Patra Chawl – A scam that heated politics in recent times 2
For a long time, Patra Chawl hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. A few weeks ago, The Enforcement Directorate arrested a Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in a money-laundering probe linked to a Rs 1,034 crore land ‘scam’ related to the re-development of a ‘chawl’ in Mumbai.
The Enforcement Directorate has claimed before a special PMLA court that Pravin Raut made payments to a “politically exposed person” and is “acting as a front” or in collusion with some influential people. Raut, arrested by the ED on February 2 under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was produced before the court after the end of his initial remand. The court extended his ED custody till Friday.
The case against him applies to alleged irregularities in the sale of FSI (floor space index) of a plot by a firm, linked to him, which is a subsidiary company of the Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd. The HDIL is under investigation by the ED and a few other agencies in connection with an alleged fraud of about Rs 4,300 crore at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.
Pravin Raut, a former director of a company called Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd found involved in the offence of money laundering and unearth the money trail and the siphoning of funds running into more than 1,000 crores. Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd is a subsidiary company of Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). The HDIL is under investigation by the ED and a few other agencies in connection with the around Rs 4,300 crore alleged fraud at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.
Pravin Raut along with Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, directors of Guru Ashish Constructions Pvt Ltd, in connivance with others illegally sold FSI (floor space index) to various builders for Rs 1,034 crore. Raut, being the director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, has played an ”active role” in the re-development project, and in connivance with Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, managed to ”divert” the proceeds of crime of more than Rs 1,000 crore by ”harming” the interest of 672 tenants and buyers, the ED said.
The ED alleged that Raut, in 2010, received Rs 95 crore in his bank account in the ”guise of sale of equity and land deal though the company was not able to complete the project and had not generated any income. The Mumbai Police economic offences wing (EOW) had first filed an FIR to probe these allegations made in the re-development of the ‘chawl’.
The ED last year had also attached assets worth Rs 72 crore of Raut in connection with the PMC Bank money laundering case. It had then said that ”Rs 95 crore has been siphoned off through HDIL by one of the accused Pravin Raut in active conspiracy and connivance with various persons”.
It had been said that Pravin Raut ”paid an amount of Rs 1.6 crore to his wife Madhuri Pravin Raut from the proceeds of crime. Out of the said money, Madhuri Raut transferred Rs 55 lakh (Rs 50 lakh on December 23, 2010, and Rs 5 lakh on March 15, 2011) as an interest-free loan to Varsha Raut. The amount was further utilised for the purchase of a flat in Dadar East, Mumbai. The ED had filed a criminal case of money laundering in October 2020 to probe the alleged loan fraud in the PMC Bank and had booked HDIL, its promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, his son Sarang Wadhawan, its former chairman Waryam Singh and ex-managing director Joy Thomas.
Guruashish constructions had to develop flats for 672 tenants of Patra Chawl and about 3000 flats had to be handed over to MHADA. The total land parcel was 47 acres and the remaining land after handing over flats to MHADA and Patra Chawl tenants was to be allowed for sale and development by Guruashish constructions. Guruashish constructions did not redevelop the Patra chawl or any other flats that had to be handed over to MHADA and sold land parcels and FSI to around eight other builders for Rs 1,034 crores.
In March 2018, MHADA filed an FIR against Guruashish constructions. In February 2020 Pravin Raut was arrested by EOW, while Sarang Wadhawan was arrested by EOW in September same year. Pravin Raut was later released on bail. The ED registered an ECIR in the case and on February 1, the agency conducted searches at around seven places, including the residences offices of Pravin Raut.
Amid all this controversy Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have decided to inaugurate Goregaon’s Siddharth Nagar, also known as Patra Chawl’s redevelopment project, which has been stalled for several years. The redevelopment of Patra chawl, spread across 47 acres, has been mired in controversy and 672 tenants of the chawl were left in the lurch.
If you keenly watch Maharashtra’s political circles, the Narayan Rane vs Uddhav Thackeray clash is not new, since Rane was expelled from Shiv Sena he is always criticizing Uddhav. This time for a change his target was Sanjay Raut. Rane’s bitterness with the Shiv Sena went beyond Uddhav Thackeray, these days he has problems with the rising influence of Sanjay Raut. Raut always reminds Narayan Rane to behave and stop disrespecting a decorated chief minister. Whenever Narayan Rane spewed spleen at Thackeray, Raut came in defense with a warning tone. Meanwhile, Rane thought instead of attacking Uddhav it was better to attack his guard and create a rift. Rane thought by creating doubt in Uddhav’s mind he might create unrest in Shiv Sena but he failed to do so, as Raut and Uddhav both have heads on their shoulders and somewhere those thick and strong bonds prevented the impairment.
