A number of Christian associations in once Portuguese enclave of Vasai in the district have extended their support to NDA nominee Chintaman Vanga who is in fray from Palghar Lok Sabha seat.
“The community members have taken the decision to back the BJP candidate due to harassment by Bahujan Vikas Aghadi which is led by Hitendra Thakur,” said one of the community leaders.
He said as many as 15 associations have come together and formed the “Vasai Minorities Forum” to support Wanga.
Addressing reporters in Vasai in presence of local BJP leaders, the representatives of the Forum said they were forced to take this decision on account of the growing “goonda raj” in the belt. “We want this place to be safer and peaceful and backing Vanga,” one of the representatives said.
The associations who have declared their support to Vanga include Vijay Macchado of Swabhimani Vasaikar Sanstha, Jack Gomes of Jagruti Yuva Sangh, Kayus Fernandes of Ek Parivar Sandor, and Dileep Mathak of Koli Yuva Shakti, Koliwada.
An FIR has been registered against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, for threatening residents of a village in the Baramati constituency to vote for her cousin and party chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule, or their water supply would be cut off.
The video allegedly shows Pawar threatening villagers and telling them to vote for his cousin and warning them that EVM machines can be checked to see who voted for Sule and who did not.
A complaint has been registered by former IPS officer and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Baramati, Suresh Khopde, in Vadgaon police in Pune district two days ago.
A copy of the recording, which does not show Pawar clearly, is with Election Commission, which will now conduct a voice analysis test to ascertain if the NCP leader was in the video.
Meanwhile, NCP has come out in support of Pawar and said that the video is fake and that the party will take action against those who circulated it.
The FIR has reportedly been registered under Sections 171 C (undue influence at elections) and 171F (punishment for undue influence or personation at an election) of the IPC.
Meanwhile, Pune police has given Pawar a clean chit in the case claiming that no villager came forward to speak against the leader.
The police has submitted the incident report to the district collector.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray launched a scathing attack on PWD Minister and NCP nominee from Nashik Lok Sabha seat Chhagan Bhujbal, alleging he had “back-stabbed” Shiv Sena supremo late Bal Thackeray.
“Bhujbal is also not speaking the truth about his educational qualifications and is telling people that he is BE. But in his affidavit filed before the returning officer, he has mentioned his education as SSC,” Raj Thackeray told an election rally.
He also appealed to people to ensure that their names figure in the voters list.
“In Pune where polling was held on April 17, names of at least 1-1.25 lakh voters were missing from the lists and as a result they could not cast their votes. This is a conspiracy by Congress which has blackened the face of democracy,” the MNS chief claimed.
Raj reiterated his party’s support to Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate. “MNS MPs will support Modi but will not hanker for posts of ministers in his government,” Raj said.
Firing a fresh salvo at Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, Raj said “Uddhav had invited Bhujbal to the dinner, who had back-stabbed Bal Thackeray and defamed him. Bhujbal had also dared to arrest Bal Thackeray when he was Home Minister”.
Training his guns at Bhujbal, Raj said “Bhujbal runs the Samata Parishad in the name of late Jyotiba Phule but has not given Phule’s name to his college here which is run by Mumbai Education Trust.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s vehicle hit the pilot car, which halted suddenly, after two vehicles ahead of it abruptly applied brakes on the Western Express Highway in suburban Malad on Saturday night, police said.
Describing the incident as a minor accident, Additional Police Commissioner Brijesh Singh told that “Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is fine and did not suffer any injury.”
The matter has been taken very seriously and Deputy Police Commissioner (DCP) Pravinkumar Patil is conducting a detailed inquiry to establish what went wrong, Singh said.
DCP Patil said that he had submitted an interim report to his seniors in which he stated that it was a clear case of road accident.
“It was a minor road accident and nothing else. There was no breach of security and one should not read much into it,” he said.
The incident occurred at about 9 pm at Malad as the Chief Minister’s convoy was on its way towards the Mira-Bhayander in neighbouring Thane district.
DCP Patil said that an Innova car suddenly applied brakes after which a Maruti Ertiga vehicle coming from behind rammed into it.
“This resulted in a pilot car bumping into the Ertiga car. As the pilot car suddenly stopped, the CM’s car hit his navigating vehicle,” Patil said.
Assistant Police Inspector (Worli Traffic Police) P Desai, who was in the pilot car, sustained minor injuries.
The front and back sides of both the pilot car and the Ertiga were damaged, the police said, adding that, “The CM car’s front side and the Innova car’s backside were also damaged.”
The Dindoshi police station took note of the accident and a further inquiry is on.
“It was a minor accident. Nobody was arrested,” an officer at the police station said.
