Tug of war over Neeraj Hatekar

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January 13, 2014

Congress, NCP, AAP and smaller parties come forward to support suspended professor Neeraj Hatekar.

Political parties always shy away from supporting people during crisis situation but they are willing to come forward to lend a helping hand if they want to derive any political mileage out of it. AAP, Congress and NCP which were initially reluctant to take up the case of suspended professor Neeraj Hatekar from Mumbai university have come forward to support him after the incident was reported by the media.

On 4th January, Professor Neeraj Hatekar was suspended by the vice chancellor of Mumbai University Rajan Velukar as students protested against his suspension. Later, the Aam Aadmi party jumped into the fray and started backing the students.

After Aam Aadmi Party, Congress too intervened in this matter. Mumbai Congress President Janardhan Chandurkar met the students and assured them that Neeraj Hatekar’s suspension will be revoked. He had written a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan and urging him to reject the suspension order of Neeraj Hatekar.

Not to be left behind even the NCP too came forward to support Hatekar for deriving political mileage out of this issue. The NCP Chief Executive Jitendra Ahwad had met the protesting students and assured them that NCP is backing them all time and Neeraj Hatekar will soon resume his duties. Ahwad also assured students that he will be meeting Governor and will request him to withdraw the suspension of Neeraj Hatekar.

MLC and President of Lok Bharati, Kapil Patil accompanied by Prof Neeraj Hatekar met the Governor of Maharashtra K Sankaranarayanan at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai and requested him to revoke the suspension of Prof Hatekar.

Janardhan Chandurkar, Mumbai Congress president talking to AV, said,” To reject the suspension order of Neeraj Hatekar I wrote letter to CM Prithviraj Chavan. Congress is supporting students of Mumbai University who are protesting against Hatekar’s suspension.”

Mayank Gandhi, AAP Maharashtra President said, “Neeraj Hatekar was exposing the truth hence he was thrown ousted from his post. AAP will support them and we will strongly protest against the injustice meted with Neeraj Hatekar. It’s not a publicity stunt to derive any political mileage.”

Neeraj Hatekar was suspended for allegedly misinforming the media about irregularities by the vice-chancellor and, hence, breaching the code of conduct.

The suspension order has come days after the professor held a press conference on December 12, ‘exposing’ vice-chancellor Rajan Welukar for mismanagement of the university.

Prof Neeraj Hatekar has now filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, appealing that his suspension order be quashed and set aside.

Hatekar is also convenor of the Joint Action Committee for Improvement of Higher Education in Maharashtra, a body that has protested the lack of transparency in the appointment of the vice-chancellor. Hatekar and others had earlier claimed that Welukar’s academic and publication records did not meet the qualification criteria for the post.

‘Krishi Vasant’ a farmer centric fair launched in the city

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and State Government of Maharashtra are jointly organizing ‘Krishi Vasant’ a farmer centric Fair-cum-Exhibition from February 9th to 13th at Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is associated as a strategic partner with this grand event. The event is organized as a platform to acknowledge the contribution of Indian farmers in the nation’s economy.

This national convention will witness the participation of more than 3 lacs farmers in person and reach out to more than 5 million farmers through web-cast at a District/Block level. Government Institutions, research organizations, private players, international organizations and other important stakeholders will also be participating in huge numbers. The conference cum fair, will have theme based conferences and seminars in the area of Mechanization & High-Tech Horticulture; Self-reliance in Pulses & Oilseeds; Best Integrated Pest Management Practices; Post-Harvest Management & Marketing; Sustainable Livelihood through Dairy, Poultry & Fisheries and ICT & Extension. Approximately hundred successful farmers from different states will display best practices in the areas of Agriculture, Horticulture and Fisheries.

Nearly one thousand exhibitions and live demonstrations of crops, livestock and technologies spread over 50 acres which include 307 varieties of 54 crops, 42 breeds of buffaloes, cattle, sheep, goat, duck, poultry and varieties of wool, feed, medicine and vaccine will also be showcased. Concurrently Kisan Goshthies, buyer seller meets, access to latest technologies and cultural shows will be organized. During the breakout session farmer-scientist interactions in regional language will also be organized.

