Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Bikram Singh Majithia in connection with a case registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in December 2021.
He is currently lodged in Patiala Central Jail. Majithia was booked under the relevant sections of the NDPS Act, on the allegations of his alleged involvement in a drug racket in the state.
He surrendered on February 24 in the Mohali Court. He had the Punjab abd Haryana High Court to seek regular bail in the case registered against him under NDPS Act in December 2021.
After a Mohali district court rejected his plea to quash an FIR against him he had approached the Supreme Court, which on May 11, refused to entertain the plea and asked him to instead approach the High Court.
Shouldn't hesitate to break laws coming in way of poor's welfare, says Union Minister Gadkari 3
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday stated that there should be no hesitation in breaking such a law “even 10 times” which comes in the way of the welfare of the poor, adding that this is what Mahatma Gandhi said. Gadkari’s remarks came at an event in Maharashtra University of Health Sciences in Nagpur.
“I know that no law comes in the way of the welfare of the poor, if such a law has to be broken even 10 times, we should not hesitate, this is what Mahatma Gandhi said,” Gadkari said.
The Union Minister, on the occasion, also recalled how he dealt with a problem when Manohar Joshi headed the Maharashtra government in 1995, and said that the bureaucrats will have to say “yes sir” to “whatever the ministers are saying” and implement them.
“I always tell the officers (bureaucrats), that the government will not work according to what you say, you only have to say “Yes Sir”. You have to implement whatever we (ministers) are saying, government will work according to us,” he said.
Mumbai and its suburbs witnessed moderate rains on the last day and the India Meteorological Department has Mumbai has predicted more moderate showers with the strong wind over the next 24 hours.
The local trains and bus services of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) were operating normally. There was no diversion of any bus service, a civic official said on Wednesday.
After a heavy overnight downpour on Tuesday, the rain intensity reduced in Mumbai, he said.
The city recorded 26.87 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period till 8 am on Wednesday, while the eastern and western suburbs recorded 31.38 mm and 33.06 mm downpour respectively in the same period, he said.
The IMD has predicted moderate rain in the city and suburbs with the possibility of heavy showers at isolated places in the next 24 hours.
It has also forecast occasional strong winds with a speed of 40-50 kilometre per hour and is very likely to reach up to 60 kmph.
There will be a high tide of 4.34 metres in the Arabian Sea at 10.45 am on Wednesday. The next high tide will be at 3.81 metres at 10.39 pm, according to civic officials.
The Enforcement Directorate is conducting raids at the Karuvannur Co-operative Bank on Wednesday.
It has also conducted raids at the houses of four persons accused in the bank fraud case in Thrissur. About 104 crores rupees fraud has been reported in Karuvannur co-operative Bank.
The first cabinet meeting of the Eknath Shinde government after the expansion is scheduled to take place later on Wednesday in Mumbai.
The much-awaited expansion of the Maharashtra Cabinet took place on Tuesday with a total of 18 MLAs– 9 each from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the rest 9 from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction sworn in as ministers in a grand ceremony at Mumbai’s Raj Bhavan.0
The Cabinet expansion came over 40 days after Chief Minister Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were sworn in, following a rebellion led by the former who toppled the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi-government in the state.
On June 30, Shinde had taken oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
The BJP MLAs who took oath were– Chandrakant Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, Suresh Khade, Radha Krishna Vikhe Patil, Ravindra Chavhan, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Vijaykumar Gavit and Atul Save.
Leaders from Shiv Sena inducted were– Dada Bhuse, Shambhuraje Desai, Sandeepan Bhumre, Uday Samant, Tanaji Sawant, Abdul Sattar, Deepak Kesarkar, Gulabrao Patil and Sanjay Rathod.
On June 28, Devendra Fadnavis met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and asked him for a floor test. The next day, Uddhav Thackeray offered his resignation to the Governor as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
On August 6, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said no ministerial-level powers have been given to the secretaries except in quasi-judicial matters. The Opposition in the state had accused the Chief Minister of functioning as a two-member cabinet and having designed the decision-making powers to the bureaucrats. He said these constituencies included those held by Shiv Sena leaders who have now joined Team Shinde.
Anil Vij likens Nitish Kumar to "migratory bird", says it's his nature to jump from one branch to another 9
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday took a jibe at Nitish Kumar who parted ways with the BJP in Bihar yesterday to join hands with the Opposition parties to form government, and likened him to “migratory bird” stating that it is his “nature” to “jump from one branch to another”.
The remark of the BJP leader came a day after Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP in Bihar alleging that the party “tried weakening the JD(U)”. Kumar, who had pulled out of the Grand Alliance in 2017 to reunite with its former ally BJP in 2017, once again joined hands with the Mahagathbandhan including RJD and other parties.