Rane never thought in his dreams that one day Uddhav Thackeray would become Chief Minister of state, as we all know a little credit goes to Sanjay Raut. However, since then, he and his sons have not abstained from taking personal digs at the Maharashtra chief minister and his family. Rane always projected Raut as Pawar’s boot licker because he is very close to Supriya Sule and her father. Raut has family relations with Pawar family and he never intended to become Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Rane, making this deliberate statement to irk Thackeray? Interestingly, Thackeray knows Rane and his lobbying skills.
In the 1960s Narayan Rane was known to be part of the ‘Harya Narya gang’, a street gang operating in the northeastern suburb of Chembur, where he resided. In the 1970s, he joined the Shiv Sena and became a shakha pramukh, which was followed by his election as Sena corporator in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Rane appeared as one of Shiv Sena’s most powerful leaders— he moved from MLA to minister to ultimately the chief minister of the Shiv Sena-BJP government for a brief period between February and October 1999. However, he left the Shiv Sena in 2005 and joined the Congress. The Grand Old Party too didn’t appeal to Rane who resigned in 2017 to form his own party, the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha, which he ultimately merged with the BJP.
A day later, Balsaheb Thackeray expelled Rane, Balasaheb himself started calling him “nagobacha pillu” (baby snake) and “kombdi chor (chicken thief), a dig at the poultry shop that Rane ran near the Chembur station in Mumbai about five decades ago, during his early years in politics. Since then, kombdi chor title has stuck with Narayan Rane permanently. Balasaheb never trusted him wholeheartedly, that is the reason he was not offered much scope in the party. Whereas grassroot level leaders like Chagan Bhujbal too left Shiv Sena but they never foul mouthed Thackeray’s. He joined NCP and till today loyal to his party. Perhaps this is the reason, Balasaheb never criticized Bhujbal on any open platforms.
Rane’s sons always hit out at Uddhav’s son and state cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray, calling him “baby penguin”. Nitesh Rane made ‘meow’ sounds looking in the direction of Aaditya, not only that but he was unapologetic, recently his father Narayan told media that his son is an artist and he can make animal sounds. Aaditya, being a dignified young man, walked away overlooking Nitesh Rane. Nitesh can’t be a better copy to his father. That must go down as the most noteworthy thing Nitesh Rane ever did in his short-lived political career. Narayan Rane and his sons tried their level best to publicly humiliate Uddhav Thackeray, and his son Aaditya and these days Sanjay Raut. Sometimes Rane’s behave like supari criticizers, as if BJP gave them a conditional contract to take on Raut and Thackeray.
The mudslinging between Shiv Sena and BJP is worsening day by day, leaders from both parties levelling allegations at each other. Sanjay Raut continued his outburst against BJP’s Kirit Somaiya. Union minister Narayan Rane jumped in between and alleged Raut is of NCP man and was eyeing Uddhav Thackeray’s chair and alleged he was rattled because of the ED’s probe into matters related to him and his associates, while state BJP president Chandrakant Patil said Raut will get Thackeray into trouble.
Raut also alleged Somaiya and his builder friend had bought Rs 100 crore prime land in Juhu at dirt cheap rates by threatening ED action. He alleged Somaiya’s friend had given Rs 15 crore to an ED official from the Juhu deal and said he would soon name the ED officer. On Rane’s charges about him being an NCP man, Raut said, “We only have an eye on the expansion of Sena. By 2024, Shiv Sena will reach the throne of Delhi.” Meanwhile Sanjay Raut is traveling intensely across election bound states being a flagbearer of Shiv Sena. He is trying to take his party to national level politics.
In this entire circus, Devendra Fadnavis maintains dignified calm, he speaks to the point and avoids getting in unwanted blabber. The biggest problem for Devendra is the rabble-rousing leaders, who are out of his control, those leaders are doing more damage to their own party than the rivals. Maharashtra people are fed-up with these cockfights. They want development and welfare for the state and its people. Everyday drama is not what they really expect from the state leaders.
