roughly 15 per cent later on, although the teams may still face a curtailed match. Should play begin, expect a surface that will provide more to the quicks than what we have seen so far.

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