‘Krishi Vasant’ will be the biggest national agriculture fair cum exhibition to be organized at the beginning of 2014. The eventful initiative of Government of India was launched on 12th January 2014 in Mumbai in the presence of Shri Sharad Pawar, Hon’ble Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Government of India; Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra; Shri Radhakrishna Eknathrao Vikhe Patil, Minister for Agriculture and Marketing, Government of Maharashtra. The mega event will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 9th February 2014 at Nagpur, Maharashtra. The event will continue for a period of 5 days. This event also coincides with centenary celebrations of Late Shri Vasant Rao Naik, who steered agriculture development in Maharashtra during Green Revolution era. The event will also be graced by many dignitaries from Central and State governments and International organizations.

Pawar refuses to comment on Shinde endorsing him for PM

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday refused to comment on Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s statement that he would like to see him as the Prime Minister.

When asked about the same at a press conference here this morning, Pawar said, “This (event) is to make announcement about the Krishi Vasant exhibition, and I am not contesting the Lok Sabha election.”

Yesterday, during a public interaction with editors of a Marathi newspaper in his hometown Solapur, Shinde had said he would be happy if Pawar became the Prime Minister.

“I would be happy if Pawar becomes the PM. He is my political guru. I entered the politics because of him,” Shinde said.

Kolhapur’s toll plaza vandalised, Shiv Sena calls for bandh today

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

Four toll plaza booths were vandalised in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur on Sunday after a dispute over collection of toll tariff.

The hooligans in large number vandalised the booths and burnt down the toll plaza property.

While Shiv Sena workers are being blamed for the attack, agitators claim that since roads are poorly constructed, there is no question of paying the toll. Shiv Sena, on the other hand, has called for a bandh in Kolhapur tomorrow.

Police claim to have detained some protesters vandalising the booths.

Although there are no reports on anyone getting injured in the protest, Maharashtra Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has appealed to maintain peace.

Six days ago, several members of anti-toll action committee had launched a hunger strike against toll collection. Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Satej Patil and Labour Minister Hasan Mushrif had met the activists and assured them that government would ask the company to stop toll collection. However, collection continued till today’s morning. This led to protest today.

An engineering company IRB infrastructure had established the toll plaze in October 2013. IRB Kolhapur Integrated Road Development Co Pvt Ltd, wholly-owned SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) of the company and had commenced the collection of toll at the Kolhapur highway.

Bombay HC upholds lifer for a man who murdered friend over wristwatch

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

The Bombay High Court has upheld the life sentence awarded by the lower court to a 26-year-old man who murdered his friend following a row over a wristwatch.

Trial court had convicted Imtiyaz Shoukat Sayed of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code in September 2003.

According to the prosecution, on March 19, 2000, Sayed had a row with his friend Imtiyaz Javed. Javed had borrowed a wristwatch from him, and had refused to return it.

Sayed slapped him, and there was a fight. Then Javed handed him the watch and started walking away.

However, Sayed called him back, and stabbed him with a knife.

Advocate Prakash Wagh, Sayed’s lawyer, argued in the High Court that his client could not have been convicted for murder as he had no intention to cause the death. At the most he could have been charged for ‘culpable homicide’, a lesser offence, as he had assaulted his friend in a fit of rage.

But the division bench of Justices P V Hardas and A S Gadkari noted that “the stab wound was not delivered by the appellant in the heat of the moment during the fight”.

“The deceased had returned the watch and was walking away when the accused called him and intentionally stabbed him. The ferocity and the force of the blow was such that practically all the vital organs had been damaged,” the bench said, upholding the trial court’s verdict.

APMC waiver: Chavan not sure about meeting Jan 15 deadline

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was non-committal on implementing his party high command’s decision to let farmers sell fruits and vegetables outside their designated APMC markets by January 15.

He said the government is still in talks with different stakeholders to allay their fears.

“We are talking to all the stakeholders on the issue (delisting fruits and vegetables from the APMC purview). The motive behind this is that farmers will get a choice to take his produce wherever he wants to sell it,” Chavan said when asked about whether his government will be able to implement the recent decision in this regard.