Kirit Somaiya who has raised several Covid-19 related issues with the Maharashtra government, accused them of taking people’s lives but never utter a single word about BJP ruled states, people have seen viral videos of Uttar Pradesh on social media how the dead bodies were thrown in the river, people have seen overcrowded crematoriums of Gujarat, people have seen long queue of dead bodies across Madhya Pradesh hospitals, if Kirit Somaiya is really concerned about people of nation why is he silent on those states and their mismanagement? One can not question the intellect of people. Maharashtra government’s handling of COVID crises is appreciated by the Supreme court and local leaders are making mockery? No politician is absolutely clean, each one of them has some skeletons buried in their backyard.
How much one should use it for personal or political vendetta, is their own choice, but wasting people’s time in everyday arguments is not good, people have been given the opportunity to be in politics to perform. You all are expected to do your bit, if BJP leaders still want to linger on personal fights, people will definitely disown them. Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders should know how important it is for them to prove themselves and take people into confidence if they want to retain power in the state.
HC dismisses PIL against BMC notification on the delimitation of wards; imposes a cost on litigants 5
The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed public interest litigation challenging a notification issued by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief for suggestions and objections from citizens on the proposed delimitation of civic wards.
A division bench of Justices Amjad Sayed and Abhay Ahuja also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 each on the two petitioners- Nitesh Ranjhans Singh (BJP) and Sagar Devre (MNS).
The court while dismissing the plea said it was accepting the statement made by the State Election Commission (SEC) that due to lack of manpower, it has appointed state officers as its delegates for election purposes and that any final decision on the delimitation of wards would be taken by the commission only.
The cash-rich BMC is controlled by the Shiv Sena and the civic polls are due later this year.
The public interest litigation (PIL) had challenged the legality and propriety of the BMC notification of February 1 inviting suggestions and objections from the public on the proposed delimitation of wards, to increase their number from 227 to 236 ahead of the corporation elections.
The petitioners’ main contention was that BMC Commissioner I S Chahal, who had issued the notification, was not authorised to do so.
The SEC had earlier told the court that it had delegated the power to the BMC Commissioner for the purpose of elections.
As per the SEC, when such powers are delegated to state officers, they act as delegates of the election commission and not as an officer of the state government.
The BMC and the SEC had informed the court that the final date for submitting the suggestions and objections was February 14 and 816 letters were received as of that date.
An IAS officer, Manoj Sounik, who is presently an additional chief secretary (finance), has been appointed to conduct a hearing on the objections and suggestions of the public.
A report would be submitted to the SEC on March 1 and a final decision on the formation of new wards rests with the State Election Commissioner.
In the pretext of marriage Shiv Sena leader raped a young woman 7
A case has been registered against Shiv Sena Labor Minister Raghunath Babanrao Kuchik for allegedly forcibly aborting her child and threatening to kill her. A 24-year-old girl has lodged a complaint at Shivajinagar Police Station.
The incident took place between November 6, 2020 and February 10, 2022. Kuchik is the Deputy Leader of Shiv Sena and General Secretary of Bharatiya Kamgar Sena. He is also the chairman of the state’s minimum wage committee.
Shiv Sena deputy leader Raghunath Babanrao Kuchik had a love affair with the victim. He showed the young woman the lure of marriage. Through this love affair, he established physical relations with the young woman in different places. From this the plaintiff became pregnant. When the victim informed him about her pregnancy, he forced her to abort it.
According to the complaint lodged by the victim, Shiv Sena deputy leader Raghunath Babanrao Kuchik had an affair with the victim. He lured a young woman out of marriage. In the name of this so-called love affair, he established physical relations with the young woman in different places.
He also threatened to kill her if she did not have an abortion. She is also threatened with dire consequences if it was read anywhere. After that, while the plaintiff was ill, the young woman informed that he had forcibly signed the agreement. Shivajinagar police has registered a case against the accused. Sub-Inspector Patil is further investigating the case.
"Centre must change policies or it will suffer": Telangana CM KCR after meeting Maha CM Thackeray 9
After meeting with his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday warned the central government that it must change its policies or it will suffer. KCR also said he discussed the ways of bringing changes in the country with the Maharashtra chief minister.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, KCR said, “Central agencies are being misused in a bad manner. We condemn it. The central government should change its policies. It will suffer if it doesn’t. The country has seen many such things.” The Telangana chief minister said there would be good results of his meeting with Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra cabinet ministers which was held today at his residence in Mumbai.
“You will get to see a good result of our meeting soon. I invite Uddhav Ji to come to Telangana,” KCR said. He also said that a detailed discussion took place on improving developmental issues in the country.