The social media has moved rapidly from being ‘purely social’ to a ‘business tool’ as more and more companies are now using the platform to recruit the right people for specific jobs and this trend is expected to grow by about 50 per cent this year from 2013, according to experts.
“In day-to-day busy schedules, people only get social media platform to know about what is happening in the industry and their social network and they also update about their own status and change of roles. This trends began almost in 2010, and is growing by 50 per cent every year,” leading executive search firm GlobalHunt Managing Director Sunil Goel said.
Most of the updates, he opined, gives the recruiter an information link to reach to the right people for the specific job of for their client companies.
“Mid and senior-level professionals do not want to project themselves as easily available resources but by putting up their resume in job portals or an agency makes them easily available resources, which affects their role and compensation negotiations,” he added.
Sectors like IT, ITES, banking and financial have been recruiting across levels using this platform, he said.
However, even FMCG, manufacturing, power and energy, retail, automobile are also using the social media for mid to senior level hiring, he added.
Career adviser firm Michael Page’s India Regional Director Alf Harris said social media is obviously a much-talked about aspect of recruitment and it undoubtedly offers individuals an excellent opportunity to access opportunities and for companies to reach out to talent.
“However, one must keep in mind that social media is part of the recruitment process. Once the recruitment process moves into the assessment cycle, there is limited impact from social media,” he said.
The advantage of social media is the ability to reach a significant number of people quickly and easily compared to traditional recruitment process, he said.
KPMG India Partner and Head- People and Change – Nishchae Suri said almost 80 per cent of companies use social media for recruitment.
“This trend is more prevalent in Fortune 500 and global firms. We expect social media to play a stronger role, particularly in India. A number of companies here have only recently started posting vacancies on websites building company-specific pages. Recruitment till now has largely been through direct approaches from specialist recruiters and company websites,” he added.
Suri said since the advent of online applications, the recruitment process has become much quicker. “The interactive aspect of social media is also extremely attractive – most companies have pages on social networking websites where candidates and recruiters converse real-time,” he added.
In a shocking revelation that could impact election results, the names of nearly six million voters have been deleted or diverted across Maharashtra.
The deletion was done mainly because the voters were currently not residing in the area in which they were originally registered, a state election commission official said in Mumbai on Saturday on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile state chief electoral officer Nitin Gadre said, “These are not missing names. The deletions were done six months ago as per the legal process.”
Gadre said the revised lists were given to all political parties with suitable publicity at local levels by district collectors and the new lists have been available on the state election commission website for the past six months.
Among the names deleted are those of new and potential first-time voters in the state’s 48 constituencies as they are presently not residents in their respective areas of voting.
The issue came to the fore after there were a large number of complaints of names ‘missing’ from voters lists in places like Nagpur, Amravati and recently Pune, irking candidates of all major political parties who also protested or complained about it.
The state Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that around 100,000 voters’ names have been deleted from Pune and as many new voters from other areas have been added to that constituency.
A BJP delegation called on the election authorities on Saturday and demanded fresh election in Pune.
Among those whose names are missing is Bollywood actor-producer-director Amol Palekar, who lodged a ‘missing name’ complaint with Pune police on Saturday.
His complaint has been forwarded to the state poll panel for further action, an official said.
There were also reports of voters’ names missing from Aurangabad, Ratnagiri and Thane, but poll panel officials denied it.
Of the state’s 11.76 crore population, the total current voter strength is around 8.06 crore, the rest being minors.
In the final phase of polling for 19 Lok Sabha seats scheduled for April 24, around 3.17 crore voters are eligible to cast their vote.
BJP leader Giriraj Singh, who flexed a controversy following his comments on Narendra Modi’s critics, by saying at a gathering in Godda district of Jharkhand,”those who want to stop Narendra Modi (from becoming prime minister) are looking towards Pakistan. In the coming days, they will have no place in India. They will only have place in Pakistan.” The remarks were made in the presence of former BJP President Nitin Gadkari, something that has further added to the party’s embarrassment. Rajnath Singh later asked the Bihar leader to refrain from making such comments, which “hurt the party’s interests”. But refuting Rajnath’s advice, Giriraj said “I stand by my statement,” quickly adding that his words were directed only at “Pakistan-parast log (those favouring Pakistan)”.
The country is voting with the clear intention of making Modi the PM. Post elections, under no circumstances a regional party with 10 to 15 MPs should be allowed to blackmail or dictate terms to change the PM candidate. It will be rude, if BJP accepts such an ally. It will be better to go for a re-poll than succumbing to blackmailers.
The Opposition slammed the Bihar leader, demanding action against him by the Election Commission. Now the question is that, will they send all the parties that do not come under NDA to Pakistan? I think 90 per cent of the people will have to be in Pakistan, as they won’t vote for Modi. Singh’s comments, coming back to back of senior leader Amit Shah’s alleged hate speeches, have provided more ammunition to the Opposition which has reinforced its attack on the BJP, accusing it of pursuing a divisive agenda. The saffron party, led by Narendra Modi, has centred its campaign around development, consciously steering clear of any issue perceived to polarize votes.