He was addressing the media after a meeting on launching the country’s largest farmers’ mela, Krishi Vasant, dubbed as the Maha-Kumbh of agriculture, to be held from February 9-13 in Nagpur. The meeting was organised by the industry body CII here today.

“By this we have given a choice to farmers whether they want to join the APMC or provide fruits and vegetables on their own,” he said, adding “it does not mean that we are forcing it down the farmers’ throat and that a farmer is free to go back to the APMC mandis to sell his produce.”

Supporting the reforms move which would eventually benefit farmers, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the government believes that farmers should get the freedom to sell their produce wherever they want.

“Farmers should get the freedom of selling their produce wherever they want. We have been working on this issue since the past five years,” Pawar said.

On December 27 last year, addressing the 12 Congress chief ministers, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi had said on January 15, all the party-controlled states will partially abolish the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and delist fruits and vegetables from the purview of the Act.

Thane couple held for trying to sell woman

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

A couple has been arrested for allegedly abducting and trying to sell a 32-year-old local woman to a family in Gujarat, the police said on Saturday. Thane district rural police arrested the duo — Ajay Kumar Gupta (28) and Priya Vinod Bansode (30) — both residents of Palghar on Saturday.

According to API Walmik Patil of the Palghar police station, the couple forcibly took the victim from Palghar to Navsari on the pretext of getting her some domestic work, but handed her over to some persons and returned. They promised her that she would earn wages between `10,000-12,000 per month for domestic work. However, the woman learnt that she was sold off to the family in Narora for `1.30 lakh and they were planning to get her married to some person in the locality. Following this, she managed to escape and filed a police complaint after which, offences under various sections of the IPC were registered against the duo, who were subsequently arrested.

Since the complainant was not in a position to give specific details or names of persons to whom she was sold, a police team is likely to visit Gujarat where she was taken to probe as to who all were party to the crime, the officer said. The arrested were produced in a local court, which remanded them into police custody till Friday. The police will now probe if the arrested were engaged in trafficking of women.

Air passenger held for trying to smuggle in one kg gold

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

A Kerala resident, coming from Dubai, has been arrested by Customs Department at the city’s international airport for allegedly trying to smuggle in one kg of gold worth Rs 24.44 lakh, an official said today.

Passenger Mahamood Mohammed Irshad, a resident of Kerala and holding Indian passport, was today intercepted at the international terminal of CSI airport and two gold rods, weighing a kilogram, and concealed in the cavity of handle of trolley bag were recovered, the officer with Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs told PTI.

“The gold rods, which collectively weighed one kg, are valued at Rs 24.44 lakh. The yellow metal was confiscated from the passenger, who arrived here on an Emirates flight from Dubai,” the officer added.

The accused was arrested under relevant sections of the Customs Act, the officer said.

One more accused held in connection with dancer’s gangrape

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Afternoon Voice

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January 12, 2014

One more person wanted in connection with the alleged gangrape of a 26-year-old woman dancer from Mumbai was arrested by the police here today.

Hari Krishna, surrendered before the Bowenpally police, who handed him over to the Central Crime Station (CCS), after which he was arrested, a senior police officer told PTI.

The city police cracked the case yesterday by arresting P Venkat Raju, a trader and ‘Happy’ alias Nitin Yadav, an event manger, who were remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody today, the officer said, adding that two others involved in the case were still at large and a manhunt was on to nab them.

The incident took place on the intervening night of December 31, 2013 and January 1 this year, after which the victim registered a case with the Mumbai police.

The victim, who had been offered Rs 1 lakh by ‘Happy’ to perform at an event here on New Year’s eve, was given a soft drink spiked with a sedative after she arrived here from Mumbai.

Later, she was taken to a house in Nizampet area and allegedly gangraped. They also stole her ATM card and withdrew Rs 57,000, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma had told reporters earlier.

Will Priyanka help the Congress to grab power?