“We had an elaborate discussion on improving and expediting developmental issues and bringing structural and policy changes in the country. We’ve agreed on all the issues,” he added. KCR also asserted, “We both (KCR and Uddhav) are brothers because our states share 1,000 km of border. With the cooperation of the Maharashtra government, we built the Kaleshwaram project which has benefited Telangana. We look forward to working together with Maharashtra.”
The Maharashtra Chief Minister stated that Hindutva doesn’t teach wrong politics and some people only work for their agendas, even if the country goes to hell. “We’ve to bring our country on the right path. Who the Prime Minister will be will be discussed later. We’ll meet many political leaders from today onwards,” Thackeray added. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut who was also present in the meeting said that they will also meet other political parties and the country will see many changes in future.
Actor Prakash Raj was also present in the meeting at Varsha bungalow, Maharashtra CM’s official residence in Mumbai. This meeting came after KCR gave a call to Opposition parties to unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Sunday said the meeting will expedite the process of political unity at the national level against the BJP. Telangana Chief Minister had earlier hit out at the BJP and said that it should be “expelled” from the country or else the country will be “ruined”. He also called for political forces coming together to “oust” the BJP from power.
As part of efforts to bring various opposition parties together against the BJP, KCR is also planning to meet his West Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee.
The US special envoy has discussed the humanitarian situation as well as human rights in Afghanistan with representatives of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Taking to Twitter, Rina Amiri, the special for Afghan women, girls and human rights said that in the meeting she called on the OIC representatives to “press” the Islamic Emirate for inclusive governance and to uphold rights, emphasizing that human rights and humanitarian issues are linked.
“Discussed @OIC_OCI efforts to alleviate Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis. Emphasized human rights & humanitarian issues are linked. Called for @OIC_OCI members to press the Taliban for inclusive governance upholding rights & end retribution against those defending their rights,” she tweeted on Saturday. “In Jeddah, agreed with @OIC_OCI reps that the Muslim World needs to be at the forefront of holding the Taliban accountable to respect human rights & deliver on its commitment to enable women & girls, in all their diversity, to return to school, work & public & political life,” she said in another tweet.
In Jeddah, agreed with @OIC_OCI reps that the Muslim World needs to be at the forefront of holding the Taliban accountable to respect human rights & deliver on its commitment to enable women & girls, in all their diversity, to return to school, work & public & political life.
Amiri also met with the Islamic Development Bank group and discussed efforts toward addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. “Had fruitful discussions with the @isdb_group. Welcomed progress towards the establishment of the Afghanistan Trust Fund & efforts to garner donor support from @OIC_OCI members & other allies to address the devastating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan,” she said.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy was another venue where Amiri discussed human rights and women’s and girls’ rights to work and education. Amiri said, according to the academy, the exclusion of women from social and political life is not acceptable in Islam. “Had a productive meeting with @IIFA_official. Its official scholarship on women & human rights is an impressive initiative underscoring that women’s rights to education, work & participation in all spheres of life, including public & political space, are indisputable in Islam,” the US special envoy said further.
After the Taliban took over Kabul in August last year, Afghan women have been facing restrictions and also girls beyond grade seven could not return to schools in most parts of the country.
Rihanna covers baby bump for a dinner date with A$AP Rocky 12
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, who are currently expecting their first baby together, on Friday evening, enjoyed a date night in New York City. According to People magazine, the couple, both 33, dined at Italian restaurant Carbone, where they were joined by the ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker’s younger brother, Rorrey Fenty.
For the night out, Rihanna wore a New York Mets t-shirt, which covered her growing baby bump. She kept the look casual and cool with bedazzled faded jeans and an orange jacket. Meanwhile, A$AP Rocky attended the evening outing wearing a matching all-white ensemble featuring colorful, bejeweled accents. He stuck to a theme with a pair of white sneakers.
Rihanna has been putting her bare baby bump on display since she and A$AP Rocky announced they were expecting in late January. The singer recently told People magazine that she has embraced the good and the bad with her newfound curves. Noting that “it’s fun,” but also “a challenge” to play with fashion while pregnant, Rihanna explained at the Fenty Beauty Universe Event in Los Angeles earlier this month, “I like it. I’m enjoying it.”
Rihanna also explained that fashion helps her feel most confident these days, despite some general malaise and discomfort. Her evening out in New York City came after the music superstar continued to showcase her chic maternity style the day before.