Haryana Minister said that it a matter of a few days. “Nitish Kumar is a migratory bird. It is his nature to jump from one branch to another. By mistake, some birds have gathered on a branch. Nobody knows who will fly, when and where. It is a matter of a few days,” Vij tweeted in Hindi.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as Bihar Chief Minister again on Wednesday. Kumar handed over his resignation to state Governor Phagu Chauhan following a rift in his party JD-U’s ties with the BJP. He met the state Governor after a meeting of party leaders and then went to the residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is set to take oath as Deputy Chief Minister. “The swearing-in ceremony of Honorable Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will be held tomorrow at 2 pm at Raj Bhavan,” RJD said in a tweet from its official handle.
Tejashwi Yadav attacked the BJP and claimed the party does not have an alliance partner across the Hindi heartland. He accused BJP of trying to destroy parties with whom it forms alliances.
“Across the Hindi heartland, BJP does not have any alliance partner. History shows that the BJP destroys the parties with whom it forms alliances. We did see that happening in Punjab and Maharashtra,” he said. “Today all parties and members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly except the BJP have accepted Nitish Kumar as their leader,” Yadav added.
He also referred to remarks of BJP president JP Nadda. “JP Nadda said they will end regional parties. BJP knows only to intimidate and buy people. All of us wanted the BJP’s agenda shouldn’t be implemented in Bihar, we all know Laluji stopped the ‘Rath’ of Advaniji, and we won’t relent at any cost,” Yadav said.
Kumar, who was a long-time BJP ally before snapping ties in 2013 and again joining hands in 2017, said that there was a unanimous decision in the party meeting in the morning “to break off ties”. Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal slammed Kumar.
“In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, all of us contested under the NDA alliance and the majority and mandate was given by the people to JDU and BJP. However, as on date, Nitish played with the public mandate. JD(U) betrayed Bihar.”
The security forces on Wednesday trapped terrorists of the proscribed terror outfit The Resistance Front (TRF)/Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the ongoing encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police said that terrorist Lateef Rather, who was involved in several civilian killings including Rahul Bhat and Amreen Bhat is also trapped.
“03 terrorists of terror outfit LeT(TRF) including terrorist Lateef Rather trapped in the ongoing encounter.
Terrorist Lateef is involved in several #civilian #killings including Rahul Bhat and Amreen Bhat,” Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet quoting Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir.
Chadoora Tehsil Office employee Rahul Bhat was shot dead by terrorists on May 12 in his office while Kashmiri TV actor Amreen Bhat was killed by unidentified terrorists in Budgam’s Chadoora area on May 26.
The encounter broke out in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday between terrorists and security forces, said police.
“Encounter has started at the Waterhail area of Budgam. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow,” Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet.
Further details are awaited.Earlier on Sunday, a ‘hybrid’ terrorist of the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been arrested by the Indian Army’s 34 RR unit in the Budgam area.
The accused arrested has been identified as Arshid Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Sangam Budgam.
The arrests were made by a joint team of Srinagar Police and 2RR at Lawaypura.
The officials also seized incriminating materials which include 5 pistols, 5 magazines, 50 rounds. Two hand grenades were also recovered from the terrorist.
American legend Serena Williams, winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, announced her retirement from tennis on Tuesday, saying she is “evolving away” from the sport.
The 40-year-old tennis star said that the best word to describe what she is up to is “evolution” and that she wants to grow her family.
“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people,” Serena said in an article for Vogue magazine.
Earlier this year, she was knocked out at Wimbledon in her first singles match. However, she has now set her eyes on the US Open in what could prove her farewell tournament.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don’t know if I will be ready to win New York. But I’m going to try. And the lead-up tournaments will be fun,” she said in the Vogue interview.
She has been ranked singles world number one by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks, including a joint-record 186 consecutive weeks.
She also finished as the year-end number one five times. Serena has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the open era, and the second-most of all time, only behind Margaret Court’s 24.
The oath-taking ceremony of the new Bihar govt tomorrow says RJD 13
JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath as Bihar’s chief minister again on Wednesday afternoon, according to a tweet by his new alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal.
“The swearing-in ceremony of Honorable Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will be held tomorrow at 2 pm at Raj Bhavan,” the party said in a tweet from its official handle.
While the RJD tweet did not mention any names, it is widely expected that Nitish Kumar would be the chief minister while Tejashwi Yadav would become his deputy.
In a day of fast-paced political developments, Bihar’s chief minister Nitish Kumar twice met Governor Phagu Chauhan, first to hand over his resignation as NDA chief minister and then after being elected leader of the RJD-led `Mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance) to stake a claim for the top job in the state once again.