By

Vaidehi Taman

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January 12, 2014

Aam Aadmi Party member Kumar Vishwas stated about Congress that the party has failed the people of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, and that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi never raised the problems of his constituency in parliament even once. Vishwas gave very interesting speech and delivered his concern very articulately. Though I am not a supporter of Congress or AAP, I would be happy if Vishwas loses the election. Firstly, Kumar Vishwas is neither a progressive intellectual nor a seasoned politician. He is just an educated version of other comedians. A light comedian-poet, who can entertain people and make them laugh, this skill gathered him votes but when it comes to run the country, I really doubt his credentials. I would love to hear his jokes, but running the country is not a “joke”. Secondly, Rahul is not such a bad politician. He seems to be more honest than most politicians. So, in this particular case, I will side with Rahul. He is born in such a family whose members are ruling this nation for years, and people are voting for their party. I am conclusive about these “celebrity” politicians, because they are bad representatives. Take all the actor politicians; most of them do nothing for the nation or its people. And this one will also be no different. AAP should change the decision to place Dr Kumar Vishwas. I am not a supporter of Congress. Understand that the weight of a large organisation such as Congress is heavy for Rahul Gandhi; He was largely responsible for the recent debacles. When most people complain about the dynastic rule, the defence from Congress is very weak. We don’t want Congress to disappear. We need healthy opposition for a healthy democracy.

Looking at adverse situations and anti-congress waves, Priyanka Vadra is the face behind the successful Congress election campaigns. Her popularity among the masses can be a boon in the upcoming election for Congress party. She resembles Indira, and Indira Gandhi supporters till date are very much loyal, they vote for hand irrespective of who so ever is the candidate. When Priyanka goes for campaigning, she brings those nostalgic moments to the forefront. Priyanka Gandhi has been managing Congress campaigns for a long time now. She is an active member of Congress party .Wherein her support might not be on the full frontal level, it certainly is a major force behind the electoral campaigns. Like Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi belongs a fully Political family; her grandmother, father were in politics and mother also too. She knows well about politics. She has visited Raebareli and Amethi often; she knows to speak in Hindi, she knows how to connect to people.

If we were to compare Nehru or his father Motilal with the current crop of politicians, how many of them have disposed off their ancestral property for the national cause? Coming to the present generation of Rahul and Priyanka, how many other current politicians have lost their dear father for the nation? Remember, Rajiv was killed for a decision he took as the PM. How many will sacrifice their fathers even if they were offered all the power or fame Rahul or Priyanka has? And, remember Sonia had kept away from politics after her husband’s assassination. We say we should honour our security personnel and their families, who lose their lives in action. Can’t we at least stop abusing the Nehru family which has suffered such tragedies repeatedly? Every tom and harry stands up and attacks the family with utmost filthy language. Who gave them the authority? Let people of this country take a call and decide whom they want in power. Irony is that today politics has become negative, we all want party to win on negative agenda but not on merits.

Congress has to win the election on the basis of past performance and its plan for future growth.Being a member of an important political family does not entail all the members of the family to rule the country. Who is the important family member should be decided by the people. The induction of Priyanka is a desperate bid of the Congress to somehow win the elections, as Rahul has proved to be a weaker politician, he needs some more time to mature. At one time, it was a popular opinion that induction of Priyanka would have done wonders for Congress if she had taken to active politics like her grandmother. India’s rural population had a mind change over these past 20 years, especially over the golden decade 2000-10 for middle and upper classes, on account of mobile phones, internet and cable TV. They now see how the rest of the world, India’s upper classes and the nation’s privileged politicians live. They see the difference between speech and action. Congress Party unfortunately is long on promise and short on delivery in every area. BJP also failed badly as the Congress Party. Congress Party, which has been ruling India virtually since independence, turned into a family business many decades ago. It is now election time and the outcome may not be smooth sailing, so all family hands are on deck, as one might expect. Voters must decide whether they want the country to remain as it is or will ensure it becomes a democratic republic. It is the apt time for Priyanka to enter the electoral battle field. She is charismatic and much adorned by the rural women and youth. Carrying fully the legacy of Indira, she is the cynosure of all eyes. India being diverse in all respects, presence of a unifying leader is vital to keep the country united and to fight out forces around. Let’s come to the point; there is lot of difference between Kumar Vishvas and Nehru Gandhi family. Power and position are two things which are to be grabbed and cannot be expected to be offered.