The ‘Diamonds’ singer was photographed out and about on Thursday afternoon, showing off her growing baby bump in a baggy leopard-print jacket that was left partially unzipped near her belly. As per People magazine, Rihanna paired the animal-print outerwear with black sweatpants, furry brown heels, and a black hat over her hair, which fell behind her shoulders in loose waves.
Shiv Sena leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut
Till 2019, Raut was one of the tallest leaders for the BJP alliance. All of sudden, the picture changed and he was under constant attack by then the alliance and now the opposition. In November 2019, following the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, there was a dispute between the BJP and the Shiv Sena regarding the seat-sharing formula, the formation of Government in Maharashtra, and who will be the Chief Minister of state. Sanjay Raut was one of the loudest voices from the Shiv Sena to demand their party Chief Minister for Maharashtra. He was not only firm on his stand but made it difficult for the BJP to play their typical tricks and traits. The engagement ended with the abolition of the opposition forces, and a tactical victory for the Shiv Sena to concur the power alliance with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Indian National Congress (INC).
Sanjay Raut stood like a protector to the Thackeray family and their political interest, he battled it out by blocking the path of the pursuers and made a determined defence against them. Maybe this is the reason Sanjay Raut was severely offended by the opposition by peddling all lies. BJP in opposition repeatedly tried to break through the barricades but were constantly disgusted. One needs to realise Raut is Shiv Sainik, mentored by his father who was ardent Shiv Sainik and Late Balasaheb Thackeray the founder of Shiv Sena, he is Thackeray’s mavla (worrier) in a true sense.
Narayan Rane mocking Raut
Narayan Rane is an old Shiv Sainik who tried his luck with almost all other political parties before finding a place in the BJP in 2019. Rane was given entry in BJP with the sole motive to demoralize the Thackeray leadership and Shiv Sena at large. However, his hatred for Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was evident in his attacks. Rane has been a biting critic of Sanjay Raut too and has been unsparingly harsh on Thackeray Raut family and friends. He is often taking digs at Rashmi and Aaditya Thackeray. Uddhav Thackeray did not spare Rane and Sons and from time to time answered them back. Whereas Sanjay Raut known as Brat of Shiv Sena locked horns with them each time, they tried to mess with the Thackeray family.
Rane said, Balasaheb praised him on several occasions, but the fact is that there are hundreds of YouTube videos where Balasaheb mocked Narayan Rane. Rane was never respected or regarded by senior Thackeray. When Narayan Rane was expelled from the Sena, not only did he remain in the public eye but also paraded his grievances before the TV cameras. While Thackeray announced Rane’s eviction at a meeting of Sena corporators and MLAs at the Rang Sharda a hall in Bandra, Rane reacted by addressing a press conference barely a stone’s throw away from the Mumbai suburb where he accused the Sena chief of putra prem (blind love for his son, Uddhav). Balasaheb never skipped any chance of taking a dig at Narayan Rane, he humiliated Rane by calling him Narya and whatnot.
Despite the overdramatic backbiting this so-called rebellion could not manage to seek attention. He then pursued Sharad Pawar to join NCP, Pawar being a friend to senior Thackeray, refused Rane a fortune in his party. Then he bowed down to Congress leadership and somehow managed to get entry, but within no time, he took a press conference attacking Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders. Finally, he had no option but to float his own party, but that party did not give him the existence he was expecting. Knowing his weaknesses BJP hired him to open Morcha (verbal fight) against Thackeray and Shiv Sena, assuming that being old Shiv Sainik he might be knowing some inside weaknesses of Both. But the efforts went futile with father and son’s arrests.
BJP is wooing Rane and sons to increase their vote base in the Konkan region. But so far Rane has committed himself to attacks against ruling Maha Vika Aghadi. In several press conferences, Rane tried to tarnish Sena’s image by calling it a violent party, by stating it Uddhav lacks his father’s commendable instinct and recently taking deceits about Sanjay Raut. Whereas Sanjay Raut has grown slow and steady in Shiv Sena, he is a three-time Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2004, and he has been a member of the house since then. Point to be noted, Raut’s elevation has come from Balasaheb and that’s why I call him a blue-eyed boy of Balasaheb Thackeray.
