Veteran Marathi stage actor, singer and drama producer Bhalchandra Pendharkar has died at a private hospital here today after a brief illness. He was 94.
Born on November 25, 1921, at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, Pendharkar was affectionately known as Anna and gained immense popularity through his play Duritanche Timir Javo. He received many honours and awards, including the Bal Gandharva award and the Vishnudas Bhave award. He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2004.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in his condolence message, said Pendharkar had made a great contribution to Marathi theatre.
The Bombay High Court asked Maharashtra government to spell out its policy on providing land to retired defence personnel by replying to a petition seeking a five acre plot from the state government for an ex-service man.
The petition was filed by Sudhakar Pundlik Jadhav who retired from Indian Air Force on June 30, 1980 in Deolali, Nasik, after 20 years of combat service. He applied for a five-acre plot to the Collector in Jalgaon, his native place, in keeping with the government policy.
A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Reveti Mohite Dhere asked the state if there was any such policy to allot land to retired defence personnel who are landless.
The government counsel sought time to seek instructions and the matter was adjourned by two weeks.
The petitioner annexed a state government Resolution dated May 14, 1968, and a Resolution of the government of India dated April 25, 1967, which said that vacant, surplus and uncultivated land should be alloted to defence personnel for their rehabilitation after retirement.
The petitioner further said he had accordingly applied for a 5-acre plot of land at village Padur Kasbe in Jamner taluka of Jalgaon district on January 29, 1987, through the Commanding Officer of the Air Force. Thereafter, he had sent several reminders but the authorities are yet to respond to his application.
In more trouble for self-proclaimed godwoman Radhe Maa, a petition filed in the Bombay High Court sought a direction to the police to lodge an FIR against her for alleged cheating, obscenity and hurting religious sentiments.
Advocate Falguni Brahmbhatt, the petitioner, said she moved the court after the suburban Borivali police failed to take action on her complaint.
“It has been five days since I asked police to take action against Radhe maa. But nothing was done,” she said.
The petition accuses Radhe Maa of cheating innocent people, hurting their religious sentiments, and obscenity. It would come up for hearing in due course of time.
Mumbai police had last week registered a case against her after a woman alleged that Radhe Maa instigated her in-laws to harass her for dowry. Police have summoned the godwoman for questioning.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday asked the Interpol wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to issue a Red Corner notice against the former Indian Premier League czar Lalit Modi.
ED’s Mumbai wing on Monday requested its head office in Delhi to send its application seeking a red corner notice against Modi, said a senior ED official.
A few days back a special Mumbai court had accepted the ED’s plea for a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against former IPL commissioner Modi.
The Maharashtra government is mulling a plan to provide drinking water to drought-affected Latur in the Marathwada region through railway wagons.
Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Eknath Khadse said that the state government is considering supplying water from Ujni dam near Pandharpur to Latur via railway wagons.
“We have instructed officials to calculate the cost of implementing the plan. Each goods train wagon would have a capacity of around 70,000 litres. It is more expensive to supply water on truck tankers than by railways,” he said.
However, when asked to elaborate on the government’s plan to supply water using railway wagons, Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Babanrao Lonikar said, “I have no information on the issue.”
Lonikar said that the government’s plan to tackle the drinking water crisis was “discussed in the Cabinet sub- committee meeting today” but maintained that he “cannot disclose the committee’s decision”.
Talking about his department’s work, Lonikar said that, apart from the Jal Yukt Shivar scheme, it has decided to increase the depth of rivers so that water storage level increases in the event of good rainfall.
“After Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s instructions, JCB machines have been brought to the Marathwada region for the purpose. We have set a target to completely remove mud settled in all small rivers across the region within five years,” he said.
According to government figures, the Marathwada region is worst affected by the drought, and water levels in Beed, Latur and Osmanabad districts of the region have gone below 600-ft.
Meanwhile, Lonikar added that 1,751 tankers are in service to provide water to 1,342 villages and 2,362 wadis in the Marathwada region.
Water in Nanded is being supplied from the Vishnupuri dam, while Jalna and Parbhani get water from the lower Dudhana project, which has a capacity of 12 TMC.
Lonikar also said that the government has decided to purchase fodder from neighbouring Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Court tells Centre to widely publicise that Aadhaar card was not mandatory. In an interim order till a Constitution Bench decides on the issue, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar should not be used for availing government welfare schemes other than PDS, food grain distribution, cooking fuel/LPG or for criminal investigation on a court’s direction. The Court, in its interim order, said the Centre should ensure wide publicity through print and electronic media that Aadhaar card was not mandatory. No personal information of Aadhaar card holders should be shared by the authorities concerned. Earlier in the day, the Court referred to a larger bench a batch of petitions to declare Aadhaar scheme as an intrusion into privacy.