Kumar said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor who will decide when the oath-taking can take place. The effective strength of the state Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday lashed out at JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar’s decision to resign as the Chief Minister of Bihar and stake claim to form a government with Opposition parties in the state, saying that ‘Kumar has disrespected the mandate of Bihar’s people.
Addressing a short presser in Patna today, Prasad said, “Nitish Kumar has left and said that BJP was trying to destroy his party…BJP made him a union minister several times.
He was also made a Chief Minister. Why did he re-think his decision on alliance with RJD in 2015 and come to BJP in 2017?.” “Nitish Kumar is disrespecting the mandate of Bihar’s people.
It’s a baseless allegation that BJP was trying to destroy JD(U),” said BJP MP RS Prasad today. Hours after resigning as Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that he has submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the Bihar Governor and staked claim to form a new government.
“We submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor and staked claim to form a new government. He will let us know when oath-taking can take place,” Nitish told reporters. Notably, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar has been elected as the leader of Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance.
Nitish Kumar called off the alliance between the JD(U) and BJP in Bihar and resigned as the state’s chief minister on Tuesday. Nitish Kumar met Tejashwi Yadav after resigning as CM and the duo met the Governor to stake claim to the government.
After meeting the Bihar Governor, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar said, “We have the support of seven parties and one Independent MLA. The letter of support has been signed by all.”
Former Union minister RCP Singh, who quit JD(U) amid a rift with Nitish Kumar, said that JD(U) snapping ties with BJP and joining hands with Tejashwi Yadav is a betrayal of the 2020 mandate.
Earlier, in the JD(U) meeting today, all MLAs and MPs of the party supported chief minister Kumar’s decision and said that they were with him. They also asserted that they will continue to support Kumar in his decision.
BJP is letting it go because if this government fails to perform, it will have a win-win situation ahead. This toppling of the government was planned long back, Mulayam Singh mediated the entire game and, in this bargain, Lalu Yadav got bail. A Grand Alliance of seven parties, and one Independent will work closely. Imagine how easy it would be for BJP to break them apart just like Maharashtra.
In the first one, he resigned as Chief Minister of the government which consisted of his party, the Janata Dal United or JDU, and the BJP; less than an hour later, he returned to the Governor, accompanied by Tejashwi Yadav and other Opposition leaders, to state that they should be invited to form the next government based on their combined strength.
Nitish Kumar felt that Amit Shah was attempting a repeat of the Maharashtra model in Bihar and ended the BJP alliance to pre-empt that. Uddhav Thackeray was forced to quit as Chief Minister after Eknath Shinde, a senior leader from his party, the Shiv Sena, instigated a huge revolt in partnership with the BJP. Eknath Shinde was rewarded by the BJP with the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister.
Even as his party was meeting, Tejashwi Yadav, held a parallel session with his MLAs, where it was agreed that they would support Nitish Kumar in a new government. Tejashwi Yadav will serve as Deputy Chief Minister and take oath along with Nitish Kumar. The BJP has accused Nitish Kumar of “betraying the mandate of the people” by switching partners mid-term. This is an established trait of Nitish Kumar’s, however, that has triggered vast criticism of his ideological flexibility and willingness to trade principles for power.
Till 2013, Nitish Kumar was in alliance with the BJP, though it was an irritable collaboration once it became clear that Narendra Modi would appear as the BJP’s main leader. He cut the chord with the BJP and in 2015 formed the government with Lalu Yadav and the Congress. Lalu Yadav, a Bihar veteran politician, is Tejashwi Yadav’s father. In 2017, Nitish Kumar stomped out of the three-party alliance, claiming that the insatiable corruption of Tejashwi Yadav as a minister could not be tolerated by him.
After he reunited with the BJP, the parties sustained public criticism on issues large and small. In June, Nitish Kumar contradicted the Prime Minister by stating that while the centre had refused to conduct a caste census, in Bihar, the counting of castes would take place. Tejashwi Yadav backed him fully on this move. Nitish Kumar’s anger with the BJP breached the danger mark over reports that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scavenging within the JDU for rebels. The Chief Minister felt that RCP Singh, a senior leader from his party, who had joined the union cabinet, was being used to turn the JDU against him. He, therefore, refused to extend RCP Singh’s term in the Rajya Sabha, which meant that the latter had to resign from PM Modi’s cabinet. On the weekend, Nitish Kumar’s aides publicly accused RCP Singh of corruption; in protest, he quit the JDU.
Nitish Kumar felt that RCP Singh was part of a second scheme by the BJP to weaken his standing, the first being the BJP’s tacit support of another regional leader, Chirag Paswan, to serve as a vote-cutter for Nitish Kumar in the last general election. Chirag Paswan put up his party’s candidates against the JDU; it was the BJP who gained. As Nitish Kumar thundered against Chirag Paswan, the BJP refused to criticise him.
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