Raut was picked by Balasaheb when he started his Marathi daily Saamana. He was made executive editor of the Shiv Sena political mouthpiece. He has been writing articles for Saamana for more than three decades now. He was appointed as a Member of the Committee on Home Affairs and a Member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation from October 2005 to May 2009 with the consent of Balasaheb.
He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2010. Appointed as a Member of the Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Power in 2010. Again, with the knowledge of Balasaheb. Raut not only earned the confidence of Shiv Sena supremo but also earned goodwill. Today whatever Narayan Rane is saying makes no sense. Raut was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2016, his tenure will finish this year.
Allegations on Sanjay Raut
After Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide in 2020, BJP inclined media channels and celebrities ran a campaign against Thackeray father and Son on a very humiliating note. They were hell-bent on proving the suicide as political murder linking it to Disha Salian another Bollywood entities suicide. Maharashtra government and Mumbai police had to take the brunt, during those days only one man was vocal by defending his party and state police. There were a series of trials against him too for using some unparliamentary words against the hired celebrity activist of BJP. She went to the extent of calling Maharashtra Pakistan, which irked Shiv Sena leader and he called her “Haramkhor” which means, one who wants things for free or with some ill act and doesn’t want to pay efforts to earn them. By calling Kangana Ranaut a “HaramKhor” Raut stoked controversy. To which Raut naively translated as “naughty”, but in actual sense, Kangana was making all baseless accusations for her greed to be in the good books of the central government.
In 2021, a Marathi film producer, revealed in a series of tweets that Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut threatened her mother of dire consequences, tortured her family and trapped her friend who is the brother of recently arrested Pravin Raut in bogus cases. a woman took to Twitter narrating various incidences of harassment. She alleged Mumbai police for doing injustice to her, and all this saga settled when she was expelled from a renowned hospital for submitting fake certificates to obtain the job. She was in jail for a month, and somehow the attacks against Raut were diminished with time.
Recently Palghar police arrested her male friend in a cheating case, later on, she was released on bail. The same person was arrested and booked for allegedly attempts to murder Sujit Patker, the name that is taken by Rane and Somaiya in their press conference repeatedly. When film producers made allegations against Raut, there were a series of media trials by YouTubers and again most of the BJP inclined media portals, but all these attacks went futile because Raut was not much affected. Opposition thought of baking their agendas on this but somehow looking at the merits of allegations they refrained in personal matters.
Recently, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who is a chartered accountant by profession, is a two-time MP known for his political activism, and his proclivity for being the BJP’s private investigator, filing Right to Information requests and accessing official records to take on political rivals. Somaiya would constantly target the Shiv Sena-run BMC for alleged lack of transparency in the civic body’s dealings, and dared Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to publicly disclose his assets. Through the poll campaign, Somaiya kept alleging that the BMC was run by a “mafia of Bandra” in a covert reference to Thackeray, whose house, Matoshree, is located in the suburb. On the Dussehra of 2016, Shiv Sena workers allegedly assaulted Somaiya for his comments.
Another of Somaiya’s allegations was that Shiv Sena leaders were using a web of shell companies, listing the names of seven such firms, to launder money earned as kickbacks in BMC contracts. Ever since the two parties split after the 2019 assembly polls, Somaiya has intensified his attacks, questioning allegedly illegal landholdings and constructed properties of a host of Shiv Sena leaders — from Ravindra Waikar to Anil Parab, CM Thackeray’s personal assistant Milind Narvekar and the CM himself.
Earlier this month, Somaiya had made allegations of graft in the awarding of contracts regarding Covid Care Centres to a company owned by Raut’s aide Sujit Patker. The ED had also conducted searches at Patker’s residence and offices this month, in connection with the Patra Chawl land case, in which Pravin Raut, another side of Sanjay Raut, has been arrested and Sanjay Raut’s wife’s name has surfaced.
Sanjay Raut, wrote to Vice President Venkaiah Naidu alleging that the BJP was misusing central investigating agencies to target Shiv Sena leaders and their kin, attempting to topple the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. Over the past two years, the Enforcement Directorate has taken action directly or indirectly against at least half a dozen leaders belonging to MVA parties. In several of these cases, Somaiya had publicly made allegations of graft against the leaders.
Amid a massive show of strength at Dadar’s Shiv Sena Bhavan, Sanjay Raut then addressed a press conference, where he slammed Somaiya as “an agent of ED” and the “mastermind of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) scam”.
To be continued…
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Telangana CM KCR to meet Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar in Mumbai 15
On Sunday, ruling TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will be in Mumbai to meet his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar as part of his campaign against the BJP’s alleged “anti-people” policies.