The UID/Aadhaar was the biggest scam where few lakh crores of taxpayers’ money was looted by the authorities involved. Everything that government touches stink with corruption. The much touted RTI Act also is a tragedy and every information commissioner should be investigated for corruption/assets disproportionate to known sources of income because it is commonsensical to suspect bribe when the public information officers are not penalised as per the law and let off scot free even when information required to be provided is denied. Certainly, the Government planned a way of looting the exchequer unimpeded. They always find the ways to diminish the treasury. No government is for the service of the down trodden. In the last sixty years, poverty is well maintained to enable more loot. The earnings of the government have been steadily raising but poverty is pegged at a comfortable level to enable more loot. Even if country organized free food for all, and not allowing food grains to rot in the godowns then also you will hear the large scale of deaths due to starvation, because of corruption. MGNREGA would have flourished if it was planned well in advance with elaborate specific schemes, not for digging holes. Five years back, abrupt decision was taken in the election year.
Four years after the Aadhaar was launched – and touted as a panacea to access social services and subsidies – its users continue to be dogged by an array of problems ranging from technical glitches to procedural delays. And those who do not have an Aadhaar card find themselves quizzed by government authorities. Aadhaar card challenges ordinary citizens – both those who have cards and those who do not have – be it from non-availability of application forms or glitches in the biometrics process. Identity fraud is the fastest growing fraud in the western world and everyone has heard of bogus offers from fraudsters posing as legitimate representatives of organizations in an attempt to steal personal and financial data. Data held by banks have been sold by unprofessional call centers to organized crime rackets, which has impacted the lives of many.
Identity fraud has many faces, including the use of lost or dead people’s identity to claim government and social benefits. In India, even the reverse has happened where relatives had used the identity of a person who is living abroad to register him as dead in order to steal the family property. This is about compromising our identity, which can be used against us not only as an individual, but collectively as a nation. Such data if corroborated will be the biggest tool in the hands of foreign MNC’s, who can exploit us as a Nation and enslave us again.
In March this year, the Supreme Court had confirmed that the Aadhaar number was not compulsory, and further, officials who insisted on them would be taken to task. Officials don’t insist directly. It is clearly stated that the service providers such as banks, government services and benefits providing agencies, etc., can insist on providing proof of the Aadhaar Card. On the matter of the petitioner saying, “Personal information would help the State possess unbridled powers over its citizens and provide an easy opportunity to snoop on their private lives”, the State must have laws to prohibit snooping by the State using this data in its custody or providing this information to any other party for any reason. Privacy, indeed, is a right. If the government is serious in implementing Aadhaar, let them withdraw all other identity cards of various government agencies and embed it to Aadhaar.
A MNREGA survey, conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan which was submitted to the government has shown that in 2010-11 the average number of days worked per household in projects covered by the scheme was 45, 37 and 52 for the three states, respectively.
Ruling that Aadhaar card is not mandatory, the Supreme Court on Tuesday gave a verdict that it should be used only to disburse LPG, food grains and other subsidies. The apex court directed the concerned government authorities that no personal information of Aadhaar card holders shall be shared by them.
The apex court, which had earlier referred the matter to a bench of 5 judges after the government said that Right to Privacy is not a fundamental right under the Constitution, also gave 4 directions to the government regarding the same. The Centre has so far maintained that there is no maintainability to the plea that demands the scrapping of the Aadhaar scheme on the ground there is violation of the right to privacy.
“The Centre shall ensure wide publicity through print and electronic media that Aadhar card is not mandatory,” the bench said.
The Constitution Bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Centre’s ambitious scheme to provide Aadhar card to all citizens and decide whether right to privacy is a fundamental right.
Earlier in the day, an apex court bench had referred the matter to a constitution bench as it wanted an authoritative pronouncement on whether right to privacy is a fundamental right.
The Constitution Bench ruled that Aadhar card will remain optional for availing various
welfare schemes of the government except for PDS and LPG distribution system.
The court directed that “no personal information of Aadhar card holders shall be shared by the authorities concerned”.
The bench, also comprising Justices SA Bobde and C Nagappan, said, “UIDAI/Aadhaar will not be used for any other purposes except PDS, kerosene and LPG distribution system.” However, the court made it clear that even for PDS, kerosene and LPG distribution system, the card will not be mandatory.
