Will Shiv Sena’s victory in KDMC polls unite estranged Thackeray brothers?

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November 3, 2015

Despite falling short of getting absolute majority, Shiv Sena’s emphatic victory in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation polls has triggered speculations about the re-uniification of the two estranged Thackeray brothers – Uddhav and Raj.

Shiv Sena had on Monday emerged as the single largest party in the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation, bagging 52 seats but falling 9 short of a majority in the 122-member body.

In the run up to the Kalyan- Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) elections, all eyes were on the Shiv Sena and BJP, with the parties lodged in a bitter and very public rivalry. Interestingly, after the declaration of results, it is the MNS that finds itself at the centre of attention.

With neither the Shiv Sena nor the BJP winning the magic 61 seats needed for majority and in view of the strained ties between the two allies, Raj Thackeray’s MNS has now appeared as the kingmaker, triggering speculations about reconciliation between the estranged Thackeray cousins.

The Sena came closest to majority, with 52 seats in the bag. The BJP came second, trailing behind by 10 seats. On the other hand, the MNS took a steep fall from its existing 27 seats in the house to just 9. The Shiv Sena requires 9 seats for a majority.

This has led to speculations about Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray’s next move – a patch up with friend-turned-foe BJP or re-unification with MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

Though, the official Shiv Sena stance is that “it will wait and watch”, but if social media is any evidence, party members hope Uddhav will side with his cousin. Twitter is already abuzz with Sena leaders and workers posting a picture of Sena supremo Bal Thackeray with

his son Uddhav and nephew Raj in happier times, before the latter split from them and floated his own party.

The MNS is open to discussion with the Sena, party spokesperson and former MLA Nitin Sardesai said.

“Shiv Sena hasn’t approached us, but our doors are open for discussion if they want to talk about an alliance,” he said.

A senior Sena leader also said the party was considering joining forces with the MNS.

“We are trying all methods to get enough support to place our mayor in KDMC. We won’t mind forging an alliance with MNS,” he said, adding that the party was also in talks with three independent winners.

Meanwhile, Sena reportedly started negotiations with Raj Thackeray-led MNS, a party source was quoted as saying today.

On the other hand, BJP too was trying win over independents for coming to power, sources said.

A BJP leader said the KDMC results had given the party the confidence to contest the Mumbai civic elections of 2017 independently (without alliance with Shiv Sena).

BJP MP Kapil Patil denied that his party criticised Shiv Sena, the ruling alliance partner, during the campaign. “We just responded to Shiv Sena’s criticism. We are open to options to come to power,” he said.

‘Drunk’ cop molests woman, arrested

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

A police constable in Mumbai has been arrested and suspended for allegedly molesting and assaulting a woman while he was in an inebriated state, a senior police official said.

Constable Pravin Nalawade was suspended last night with immediate effect for molesting and assaulting the woman in Marol area, Joint Police Commissioner Deven Bharti said.

The accused police personnel was allegedly drunk last night at around 9.30 PM when a passerby saw him chasing a woman and assaulting her, police said.

As the woman cried for help, the passersby then caught hold of the cop.

Later, an FIR was registered at Powai police station against Nalawade under relevant sections and subsequently he was suspended and arrested, police added.

Sheena Bora murder case: Indrani Mukerjea gives consent for voice sample test

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in Sheena Bora murder case, on Tuesday gave her consent before a court here for conduct of voice sample test on her.

“I give my consent for the test,” she told the court.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had last week moved an application before the court seeking her voice samples for verification, as it has got hold of some call records which purportedly feature her voice.

Magistrate RV Adone allowed CBI’s application and directed that jail manual be followed while conducting the voice sampling test.

Soon after she was produced in court today, the magistrate referred to the CBI plea, to which Indrani asked, “What is it about? This is to match with what?”

The court then asked her to wait for the special public prosecutor to arrive.

Once special public prosecutor Kavita Patil arrived, she repeated the questions.

