June 22, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Presidential Polls

The Indian Express | 4 days ago | 22-06-2022 | 05:45 am

Presidential PollsThe Congress-I is believed to have decided to field the Home Minister, Zail Singh, for the presidency against the combined opposition nominee, Hiren Mukerjee, a veteran parliamentarian and scholar. Though an hour-long meeting of the central parliamentary board of the Congress-I unanimously approved the choice of Zail Singh, it was decided that the formal announcement to this effect would be made by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Most members at the CFB-I meeting rejected the opposition suggestion for a consensus candidate. Mukherjee’s name was approved by the representatives of ten opposition parties after two separate meetings.The Israeli InvasionIsraeli tank guns, heavy artillery and naval gunboats unleashed a non-stop bombardment of suspected Palestinian positions and mainly Lebanese residential areas in encircled West Beirut in apparent retaliation for the ambush of an Israeli patrol. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation said that “a heavy artillery bombardment supported by naval gunfire” continued through the night and the morning, causing “many Palestinian casualities”.Corruption In DhuliaA district collector who unearthed large-scale corruption in a Maharashtra employment scheme and started taking action against the culprits, has been summarily transferred to an obscure place. Arun Bhatia, the young collector of Dhulia district, who detected 42 cases of irregularities in the multi-crore Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS), was two days ago ordered to quit his post by the Chief Secretary, PG Gavai, according to Mantralaya sources. Under EGS, jobs are given to rural landless and small farmers. Unlike other government schemes, there are no middlemen or contractors here.

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Will Support Uddhav Thackeray Till Last Minute, Says Sharad Pawar

Ndtv | 3 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 11:10 pm

Ndtv

3 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 11:10 pm

Sharad Pawar said the new alliance by the rebel MLAs hardly held any importance. (FILE)New Delhi: As uncertainty looms over the future of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government following the rebellion of a majority of Shiv Sena MLAs, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said that his party will support Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray till the last minute."Eknath Shinde and other MLAs were there with the NCP in the government. They didn't have any problems in the last 2.5 years. Why does it happen today only? It's just an excuse. We will support CM Uddhav Thackeray till the last minute," said Mr Pawar.As the power tussle in the western state continued on Sunday, Sharad Pawar also said that the new alliance by the rebel MLAs hardly held any importance."Eknath Shinde and other MLAs who've gone with him (to Guwahati) have said to form a new alliance but NCP and Congress policy are clear to support the coalition government that we had formed. MVA government is there (in Maharashtra) and we want to continue supporting it," he added.The political turbulence in Maharashtra was triggered by the faction war in Shiv Sena after Minister Eknath Shinde flew to Surat with some MLAs and then to Guwahati where he claims of having the support of 38 MLAs of the party, thus achieving the two-thirds majority in the Shiv Sena.Interestingly, the Shinde faction named their group 'Shiv Sena Balasaheb'.The naming of the group after the name of the Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray attracted sharp reactions from the Uddhav faction as the Chief Minister said that those who left the party should not seek votes in the name of the party founder.Eknath Shinde claims to have the support of 38 MLAs of the 56 Shiv Sena legislators, which is more than two-thirds of the party's strength in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. It means that they can either leave and form another political party or merge with another without being disqualified from the state assembly.Meanwhile, rebel Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar claimed that their faction has a two-thirds majority while denying merger talks with any party.Notably, Eknath Shinde was unanimously elected as the leader of the faction recently which is revolting against the Uddhav faction.The Uddhav Thackeray faction recently submitted a plea before the Maharashtra Assembly deputy speaker to disqualify 12 rebel MLAs.Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Sunday informed that the party has initiated legal action against rebel MLAs and notices have been served as well.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Assam govt busy serving ‘cocktail-mocktail’ to rebel Shiv Sena MLAs: Cong

The Indian Express | 7 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 07:45 pm