The court, however, allowed the use of details of Aadhar card holders for any criminal investigation.
Protesting over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘DNA’ remark, Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday launched ‘Shabdwapasi’ (Take Back Words) campaign.
Commenting on the launch of the ‘Shabd waapsi’ campaign, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that his party waited for PM Modi to retract his remark, but as he didn’t relent, the protest has been started.
The JD(U) leader further said, “Party supporters are sending their hair and nail samples to the PM, he is free to get them tested.”
Many supporters of JD(U) were seen cutting their hair and nail to send it to PM Modi.
The whole controversy started when PM Modi while addressing a public meeting in Muzaffarpur on July 25 said, “There seems to be some problem in his (Nitish Kumar`s) DNA because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In democracy, you give respect even to your political rivals.”
“During the last elections, Kumar had said that if he was unable to provide electricity to entire Bihar, he would not come to ask for votes again in 2015…But have you got the electricity? It has not come. But he has come to ask for votes. He betrayed your trust. Forget me, he even back-stabbed you. Such people cannot be trusted again,” PM Modi said.”During the last elections, Kumar had said that if he was unable to provide electricity to entire Bihar, he would not come to ask for votes again in 2015…But have you got the electricity? It has not come. But he has come to ask for votes. He betrayed your trust. Forget me, he even back-stabbed you. Such people cannot be trusted again,” PM Modi said.
Meanwhile, JD(U) leader Pawan Verma echoed Nitish Kumar’s remarks saying that PM has insulted the people of Bihar by calling them ‘durbhagyashaali’ (unfortuante) and labelling the state as ‘BIMARU’.
Last week the Bihar CM had urged PM Modi to “please consider taking back” his comments on Nitish Kumar`s so-called DNA.
Dawood Ibrahim, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused and India’s most wanted person, wanted to return to India in 2013 and had established contact with the Manmohan Singh government.
A Delhi based senior lawyer, who is also a Congress leader, had communicated to his party leadership and then prime minister Manmohan Singh that the underworld don wanted to negotiate and ‘return’ to India.
The daily says the controversial issue was discussed within the leadership and the government.
The report further states that Dr Singh and ex-national security advisor Shivshankar Menon held hectic consultations on possibility of Dawood’s return.
While responding to the queries on the sensational issue, the ex-PM in an email response said, “I have no recollection of any discussion with any person regarding the return of underworld leader Dawood Ibrahim.”
However, some former officials have confirmed that Dawood’s offer was discussed by the party leadership and it was taken up by Dr Singh’s office as well.
It is being said that the lawyer, who took the offer to the Congress leadership, had handled several cases of D-company and was in touch with Dawood’s family members.
The report further states that Dawood is suffering from a serious kidney ailment and wanted to return to India and be with his family members.
However, the then Congress government rejected Dawood’s offer, as it was apprehensive of conducting a trial against India’s most wanted on his terms.
Earlier, months after the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, the underworld don on November 01, 1993 had filed a plea asking the Supreme Court to shift the blasts cases from Mumbai to Delhi. However, the petition was never filed.
Dawood’s petition had criticised the Mumbai Police and accused some vested interests of trying to implicate him in the blasts case.
The draft petition further said: “The trial be moved to a jurisdiction in which ends of justice would be better served and a fair and impartial trial can take place.”
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPA) chairperson, protesting against Pakistan’s “unilateral” decision not to invite the Speaker of J&K Assembly for the meet.
Mahajan has asked the CPA chairperson to immediately resolve the matter and ensure invitation for J&K Speaker failing which India will boycott the conference in Islamabad.
Mahajan had earlier said that India would boycott the September 30-October 8 conference if Jammu and Kashmir Speaker Kavinder Gupta was not invited.
She further said that Pakistan has invited the speakers of the other state assemblies for the nine-day conference but not the J&K Assembly Speaker.
The 10-day meeting will be held in Islamabad from September 30.
The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Renewing the commitment to pluralism and inclusive democracy in the Commonwealth’.
Parliamentary delegations from more than 175 legislatures of 53 countries of the Commonwealth are scheduled to attend the conference.
During their week long stay in Islamabad, over 600 parliamentarians will discuss issues pertaining to legislative oversight, parliamentary strengthening, gender development, climate change and other issues of importance to the Commonwealth fraternity.
Ruling that Aadhaar card is not mandatory, the Supreme Court on Tuesday gave a verdict that it should be used only to disburse LPG, food grains and other subsidies. The apex court directed the concerned government authorities that no personal information of Aadhaar card holders shall be shared by them.