Rao, also known as KCR, left for Mumbai from Begumpet airport here along with his party leaders to meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai and have lunch with him, TRS sources said.
After the meeting with Thackeray, Rao would go to Pawar’s residence and discuss national political issues, the sources said.
Rao would return to Hyderabad in the evening.
Thackeray, Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena president, telephoned Rao last week and invited him to Mumbai.
Thackeray announced “complete support” to Rao’s “fight” against the BJP’s alleged anti-people policies and to uphold the federal spirit.
Posters welcoming Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao to Maharashtra seen at various places in Mumbai
During his one-day visit to the state today, he will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar pic.twitter.com/FibZCExxFA
The Maharashtra CM proposed that the future course of action on the issue be discussed when Rao meets him.
Appreciating Rao’s efforts, Thackeray pointed out that the former has “raised his voice at the right time to protect the nation from divisive forces”, the release said.
Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president H D Deve Gowda had recently called up Rao and extended support to the latter’s “fight”.
Rao had told Gowda he would visit Bengaluru and meet him on the issue.
The Telangana Chief Minister, who has been critical of the BJP and the central government on several issues, had said he will soon have meetings with his Maharashtra and West Bengal counterparts, Thackeray and Mamata Banerjee, respectively, as part of efforts to unite various political parties against the saffron party and the NDA government.
Holding that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government should be dumped for its alleged “anti-people” policies, Rao had said he would play a major role in uniting anti-BJP political parties.
TRS and BJP in Telangana have been engaged in a bitter war of words over different issues for several months now.
Convinced that Russia would invade Ukraine: US Prez Joe Biden 17
US President Joe Biden has said that he is convinced and has reason to believe that Russian forces will attack Ukraine, including its capital Kyiv, in the coming week, warning that Russia will be responsible for a ”catastrophic and needless war of choice” if it pursues its plans.
Biden’s comments came amid heightened tensions between Russia and the US, fuelled by fears that Moscow plans to invade Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied that it has plans to attack Ukraine.
Giving an update to reporters from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Biden on Friday said the US is doing everything in its power to remove any reason that Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine and prevent them from moving.
“Look, we have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week — in the coming days. We believe that they will target Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million innocent people,” Biden said.
“Make no mistake: If Russia pursues its plans, it will be responsible for a catastrophic and needless war of choice. The United States and our allies are prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory from any threat to our collective security as well,” he said.
Biden said that he is convinced that Russia is going to invade Ukraine.
He ruled out sending troops in to fight in Ukraine but said the US will continue to support the Ukrainian people.
Responding to a question if he thinks it is wise for the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to leave Ukraine if an invasion is as imminent as the US, Biden said, “that’s a judgment for him to make and a determination as to whether or not. I’ve spoken with Zelenskyy a dozen times — maybe more, I don’t know.” Biden said that the US and its allies and partners will support the Ukrainian people. “We will hold Russia accountable for its actions. The West is united and resolved. We’re ready to impose severe sanctions on Russia if it further invades Ukraine,” he said.
“But I say again: Russia can still choose diplomacy. It is not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table,” he said.
Noting that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have agreed to meet on February 24, Biden said if Russia takes military action before that date, it will be clear that they have slammed the door shut on diplomacy.
“They will have chosen war, and they will pay a steep price for doing so — not only from the sanctions that we and our allies will impose on Russia, but the moral outrage that the rest of the world will visit upon them,” he said.
On Friday, Russia announced nuclear drills, even as leaders of nations from the West looked for ways to ease the tensions.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned that it would be “catastrophic” if the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated into a war, while underlining that there was “no alternative to diplomacy.” Biden on Thursday said that the threat of Russian invasion of Ukraine is very high right now.
“It’s very high because they (Russia) have not moved out troops, number one. Number two, we’re briefed that they are engaged in false flag operations,” he had said.
The US on Thursday told the UN Security Council that its information indicates clearly that over 150,000 Russian forces amassed around Ukraine’s borders are preparing to attack Ukraine “in the coming days” and Moscow “plans to manufacture a pretext” for its strike.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in his address to the Security Council, said over the past months, without “provocation or justification”, Russia has amassed more than 150,000 troops around Ukraine’s borders.
According to US estimates, Russia has amassed between 169,000 and 190,000 personnel in and near Ukraine, up from about 100,000 on January 30.