“I will give my consent, but I want to know that this (voice sample test) is to match with what?” she asked.

Patil told Indrani that her voice samples are needed to match with some voices.

When Indrani sought to know more, Patil told her she was not supposed to know it and that it was part of the investigation.

After this, Indrani gave her consent in writing for conduct of voice sample test on her.

43-year-old Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyam Rai were last week remanded in judicial custody till November 7 in the murder case.

They have been arrested on the charge of murdering 24-year-old Sheena, daughter of Indrani, and disposing of her body in a Raigad forest in April 2012.

The case is being probed by CBI after the Maharashtra government had sought its transfer from Mumbai Police to the central investigation agency.

Indrani was recently hospitalised after her platelet count dipped drastically. However, doctors at JJ Hospital had later made it clear that she was not suffering from dengue as suspected.

On October 2, Indrani was taken to JJ Hospital from Byculla womens’ prison in an unconscious state, fuelling speculation that she had overdosed on anti-depressant drugs.

But the probe by Inspector General (prisons) ruled out the possibility of drug overdose, poisoning or suicide bid.

Sena ministers attend Maharashtra Cabinet meet after acrimony

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

After a bitter campaign by ruling alliance partners during the recent municipal elections, Shiv Sena ministers on Tuesday attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet.

Sena ministers Subhash Desai and Diwakar Raote were among those present at the meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The civic poll campaign, specially in the adjoining Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation, had seen top state leaders of both the parties indulge in aggressive and sometimes personal attacks against each other.

Fadnavis had spoken of “counting teeth of the tiger (Sena)”, while Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had also singled out the Chief Minister in his campaign.

The Sena yesterday emerged as the single largest party in the KDMC election, bagging 52 seats, but fell short of a majority in the 122-member body.

The BJP came second winning 42 seats, sharply improving on its earlier tally of nine.

The Raj Thackeray-led MNS bagged nine seats, while NCP and Congress were relegated to the fourth position with three seats each.

However, the BJP could not make any major dent in the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation where Congress emerged as the single largest party but fell short of a majority.

Intolerance being encouraged in India, says Sonia Gandhi; Congress submits memorandum to President

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul on Tuesday led the party’s leaders and MPs in a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan in protest against “growing intolerance” in the country, accusing the Modi government of “unleashing a sinister campaign” to create social and communal tension.

After leading the march from Parliament, Sonia handed over a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention in checking such incidents which are causing social divide.

The 125-member delegation included senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge.

The move by the main Opposition party came in the backdrop of protests by artistes, writers and scientists over alleged “rising intolerance” reflected in the Dadri lynching, beef row and other such incidents.

Sonia said, “Congress delegation met the President of India and have handed over to a memorandum to him. Intolerance is being encouraged in this country; we will fight this atmosphere tooth and nail. Although the President of India has spoken his mind, yet the PM is completely silent on these incidents.”

“The incidents taking place are part of a well-thought out strategy to divide our society,” she added.

On his part Rahul said, “Large number of people have made it very clear that they are unhappy with the way this government views this country. This is not the matter of Congress party; this is matter of the people of this country. The Finance Minister of this country says nothing is going on, maybe he should go to the villages and see whats going on.”

“A minister of this government has compared two innocent people burnt to death with dogs,” he added.

Meanwhile, BJP and Congress had on Monday locked horns over the issue of intolerance in the society, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the Congress president had no moral right to lecture the NDA on tolerance and it should “hang its head in shame” for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots where thousands were massacred.

Congress had hit back, contending like in 2002 post-Godhra violence, Modi has “forgotten Rajdharma” in 2015 too as he was an “endorser of intolerance by his studied silence” over acts of hate and violence.

BJP leader threatens to behead Karnataka CM over beef row

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

Stoking a controversy, a local BJP leader has threatened to behead Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in public if he consumed cow meat.

The remarks were made by S N Channabasappa, a former president of the erstwhile Shivamogga City Municipal Council, during a protest organised by the local party unit against Siddaramaiah’s reported comment on beef eating last week.

