Teesta Setalvad, former state Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt came in another controversy, as sit revealed that they had accepted Rs 30 lakhs from Ahmed Patel, the political advisor of the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government following 2002 Gujarat riots, a Special Investigating Team (SIT) report revealed.
The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with R B Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery. SIT’s ACP BC Solanki’s Special public prosecutors Mitesh Amin and Amit Patel filed an affidavit in the sessions court on Friday against the bail plea filed by Teesta, Sreekumar in the Sessions Court stating that the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy with the intention of obtaining illegal money and other benefits from Congress.
Particularly, a metropolitan court in Ahmedabad sent Setalvad and Sreekumar to 14-day judicial custody on July 2. Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch on Tuesday in connection with the Gujarat riots case for embezzling funds and forging documents. After the riots that broke out after the Godhra incident, the SIT filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court.
The SIT affidavit stated that the accused had numerous meetings with Patel where they received Rs 5 lakhs for the first time and Rs 25 lakhs after two days.
Ahmed Patel passed away in 2020. Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.
After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat’s Godhra Railway Station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
The Zeus unmanned nuclear-powered space tug, which is currently under development in Russia, would be delivering an interstellar space station to the planets of the Solar System while cosmonauts would be flying to the station separately due to long flights, Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, has told Sputnik.
“We are currently discussing the expediency of delivering a crew to the point where the tug arrives while using conventional chemical engines on a superheavy-class rocket. Thus, the people would not have to suffer while flying one way for a year aboard this space tug. In other words, if you wish to catch a train, you have to take a plane,” Rogozin said.
He further explained that crews would be more comfortable flying on “traditional means” until more powerful engines are developed than those planned to be used in the Zeus nuclear-powered space tug.
Rogozin added that the breaking of the space tug would be as long as the acceleration; therefore, the station pushed by the space tug would be more effective for flights to distant planets rather than the Moon.
S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia is currently preparing a preliminary design of the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) and is expected to complete it in the third quarter of 2023, after which it will begin the development of design documentation.
The station is expected to be built in a high-latitude orbit with an inclination of 96-98 degrees to ensure the desirable observation scale of the Earth’s surface.
The Zeus nuclear-powered space tug is designed for deep space flights from one orbit to another. It has been in development since 2010. The spacecraft’s preliminary design is expected to be finished by July 2024 and will cost 4.2 billion rubles ($56.3 million).
Zeus is expected to be sent into space for test flights in 2030. The first mission of Zeus to Jupiter will take 50 months and will last from 2030 to 2034.
Zeus and the payload module will be launched into orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on separate launch vehicles.
They will dock, travel to the Moon, orbit it and return to Earth. After that, another payload module will dock Zeus and the station will fly to Venus, make a gravity maneuver, and head for Jupiter’s moons. The mission will be fully unmanned.
The Opposition’s candidate for the next week’s Presidential election, Yashwant Sinha, has cancelled his visit to Mumbai scheduled on Saturday in the wake of the Shiv Sena announcing support for the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee Draupadi Murmu. “Sinha’s visit to Mumbai, where he was scheduled to meet and address the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) legislators, has been cancelled,” an NCP leader said.
The Opposition’s candidate for the next week’s Presidential election, Yashwant Sinha, has cancelled his visit to Mumbai scheduled on Saturday in the wake of the Shiv Sena announcing support for the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee Draupadi Murmu. “Sinha’s visit to Mumbai, where he was scheduled to meet and address the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) legislators, has been cancelled,” an NCP leader said.
The Opposition’s candidate for the next week’s Presidential election, Yashwant Sinha, has cancelled his visit to Mumbai scheduled on Saturday in the wake of the Shiv Sena announcing support for the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee Draupadi Murmu. “Sinha’s visit to Mumbai, where he was scheduled to meet and address the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) legislators, has been cancelled,” an NCP leader said.
Polls to elect the next president will be held on July 18. The race for the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be between Murmu and Sinha. After getting the support of some regional parties like BJD, YSR-CP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JDS, Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena, the vote share of Murmu has already crossed 60 per cent. It was around 50 per cent at the time of her nomination. Murmu had visited Mumbai on Thursday as part of her poll campaign and met the BJP MLAs and MPs from Maharashtra as well as the legislators of its allies including the Shiv Sena faction led by Shinde.