The Indian Express

7 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 07:45 pm

Senior Congress leader Ajoy Kumar on Sunday alleged that the BJP-led Assam government was busy serving ‘cocktail-mocktail’ to dissident Maharashtra MLAs camping in a luxury hotel here but was not able to even provide free drinking water to flood-affected people in the state.He claimed that people were having to pay money to receive their rightful relief materials.“The BJP-led government in Assam is serving cocktail-mocktail to the Shiv Sena legislators, but it doesn’t have money to provide even drinking water to the flood-affected people,” he told reporters here.Kumar claimed there were videos of people having to pay Rs 30 to receive water bottles as part of their due relief in some parts of the state.“This is the condition of politics in Assam…when people elect such representatives, this is bound to happen,” the former Jharkhand Pradesh Congress president said.He also took a dig at the Narendra Modi-led central government over the Agnipath scheme, alleging that it will weaken the security mechanism of the country.Kumar questioned various provisions of the scheme, including job opportunities for the Agniveers after they are discharged from duty following four years of service, and lack of pension benefits.“Never has the country been so weak in 70 years that it is unable to pay pension to our jawans,” he said.The Congress leader claimed that ex-servicemen were presently not getting jobs and thousands of youths will be added to this number of unemployed people if the Agnipath scheme is implemented.“This scheme is not for securing our country or recruiting youths, but to save money,” Kumar added.

MVA crisis: We will fight revolt collectively, Sharad Pawar tells ministers

The Indian Express | 9 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 05:45 pm

The Indian Express

9 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 05:45 pm

With the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra facing a political crisis following a rebellion in the Shiv Sena ranks, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday convened a meeting of all three coalition partners at his Silver Oak residence in Mumbai and reassured senior leaders that they could collectively weather the storm.“Pawar stressed on collective efforts to fight the political battle against the rebel Eknath Shinde group,” a Congress minister, requesting anonymity, said.With the Shiv Sena likely to get embroiled in legal and legislative challenges as the Shinde-led rebel faction digs its heels in, Pawar reportedly also assured his allies that whatever was required to legally contest (the rebel camp’s claims), would be done.Senior Congress ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan, Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab and senior Sena leader Anil Desai were present at the meeting. Later, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and home minister Dilip Walse Patil also met Pawar.Sharad Pawar reportedly also told the ministers to return to work at Mantralaya. With political uncertainty, ministers have stayed away from their offices, adopting a wait and watch attitude. Sensing that the administration has come to a halt, Pawar reportedly “urged all ministers across Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena to get back to work”.Congress ministers at the meeting brought up the issue of farmers in the state. With the onset of monsoon, farmers are preparing to start sowing seeds. An effective administration at this crucial time is a must, they pointed out.Another concern was farmers’ unrest following a price rise in fertilizers and quality seeds. Congress ministers also raised the issue of farmers failing to access fresh crop loans from various financial institutions. Though kharif sowing should end by July 15, till date, less than 20 per cent sowing has been completed, they pointed out. Moreover, agriculture minister Dadaji Bhuse, who is part of the Shinde-led rebel camp, is himself in Guwahati.Meanwhile, on Saturday, Shinde was appointed as leader by his faction and given rights to take any decision on behalf of the rebels, who are currently staying at a Guwahati hotel. Apart from Shinde and Bhuse, other rebel ministers at Guwahati include Gulabrao Patil, Shambhu Desai, Sandipan Bhumre and Abdul Sattar.The Shinde faction, which has claimed support from 38 Sena MLAs out of total 55, is all set to take its battle to the Supreme Court. The rebel MLAs are planning to challenge the disqualification notices served on 16 MLAs by Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal. “The disqualification is applicable had they violated the whip on the floor of the House. Not attending a meeting convened by Uddhav Thackeray outside Vidhan Bhawan cannot justify disqualification,” the camp has argued, pointing out that though it is mandatory to give members seven days’ notice to explain their side, they have been given just two days to do so.The rebels have also questioned the rights of the deputy speaker to initiate action against them at a time when a no-confidence resolution seeking Zirwal’s removal is pending before the state legislative assembly.