“How dare you lay your hands on the neck of Gomata? You are openly saying with a dictatorial attitude that you will eat cow meat… If you have the guts, you come here and eat at Gopi Circle (in Shivamogga), then, let there be no doubt that on that day, you will be beheaded,” Channabasappa said.

“… Are you playing with the emotions of Hindus? Don’t do it…,” Channabasappa had warned at the meeting held yesterday.

The remarks were described as “a provocative statement” by Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru.

“It is a provocative statement. I will ask the police to inquire into it. If it is true, they will definitely take action,” Siddarmaiah said.

Asked about state BJP leaders not reacting to such statements saying they were being made by “fringe elements”, Siddaramaiah said, “BJP people are known for it. That is why we are opposing them.”

“If I say I will eat, how will it harm majority community? Don’t we eat other kinds of meat?” he said.

Babus to lose job for overstaying on foreign assignments: Government

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

IAS and IPS officers will lose their job for overstaying on foreign assignments for more than a month or for being on unauthorised leave without permission, as per the new rules formed by the government on Tuesday.

In case states fail to act against delinquent officers, the Centre will on its own initiate proceedings of “deemed resignation” against them, it said.

The move comes after it was noticed that some bureaucrats were not reporting back to India after completion of their foreign postings. Few of them were also proceeding on unauthorised leave soon after completing their tenure abroad.

If an officer of all India service — Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS), remains unauthorisedly absent after the sanctioned period of leave, study leave or tenure of foreign assignment, there shall be a one month waiting period, the rules said.

After that, the state government concerned under whose cadre the officer hails from, shall issue a show cause notice, thereby giving him an opportunity to explain his case.

Thereafter, if the officer does not return to duty, the state government concerned shall initiate proceedings of deemed resignation and forward a proposal to the Centre for effecting it within next two months, it said, adding that the process of deemed resignation should be completed within three months time.

In case the state government fails to comply with these instructions, the central government shall initiate proceedings of deemed resignation on its own, the rules finalised by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

“However, there is no bar in issuing show cause notice and seek clarification from a member of service for being unauthorisedly absent any time during one year period of unauthorised absence,” it said.

But after period of one year of unauthorised absence, the whole process of deemed resignation shall be completed within three months, the rules said.

Convict driver Shiv Kumar Yadav gets life imprisonment in Uber cab rape

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

An Uber cab driver was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment till his natural death for raping a woman executive in his taxi 11 months ago by a Delhi court.

The court awarded the maximum sentence for the offence which endangered the life of the 25-year-old woman. 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav was given the life imprisonment by Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja who held that the convict while raping the victim abducted her with an intent to compel her for marriage. “Convict (Yadav) is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment till his remaining natural life for the offence under section 376 (2)(m) (committing rape causes grievous bodily harm) of the IPC,” the judge said and also imposed a fine of Rs 21,000 on him.

The court also directed the Delhi Legal Services Authority to give compensation to the victim and to take care of the family of the convict. Moments after pronouncement of the judgment, Yadav, his wife, father and two minor daughters started crying inconsolably. His wailing wife also fainted in the courtroom.

According to the prosecution, the incident took place on the night of December 5 last year when the victim, a finance executive working in Gurgaon, was heading back to her house at Inderlok in Central Delhi. The accused was arrested on December 7, 2014 from Mathura. The prosecution had produced 28 witnesses in the case. The court pronounced the sentence after hearing arguments of the prosecutor and defence counsel for over one-and-a-half hour.

During the arguments on quantum of sentence, special public prosecutor Atul Srivastava sought maximum punishment, i.e., imprisonment till remaining life for Yadav. He said Yadav has previous involvements in criminal cases and by means of sentencing, a message should be sent to the society so that no person commits this type of crime again.