BJP is a party that is constantly struggling to disguise its sectarian and narrow view of India’s history and future. Once in a while, someone ‘slips up’ and gives us a glimpse of the true nature of Hindutva as an ideology that strikes at the heart of the democratic ideals that underpin the nation. Worrying! This is not the first time such tempers are shown by the BJP personnel. Recently, an English news channel had shown a debate on ‘Bollywood supporting Secularism’. When the panelists were talking about the importance of protecting secularism, Anupam Kher has discounted it by angrily shouting ‘India will become Pakistan’ and further went to say that for him ‘Nationalism is first rather than Secularism’. This is the rigid mindset of BJP in general and it is not possible to change it.
Irrespective of any party coming to power, what is most heartening is the massive voter’s turnout in the fifth phase. Crucial phase has witnessed the heavy turnout. The average voting percentage across 12 States comes to around 66 per cent, which indicates that there is both a change in attitude and a yearning for change. Another question I want to raise here is, will Election Commission take any precaution for those who are travelling on the day of polling? EC should come up with some idea so that these citizens also exercise their franchise. This will boost the percentage of voters who cast their vote. Modi is being promoted as PM candidate and the emergence of new party called Aam Aadmi Party has created a storm and voters have understood their rights and power. This huge turnout is for change, and everyone is expecting for a better change. However, these types of unwanted statements from leaders’ mouth are damaging their party’s prospects. The high voting percentage is definitely making the 16th General Election much more interesting for politicians, the media and the public alike. This development is good for a strong democracy and has been made possible by awareness campaigns. At a time, when the stakes are high for all the leading parties; it will be interesting to know whether the NOTA option has been exercised. People want equal opportunities. Doles and sops offered by political parties to win over marginalised communities will only further ghettoise their existence. What is required is an environment where people can grow and improve economically. Let us hope that the heavy turnout reflects this. All is happening well, the efforts are being paid.
On the other hand, the irresponsible comments by leaders are not taken in a good spirit. Singh is a staunch Modi supporter. He had expressed his unwillingness over BJP’s alliance with Ramvilas Paswan’s LJP. He had also wanted to contest from Begusarai but had to accept Nawada. The Election Commission is likely to examine if Singh’s statements are a violation of the poll code. His statements are clearly over the top, but seem to reflect an increasingly polarised election battle. North Bihar is locked in a charged contest. If Giriraj Singh expresses “regret” then Commission will allow him to continue by doing the “good work” of dividing the country into more parts. This is what we have seen always happening and EC has failed to control this.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Giriraj Singh remained defiant even as the BJP top brass expressed its “displeasure” over his remark.
Singh, who stirred a hornet’s nest by saying that those opposing Narendra Modi had no place in India and should go to Pakistan, said he stood by his comment.
“I stand by my statement that those trying their best to stop Modi from coming to power have no place in India and should go to Pakistan whose interests these Modi-baiters have sought to espouse by opposing him in the polls,” he told.
He also tweeted, “I maintain”many Pakistani pro are constantly opposing namo.this nation belongs to Indian at heart else Pakistan always welcome anti India (sic).”
Speaking over telephone from Bhagalpur in the midst of campaigning for BJP candidate Syed Shahanwaz Hussain, he claimed that a number of powerful countries were trying their best to stop Modi from becoming the prime minister with Pakistan topping the list.
He alleged that Pakistan had pulled out all its cards to stop Modi from becoming the prime minister with some leaders in India acting on its behest by running a vilification campaign against him.
“It’s in this context that I have described some Modi-baiters as supporters of Pakistan and asked them to go to the neighbouring country as they have no place in India,” Singh, a former minister in the Nitish Kumar government, said.
“In democracy, everybody can oppose and I have no problem with that…But nobody has a right to act against national interest and appear to be speaking the language of a foreign country which has been known to act against our country…,” he said.
The BJP leader, however, earned the displeasure of the party’s central leadership which has distanced itself from his remark made in Jharkhand yesterday.
Bihar BJP distances itself from Giriraj’s statement
Bihar BJP distanced itself from that saying the party did not approve of the “irresponsible” statement by Singh.
“BJP doesn’t approve of irresponsible statement given by Giriraj Singh,” senior Bihar BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted.
In Delhi, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said in Delhi that the party had nothing to do with Singh’s statement.
Congress and JD(U) had slammed the BJP leader’s outrageous comments and threatened to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission.
