Ineffective execution of welfare schemes and a string of scams led to dismal performance of UPA in Lok Sabha polls, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday.

He also asked the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra to hasten decision-making ahead of Assembly polls due in a few months.

“We brought schemes but failed to ensure effective execution like implementation of the Food Security Act. A lot of time was wasted on the issue of making Aadhaar card mandatory for gas cylinders. In the end, we had to face the people’s wrath,” he told reporters.

Pawar said public anger against the UPA dispensation also stemmed from a series of corruption cases.

“In cases of corruption like the 2G, CWG and coal scams, it was the judiciary which initiated action and so people were angry with the government,” he said.

Pawar, whose party received severe drubbing in the elections in Maharashtra where it could win only four of the 21 seats it had contested, stressed the need for the Congress-NCP government to pull up its socks and expedite the decision-making process to turn the tide in their favour ahead of the crucial Assembly Elections later this year when the combine would seek a fourth term in office.

“If we expedite important decisions in the next two months, then only the ruling combine will benefit,” Pawar, whose party has often been critical of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over alleged slow pace of decision-making, said. Pawar said the two parties will contest the Assembly polls together.

“Congress and NCP, which are seeking the fourth term in office, will fight the assembly polls in alliance,” he said, expressing confidence that the political situation will change and the ruling alliance would retain power in the state.

Pawar said he had expected BJP to win a little over 200 seats and Congress’ tally in the range of 80-100 seats. “However, the actual results were unexpected,” he added.

He said BJP made good use of the electronic media to campaign aggressively.

Pawar has convened a meeting of NCP ministers, senior leaders and office-bearers on May 22 and 23 to take stock of Lok Sabha results in which his party’s tally was whittled down to just four and that of Congress to two.

Leaders of a buoyant BJP in Maharashtra may be hoping for more seats to contest in upcoming state Assembly polls but ally Shiv Sena does not seem to be in a mood to insist on continuing to play the role of “big brother” in state politics.

Though there has been no formal demand from BJP leaders, there is speculation in the state political circles that an aggressive BJP, after its impressive outing in Lok Sabha polls – it bagged 23 seats, compared to 18 by Sena –may insist on a bigger share.

In 2009 Assembly polls, the alliance partners had stuck to the 171:117 formula, wherein Sena contested 171 and BJP 117 of the 288 seats in the Lower House in Maharashtra.

BJP leaders are aware that if the formula, in force since the days of late Pramod Mahajan, considered the architect of the saffron alliance in the state, continues, then the chances of having a BJP chief minister may get slim.

Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, in the forefront of cobbling up the Mahayuti grand opposition alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, may be BJP’s choice to lead the party’s Assembly poll battle.

Besides BJP and Sena, the Mahayuti comprises Raju Shetty’s Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, Mahadeo Jankar’s Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Ramdas Athawale-led Republic Party of India (RPI).

State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis has tactfully voiced his party’s desire to contesting more Assembly seats. “In 24 Lok Sabha seats contested in Maharashtra, BJP leads in 133 Assembly constituencies out of the 144 (Assembly segments in these 24 LS seats,” he said.

Britain’s largest clothing retailer Marks & Spencer on Tuesday said it will open a hundred stores in India by 2016 instead of 86 as planned last year. The clothing retailer, which runs 40 stores in the country, said its Indian same-store-sales grew 13 percent in the fiscal year ended March 2014.
Same-stores-sales is a key performance metric for retailers and measures sales growth at stores open for more than a year. Comparative figures from a year earlier were not available.
Three years ago, M&S identified India as a priority market and Chief Executive Marc Bolland last year said the company planned to offer more stylish and fashionable clothes to Indians after years of struggling with brand positioning in the country. M&S faces tough competition in India from the world’s biggest fashion retailer Inditex SA and its Zara brand.
Marks & Spencer operates in India in a joint venture with Reliance Retail, a unit of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. “Together with our partner Reliance Retail, we are continuing to invest into accelerating our growth in India as we build a leadership position in the market,” said Venu Nair, Managing Director of Marks & Spencer Reliance India.