The seven lakes that supply drinking water to the city have filled up to 75% of the required quantum for the season, even as three more deaths were reported in the state due to rain-related incidents in the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 102 on Friday.
Though the city did not see much rainfall on Friday, the total water stocks in the seven lakes reached 10 lakh million litres; the required quantum is 14. 47 lakh million litres.
On July 15, 2021, the total water stocks were below 25%. In the 24 hours ending Friday morning, almost all catchment area lakes recorded triple-digit rainfall, with Bhatsa receiving the maximum—165mm. This monsoon so far, Modak Sagar and Tansa have already spilled over.
After being dislodged from power in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has staked a claim on the post of leader of opposition in the state Legislative Council.
A delegation of Shiv Sena MLCs – Manisha Kayande, Sachin Ahir, Ambadas Danve, Vilas Potnis, and Sunil Shinde – met Council Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe on Monday and submitted a letter staking a claim for the post of the LoP and chief whip.
The race is between the NCP and the Shiv Sena, amid fears that some of its members may switch sides.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is just two short of the Sena’s tally in the Upper House of the state legislature.
As on July 8, the 78-member Maharashtra Legislative Council has 24 BJP members, 12 of the Shiv Sena, and 10 each of the Congress and NCP. The Lok Bharti, Peasants and Workers Party of India, and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh have one member each. The Council also has four independents, while 15 seats are vacant.
The Sena’s move comes following a rebellion in the party, which led to its 55 MLAs splitting into two factions. The camp led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has the support of 40 MLAs, while 15 have sided with former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The revolt had also led to the collapse of the Thackeray-led tripartite government comprising the Sena, NCP, and Congress.
Subsequently, the Shinde faction in coalition with the BJP formed a government in the state.
The NCP, which has 53 MLAs in Maharashtra, leads the opposition in the legislature’s Lower House. Earlier this month, NCP’s Ajit Pawar was elected the leader of opposition in the state Assembly.
The political advisory committee(PAC) of AAP will meet Saturday at noon to decide on its support in the Presidential election, sources in the party said. The meeting will be attended by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other members of the PAC, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, and MLA Atishi, among others.
The AAP has so far kept its cards close to its chest, not revealing if it will support opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha or BJP candidate Droupadi Murmu in the Presidential poll, voting for which will take place on Monday.
The AAP is the only non-BJP, non-Congress outfit with governments in two states — Delhi and Punjab. It has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from the two states, including three from Delhi. Also, the party has 92 MLAs in Punjab, 62 in Delhi, and two in Goa.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he would not allow passage of bills amid disruptions in the House as it would mean betraying the mandate of the people.
In a freewheeling interview to PTI, Narwekar also exuded confidence about the smooth functioning of the state assembly despite a bitter split in the Shiv Sena ranks, contending that the disruptions in the Maharashtra House were “mild” when compared with other states.
“I do not think so,” Narwekar, a first-term BJP MLA from Colaba in south Mumbai, said, when asked whether the rebellion in the Shiv Sena ranks will have any bearing on the assembly session beginning July 25.
Narwekar was in the national capital to attend a meeting of presiding officers of state assemblies convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday.
“The recent session of the assembly witnessed debates for nearly nine hours. Very less time was lost to disruptions. I received the cooperation of all the floor leaders and MLAs. Even in the upcoming session, members will be able to raise issues as per the rules and procedures of the assembly,” he said.
Narwekar was elected Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly after Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde was sworn in as chief minister with the support of the BJP.
The post of the Speaker was vacant since the resignation of Nana Patole in February last year.
NCP leader and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Narhari Zirwal was officiating as the Speaker of the House in the interim period.
Uddhav Thackeray, who became the chief minister with the support of the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress after the 2019 assembly elections, had to step down from the post on June 29 following a rebellion in the Shiv Sena ranks.
The Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena had submitted notices to the Speaker seeking disqualification of 16 out of the 39 MLAs who had joined the Eknath Shinde-led rebellion.