“Rape murders soul of a person. We need to see the manner in which the act was executed. Only the woman is not the victim but the whole society is victim here. So, I request that maximum punishment is given to him,” Srivastava said. Seeking leniency for the convict, his counsel D K Mishra submitted that 10-years’ punishment would be enough to instill fear in the mind of society and there is nobody to support his aged parents, wife and three minor children.

“Maximum sentence of life imprisonment till natural death is not warranted in this case as it is worse than capital punishment. It is my perception that Yadav has changed during the trial and there are chances of his reformation,” the counsel said. During the proceedings, victim’s parents were also present in the court and they expressed satisfaction over the order. The court had convicted Yadav in the case on October 20.

Rising intolerance in the country

By

Mahendra Singh

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November 3, 2015

Last month several writers had returned the Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the rising intolerance in the country. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma was dismissive of the writers’ actions, saying the award has “nothing to do with the government” and that it was a “personal choice” to return it. RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat has rightly spoken that an atmosphere of hope and “can do and will do” has been created but this needs to be sustained and not frittered away by our irresponsible statements and silly actions.

Even though India’s population is rising day by day but the government has failed to take steps to control it. Rising population has become a huge cause of concern. The land mass will not increase but if population remains unchecked, strain on available resources are bound to increase. Mohan Bhagwat called for a need to rise above vote bank politics to formulate a holistic approach to population policy that is equally applicable to all citizens. Bhagwat, without naming any community, favoured a “uniform population policy which is applicable to all”.

The bitter relations between the BJP and Congress cast its shadow on the Africa summit. This is the first time that the internal squabbles of political parties are being reflected in foreign policy, which so far had the consensus of all political formations. That India wants to play a bigger role in Africa’s development is also plain and welcomed by Africa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a further $10 billion credit line for Africa, over the next five years. India also pitched for African nations to support its Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which had been brought in by the first NDA government in 1996, and has been gathering dust at the UN.

India must take this opportunity and sign agreements to purchase land in African countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Mozambique, Togo, Benin, Angola etc; and set up agricultural and industrial ventures there in co-operation with the local populace. We Indians indulge in loose talk and excessive politicking here but work much better in overseas countries. Our industrial houses must be motivated to move out and work. I met a company who are engaged in building jetties in Reunion Island to operate four fishing vessels from here. We want only white collar jobs inside the country.

The RSS headquarters is located in Nagpur. I learnt that most of the hoarded pulses were found in this city. It shows that social responsibility has not percolated in the citizenry here. Religious books are necessary to reform people. I myself read Gita sometimes even though I have read it many times. Religious books give us inspiration. These types of books cover many primary topics ranging from economics to history to human relationship. To read and learn Holy texts makes kids wiser and this will aid them take strong decisions. After reading Holy books, people can think in a positive way in which they become more ambitious.

Justin Bieber gets relief, taken off probation

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Afternoon Voice

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November 3, 2015

The Sorry singer was not in court on Monday to hear his lawyer set out proof he had completed 40 hours of community labour, the final term of his sentence for vandalism.

And in a probation report, a programme manager at a homeless shelter praised the 21-year-old star – who was convicted after egging a neighbor’s house – for his willingness to “get his hands dirty” by performing maintenance and janitorial work.

As part of his sentence, Bieber was required to undertake the community service, seek anger management counseling and repay around $80,000 in damages to his neighbors.

He has since moved away from the gated community in Calabasas, California.

The What Do You Mean? hitmaker – who has since apologized for his wild antics, including the egging incident – recently admitted he had considered quitting his music career after his bad behavior began to overshadow his talent.

He said: “For a minute, I was just too in my head, and I just wanted to quit everything. But I knew that was the easy way out. I know I’m meant for this.

“I know God has a greater purpose for me to be in this position. It’s just up to me to take that calling and respect it. It takes integrity to last in this business.

“I was almost like a reality star, rather than a musician. So I was just giving them ammo and they were feeding into it and I was feeding into it, and I wasn’t caring. I was just like… being a jerk, a little bit.”