A man from a west African country has been arrested from Dadar in central Mumbai with 500 grams of high-grade heroin, worth Rs. 50 lakh in international market, police said on Tuesday.
The accused identified as Gael Legaie alias Eze from Republic of Sierra Leone, located on the west coast of Africa, was on Sunday last and 500 grams of heroin, meticulously hidden in bangle boxes, was recovered, Deputy Police Commissioner Dattatrai Karale told reporters.
Acting on a tip-off, Matunga police laid a trap near Hindu Colony at Dadar at about 2.20 PM when Gael found moving suspiciously in the area, police said.
“Gael was intercepted and a plastic bag with him was checked. The high-grade drugs in the form of powder was found kept in the boxes. Although the value of the drugs in Indian market is Rs. five lakh, the same quantity is worth Rs. 50 lakh in the international market,” said another police officer.
Two mobile phones, a passport, cash of Rs. 4,000 were also recovered from the accused, who is in India on a tourist visa, police said.
The accused was arrested under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act by Matunga police, the officer said adding that, “The accused had come to Dadar to deliver the consignment to his accomplice, who is an African national.”
The accused was produced before a local court which remanded him in police custody till May 29, police said adding that he had come here from Delhi two days back.

The CBI today filed a closure report in a shooting case in which Nitesh Rane, son of senior Maharashtra Congress minister Narayan Rane, is accused of firing at a member of his NGO ‘Swabhiman Sanghatna’ in 2010.

“We filed the closure report in the local metropolitan magistrate’s court today. During the investigation the allegation of firing was not found to be correct”, a CBI spokesperson said, adding the hearing on the report is likely to take place next week.

Swabhiman Sanghatna member Chintu Shaikh had filed a complaint with Powai police on September 23, 2010, alleging that Nitesh, who was upset that day for some reason, had shot at him twice at the NGO’s Khar office. Shaikh had alleged that one of the bullets grazed his cheek, causing an injury.

The investigations were initially conducted by local police.

However, the probe was transferred to CBI by the Bombay High Court in March 2011 after observing that there were inexplicable circumstances which created doubts about the manner of probe.

The CBI then registered an FIR under section 307 (attempt to murder) and various other sections of the Indian Penal Code against Nitesh.

However, in March 2012, the CBI filed a closure report before a magistrate’s court stating that there was no evidence or eyewitnesses to prove the case against Nitesh. Shaikh challenged this report and in August 2013 the magistrate court rejected CBI’s closure report and asked the agency to re-investigate the case.

The CBI last month had informed the Bombay High court that it was going to file a closure report in the case.

Vedanta Foundation, a multifaceted philanthropic initiative of London listed world’s most dynamic business groups Vedanta Resources Plc, has organized a mass marriage program for 252 tribal couples belonging to Jawhar taluka and Mokhada taluka in Thane, Maharashtra on the 19th and 25th respectively.

Most of the people belonging to this tribal community get married without any ceremony to avoid the financial burdens which creates a huge problem for their future. Their children don’t get admission into schools due to lack of parents’ identity and even staying as married couples are not accepted within the community. And more surprisingly they are also being ignored by the community for any other social events.

The marriage was solemnized in traditional fashion without exchange of any dowry or any ostentation and all marriage basic necessities like Mangalsutra. Mundavane, Janwe, Kumkum, Varmala, Padha was organized by the foundation.

Vedanta Foundation the fully funded charitable trust of Vedanta Resources Plc with a heart for social development for the underprivileged population in the country also has gifted ornaments, sarees, utensils set, rajai, mobile, cycle, watch, school bag, goggles, hygiene kits like soaps etc to the couples to fulfill basic requirements of a married life.

D.P. Agarwal, Founder Trustee said,“The Foundation is also facilitating them marriage certificates to avoid further problem within the community, giving fixed deposits worth Rs 5,000 to each couple in the local post office and trained 75 women with new tailoring machines to better livelihood.”

“The aim of this mass marriage was to promote simplicity in marriages, discourage dowry and provide a new beginning for this underprivileged people under the social inclusion”, said Dr. Lona Nayak, CEO-Vedanta Foundation.

Besides the brides, grooms and around 2500 people thronged the venue to have a glimpse of the unique wedding ceremony.

Actress Reema Lagoo congratulated and guided every couple to have a healthy life and appealed other organizations to come forward for such noble initiative.