Besides the 39 Shiv Sena MLAs, 10 legislators from smaller outfits and Independents too had backed the rebellion led by Shinde which culminated in the ouster of the Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.
“The issue of disqualification of MLAs is pending with the office of the Speaker of the Assembly. A decision on it will be taken as per the provisions of the Constitution. This will not have any impact on the proceedings of the House,” Narwekar said.
Asked about his top priorities as Speaker, Narwekar said he would not allow passage of bills in a din in the House.
“My top priority will be to ensure passage of bills after proper discussion and debate. Passing bills in din would be a betrayal of the mandate of the people. I will not allow passage of bills without any discussion,” he said.
Narwekar said members often complain about not getting enough time to raise issues and he would ensure that they get adequate time to speak in the House.
“Making the functioning of the House paperless and introducing new technologies to the assembly also ranks high among my priorities,” he said.
Narwekar said he would also strive to make arrangements for convening of the assembly session in virtual mode in case Covid-like situations re-emerge.
Ivana Trump, the first wife of the former US president, died of “blunt impact injuries” to the torso in an accident, New York’s chief medical examiner said on Friday.
The statement did not specify the circumstances, but US media reported that police had been investigating whether the 73-year-old died falling down the stairs at her Manhattan home.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told AFP in an emailed statement Thursday that officers responded to a call at Ivana Trump’s address on the Upper East Side, and found her “unconscious and unresponsive.” She was pronounced dead at the scene, and the statement added that “there does not appear to be any criminality.”
Donald Trump announced her death on Thursday, calling her a “wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life.” He said her “pride and joy” were the couple’s three children, Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric Trump.
Ivana Trump, a model who grew up under communist rule in former Czechoslovakia, married Donald Trump, then a budding real estate developer, in 1977. Their first child, Donald Jr., was born later that year. Ivanka was born in 1981 and Eric followed in 1984.
Throughout the ’80s, the Trumps were one of New York’s highest-profile couples, their extravagant lifestyle exemplifying the flashy excesses of the decade. Their power and celebrity grew as Donald Trump’s property business soared, with Ivana Trump taking on a number of key roles in the business.
Their high-profile split, rumored to have been caused in part by Donald Trump’s affair with actress Marla Maples, provided juicy content for New York’s tabloids.
Donald Trump and Ivana Trump divorced in the early ’90s and in 1993 the future president married Maples. Ivana Trump went on to enjoy a successful business career of her own, developing clothing, jewelry, and beauty products and penning a number of books.
She was married four times in her life, once before her marriage to Donald Trump and twice after. On Friday, a US justice official said depositions of Donald Trump, Donald Jr and Ivanka in New York’s civil probe into alleged fraud at his family business had been postponed following her death.
The Mumbai Police on Friday seized electronic cigarettes and flavored tobacco worth over Rs 14.60 lakh after raiding 12 places in the city and its suburbs, and arrested 11 persons, an official said.
The action was carried out by the Crime Branch control of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), he said. As many as 11 persons were arrested in connection with the case, he said, adding a probe was underway.
“Considering that the youth in Mumbai are consuming electronic cigarettes which are harmful to their health, the CB control of the EOW Branch raided 12 places & seized e-cigarettes worth Rs 14,60,420 and registered a case against them,” the Mumbai Police tweeted.
Ranjitsinh Disale is an Indian teacher from Maharashtra who has been acknowledged for his outstanding contribution to education but locals have objected to his status. He is the winner of the USD 1 million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020 which was announced on 3 December 2020. The Global Teacher Prize, which has been referred to by journalists as the Nobel Prize for teaching, highlights and celebrates the profession while giving greater recognition to the work of teachers all over the world. Disale said in his winning speech that he would share with his nine fellow finalists half of the prize money, meaning they would receive USD 55,000 each. He also works with the World Bank as Advisor for their educational programs.
Disale is well known for his innovative teaching works, including demonstrating scientific experiments from the science lab built by him and adding QR codes to primary category books so that his students can get links to audio poems, video lectures, assignments and stories. His idea of incorporating QR codes into textbooks was adopted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. In his village, he also campaigned to eliminate adolescent marriages and encourage the education of girls.