Maharashtra: Will move HC against CM’s call on chief whip post next week, says Dissident Sena MLA

Times of India | 17 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 09:28 am

Times of India

17 hours ago | 26-06-2022 | 09:28 am

NASHIK/MUMBAI: Sawantwadi Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar, who is currently in Guwahati, on Saturday told TOI over the phone that the group of legislators supporting Eknath Shinde would move the Bombay high court early next week challenging Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to replace their leader from the party chief whip’s post and appoint a new MLA, reports Ranjan Dasgupta. “We will move court on this issue by Monday or Tuesday. Our group has the backing of the majority of the Sena legilators. We are confident that the court will give its verdict in our favour,” Kesarkar said. Kesarkar added that the rebel group would also make a similar move if the 16 MLAs were disqualified. Earlier during the day, he claimed during a virtual press conferencefrom Guwahati that the dissident Shiv Sena group had a two-thirds majority in the legislature party and would prove its strength in the House but would not merge with any other political party. “Just 16 or 17 people cannot replace the group leader of 55 MLAs and the rebel Sena faction will challenge in the court the order of Maharashtra Assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal to replace Shinde as Shiv Sena group leader, he said. “The MLAs had told party president Uddhav Thackeray that we should stay with the party with whom we had contested election...When so many people voice the same opinion, there must be some substance in it,” he said, referring to the Shinde group's initial demand that the Sena should revive its alliance with the BJP and sever ties with Congress and NCP. To a question about whether the Shinde group will withdraw the support to the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, Kesarkar said, “Why should we withdraw the support? We are the Shiv Sena. We have not hijacked the party, the NCP and Congress have hijacked it.” He also said the Shinde group will prove its majority in the Assembly but “we will not merge with any other political party.” “We have decided to name our group Shiv Sena (Balasaheb) because we believe in his (Bal Thackeray's) ideology,” he added. Asked about the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction's objection to the use of party founder Bal Thackeray's name by other groups, Kesarkar said, “We will consider it.” To a question about when the rebel MLAs would return to Mumbai, he said they will come back “at an appropriate time.” “At present, there is pressure, we don't feel that it is safe to return,” Kesarkar said, referring to incidents of attacks on offices and residences of rebel MLAs in state. The rebel faction had nothing against Uddhav Thackeray, he added. He said the rebel MLAs decided to come together as the Shiv Sena was facing a survival crisis. “We want to save the party. We are not even seeking his (Uddhav Thackeray's) resignation,” he added. Commenting on Maharashtra Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal rejecting a letter (demanding recognition to the rebel group and naming Shinde as the Shiv Sena legislative party leader) signed by the rebel camp, Kesarkar said, “How can he reject our letter but entertain a letter received much later seeking our disqualification. If required we will also approach the governor or go to the court to seek justice.”

Assam TMC open to local alliances with parties aggressively fighting BJP: Ripun Bora

The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 25-06-2022 | 07:45 pm

The Indian Express

1 day ago | 25-06-2022 | 07:45 pm

Trinamool Congress is open to local alliances in Assam with parties that are aggressively fighting the BJP but “under no circumstance” will it ally with Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF, the saffron party’s “B-team”, said state unit chief Ripun Bora on Saturday.Observing that the TMC will support the opposition’s joint candidate in the upcoming presidential election, Bora, however, remained non-committal on whether the Mamata Banerjee-led party will enter into any understanding with the Congress in Assam as the grand old party is “not fighting BJP in the way it should have”.“The TMC will obviously support the opposition candidate in the presidential election. Our central leadership has authorised our state unit to forge alliances at the local level.“However, there will be no alliance with the AIUDF under any circumstance as it is no longer an opposition party, it is the BJP’s B-team,” Bora told PTI on the sidelines of the party’s first state executive meeting here.“TMC wants to join hands with parties fighting BJP aggressively,” he said, without specifying any likely allies in the state.Addressing a press conference at the same venue, Bora said, “We will not have an alliance with any party that has a soft spot for the BJP.” The state unit chief said the TMC will launch a massive membership drive with an aim to bolster its ranks by the end of this year.“We have five lakh members now. We will launch an intensified membership drive once the floodwaters recede,” he said.Bora said the party will continue opposing the camping of dissident Maharashtra MLAs in a luxury hotel here, alleging that it was giving a bad name to the state as a ground for ‘horse trading’.“Our chief minister is emerging as an expert in horse trading, encounters and spreading hatred. It does not augur well for our state,” the former MP said.Among the decisions adopted at the executive meet, which was also attended by Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen, were demands for restoration of ‘special status’ for Assam, a “correct and updated” National Register of Citizens, resolving the issue of “doubtful voters” and regularisation of government jobs.

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