The EC too had taken dim view of the BJP leader’s remarks with the Additional Chief Electoral Officer R Lakshmanan saying that the poll panel may examine it before proceeding in the matter as per law and its regulations.
Singh, a self-confessed loyalist of the Gujarat Chief Minister, was rewarded by the BJP with ticket from Nawada Parliamentary seat for his unflinching support to Modi.
Polling on Nawada Lok Sabha seat was held in the first phase of the general elections on April 10 last.
Sharpening his attack on Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi today said the BJP leader would have “ousted” even Atal Bihari Vajpayee like party veterans Jaswant Singh and L K Advani had the former PM continued being in public life.
The Congress Vice President took a dig at Modi for his statement at rallies asking voters to make him the “chowkidar” (watchman) of the country, saying the BJP PM candidate was a “chowkidar” only to businessmen and had ousted senior leaders and “brought in Adani”.
“He (Modi) boasts of development in Gujarat but it was not a single man who changed Gujarat. It was the hard work of labourers and farmers who made Gujarat.
“He wants to get the keys (control) of the country in his hands but what happened in Gujarat? People gave him keys but he brought in (businessman) Adani,” Gandhi said at a public meeting here.
“A group of Sikh farmers from Gujarat told me that their forefathers migrated from Pakistan to Gujarat and they put in their hard work and efforts to make the land allotted to them fertile.
Now, Gujarat government officials have asked them to leave the state saying they were outsiders, he said, adding the same treatment was meted out to senior leaders in BJP.
“LK Advani and Jaswant Singh were told ‘you are outsiders go from here’. If Atal Bihari Vajyapee would be in public life today, he would also be asked the same thing,” he said.
Questioning Modi’s claims on development of Gujarat, Gandhi again raised the issue of allotment of farmers’ land to industrialists.
“45,000 acre land, an area equal to Bikaner, was doled out to a businessman in Gujarat for Rs 300 crore. One rupee for one square meter. This is toffee model because you have a toffee in one rupee. If you are surname is Adani, you can get farmers land at such a rate under toffee model,” Gandhi said
He alleged that development for BJP is “development of selected businessman”, not for people at large.
“Textile industry has been closed.Farmers lands are being snatched.If you have Rs. 11.50, you are not poor in Gujarat. This is the reality of Gujarat,” he said.
Gandhi said that the UPA government empowered the common man and the poor in the last ten years by way of various rights including MGNREGA, RTI and Right to Food, and lashed out at the Gujarat Chief Minister for not ensuring that people gets advantages of RTI.
“There is no Lokayukta and RTI commissioner in Gujarat because the day when they start working, the balloon of Gujarat model would collapse on ground,” Gandhi said.
Highlighting the achievements of UPA government, the Congress vice president said 15 crore people were pulled out of poverty and a “new class” of 70 crore people emerged who are above the poverty line and below the middle class level.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday said the UPA government’s “unholy haste” in pushing for the appointment of a Lokpal will destroy its credibility.
Jaitley said that the manner in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office to convene a meeting of the selection committee for filling up the vacancies of the search committee “should not be allowed to succeed” and the procedure should be stopped immediately.
“It would be a gross political impropriety and violation of the code of conduct if the UPA would rush through its appointment at this stage. Besides this, the procedure is legally a suspect. Such unholy haste will destroy the credibility of the Lokpal even before it is formed,” Jaitley wrote on his blog.
“While Manmohan Singh is now in a retirement mode, he must seriously introspect if this unholy haste in pushing the Lokpal on the eve of certain departure is implemented, he will only be remembered as a prime minister who subverted institutions at the behest of his party leadership,” he added.
“Even now if he tries to act with unholy haste, the entire democratic system of India is strong enough not to permit him to succeed. The prime minister has nothing to lose except some residual creditability,” he wrote.
Adding that the Lokpal appointment controversy refuses to die, Jaitley said that since half the elections have been completed and nearly 26 days remain for the formation of a new government, is it not proper for the UPA government to rush through the appointment? Certainly not.
He also wrote that the government decided to rush through with the appointment of the chairperson of the Lokpal and its members on the eve of the announcement of the elections, and that a search committee was hurriedly appointed.
“The Lokpal appointment controversy refuses to die. The UPA government has framed rules under the Lokpal Act. The rules prima facie run contrary to the Act. This is already a subject matter of a challenge before the Supreme Court,” Jaitley wrote.
The BJP had on Saturday urged the poll panel to ask the UPA government to put all major appointments on hold till a new government takes over.
“The government must be instructed that it doesn’t make any appointment to important posts as it is in violation of the model code of conduct,” BJP general secretary J P Nadda said after leading a party delegation to Deputy Election Commissioner Sudhir Tripathi and handed over a memorandum to him.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Giriraj Singh remained defiant even as the BJP top brass expressed its “displeasure” over his remark.