Disale guruji resigned the chance to recover their salary to get a suspension from Solapur Zilla Parishad school Published 24 hours ago on July 14, 2022. Disale was frustrated and his resignation had a lot of repercussions. The case was mentioned in the investigation report that the assistant teacher Ranjitsinh Disale who works at a school in Paritewadi (Ta Madha) of Solapur Zilla Parishad has been continuously absent for three years from 2017 to 2020. Even after 34 months of absence, the salary was taken by deceiving the government.
The Solapur district administration has gotten serious and is going to demand repayment of the full amount. The documents necessary for the leave have not been delivered. In January 2022, Ranjitsinh Disale is going to come to Solapur Zilla Parishad to do her PhD and has requested 6 months’ leave for that. The then Minister of Education, Varsha Gaikwad, took notice and approved the leave request. But the district administration had requested to submit all doctoral documents for the vacation.
Head of Education Kiran Lohar informed that Global Prize Laureate Ranjitsinh Disale has not submitted any proof of PhD admission so far. Ranjitsinh Disley received the American Fulbright Scholarship. In this regard, not a single solid proof has been given to the education department of the Solapur district administration. Disale did not give details to the education department about receiving the global award.
Disale Guruji was appointed Assistant Professor at Solapur Zilla Parishad in 2008. His first post was at Paritewadi. In 2017, he was delegated to DIET at Jamapur in Malshiras. The period of the deputation was from 2017 to 2020. However, at that time, he was not appearing at Diet Institute, Gharapur. After receiving an international award in 2020, he was again appointed to Paritewadi. A pupil of Kadam Vasti in Paritewadi used to come to school here. But since no teacher came to this school, the citizens of Kadam Vasti often complained that there was no teacher at the school.
Resigned, but action is inevitable, Disale will receive 34 months’ salary from Guruji. Disale Guruji, who was appointed to the Zilla Parishad school at Paritewadi in Madha taluka, has once again come under discussion due to his resignation. Global award-winning teacher Ranjitsinh Disale has recently given a pre-resignation notice. Education Officer Kiran Lohar has prepared a report after inquiring about Disale Guruji. According to the report, Ranjitsinh Disale gave his resignation notice on July 7 before taking action. His resignation will be approved on August 8 and he will be fired. However, the district administration will take action against Disale Guruji. He has been absent from work for almost 34 months. All these salaries will be recovered by the Solapur district administration. District Primary Education Officer Kiran Lohar informed me about this.
Zilla Parishad’s Primary Education Officer Kiran Lohar informed that the salary raised during this period will be recovered as he was absent for 34 months while on deputation to diet. What did Ranjitsinh Disale, a sub-teacher working in Solapur Zilla Parishad, do between 2017 and 2020? This has been thoroughly investigated. A file has been created in this regard. The inquiry report has been submitted to the Zilla Parishad CEOs in confidence.
Global teacher Ranjitsinh Disale was awarded a scholarship by the Full Bright Institute of America to do his PhD. Accordingly, in August p. Disale Guruji was going to America to do HD. He had come to the Zilla Parishad in January to seek permission. Chief Executive Officer Dilip Swamy had advised him to meet Education Officer Kiran Lohar. At that time, education officer Lohar had stated the rules for sanctioning leave.
Apply for leave to the Group Education Officer, from where he will come to me, without going directly to Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Dilip Swamy or coming to me, it is not a rule, he said. It was also said that the university in which the PhD will be done, submit all the information permitted by the American University to do the PhD, and then the leave application will be approved. The group education officer was advised to apply for leave with all the documents.
The news that Ranjitsinh Disale was denied leave by the education department had created a stir in the state. The then Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad had ordered the Zilla Parishad administration to grant immediate leave to Disale Guruji. Disale had made serious allegations against his superiors in front of the media. Taking note of this, Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Dilip Swamy ordered an inquiry.
Doubts were raised about the degree obtained by Disale Guruji after the left case and the work done while on deputation to the district training institute for the next three years. The then-education officer Sanjay Rathore had earlier prepared an inquiry report. After inquiring about it, the present Education Officer Kiran Lohar prepared a report and submitted it to the Zilla Parishad CEO. Giving notice of resignation before taking action will not stop the action; he informed that the government will recover all the salary given to them.
