Month: June 2022

Amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday alleged that Union Minister is threatening Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.

“Threats are being given to Sharad Pawar ji by a Central minister. Do such threats have the support of Modi Ji and Amit Shah Ji?” said Raut.
The Shiv Sena leader further said that this is a matter of concern and the Home Minister and PM Modi should pay attention to this.

“Some people are threatening us. Some people are threatening Pawar Sahib not to go home. This is a matter of concern. Home Minister and PM Modi should pay attention to this,” he added.

Raut’s statement came after Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane posted a series of tweets last evening alleging that Pawar was threatening rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and if anything happened to them in the state Assembly, there will be consequences.

“Sharad Pawar is threatening the (rebel) MLAs that they should come to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. They will definitely come and vote as per their will. If any harm comes to them, it will be difficult to go home,” Rane tweeted in Marathi.

Earlier in a tweet, Raut has said that the use of such language against the NCP chief is not acceptable.

“A central minister of the BJP has said that if attempts are made to save MVA govt, then Sharad Pawar will not be allowed to go home. Whether or not the MVA govt survives, use of such language for Sharad Pawar is not acceptable,” tweets Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.

Meanwhile, Raut has warned Ekanth Shinde-led rebel MLAs and said that if needed ‘Shiv Sena workers will come on the roads.

“Eknath Shinde faction that’s challenging us must realise that Shiv Sena workers are yet to come on the roads. Such battles are fought either through law or on the roads. If need be then our workers would come on the roads,” said Shiv Sena leader.

He further said that the process underway to disqualify 12 MLAs (of Eknath Shinde faction), their numbers are only on the papers.

“Shiv Sena is a big ocean such waves come and go,” he added.

However, refuting the claims of Raut, MoS Railways and BJP leader Raosaheb Patil Danve said that this is an internal matter of the Shiv Sena and BJP is not trying to destabilise the government.

“No Central minister is giving threats. BJP is not trying to destabilise the government. This is an internal matter of the Shiv Sena. BJP is only in wait and watch position,” said Danve.

On the other hand, Shiv Sena on Friday called a meeting of the party leaders including district presidents and chief district coordinators as a confidence-building measure.

The meeting will be chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at Shiv Sena Bhawan in Mumbai at 12 pm.

Eknath Shinde is appearing to be holding a tight grip on the Shiv Sena, as the strength of MLAs supporting him is expected to cross 50 as more legislators are likely to reach Guwahati on Friday thus further deepening the political crisis in Maharashtra.

The situation for Thackeray continues to become grimmer with his close aide switching sides and the chief minister himself falling short of numbers.

It seems that the legacy of Bal Thackeray, who founded Shiv Sena, has slipped from the hands of Uddhav Thackeray with the rebellion of Eknath Shinde as he claims of being a true Shivsainik, the battle of who holds the true legacy of Balasaheb has started.

The political crisis in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra erupted after party legislators joined a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde who is staying at a hotel in Guwahati. Shinde camp has claimed the support of 46 MLAs, which includes 37 Shiv Sena MLAs and nine independents. The rebel MLAs who are at a hotel in Guwahati since June 20, authorised Shinde on June 23 to decide on a further course of action.

Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat claimed that both Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are trying to eliminate Shiv Sena politically from Maharashtra and the MLAs made countless attempts to inform Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray about the malafide intentions of alliance partners.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut even urged rebel MLAs to return to Mumbai and discuss their issues with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Raut also claimed that the Shiv Sena is ready to “consider exiting out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) if this is the will of all the MLAs” but with a condition that the rebel MLAs will have to convey the message directly to CM Uddhav Thackeray and discuss the issues with him.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has filed a petition before the Deputy Speaker of the state assembly seeking the cancellation of membership of 12 rebel MLAs including Eknath Shinde for “not attending” the legislative party meeting held on Wednesday.

Apart from Shinde, Shiv Sena has sought disqualification of Prakash Surve, Tanaji Sawant, Mahesh Shinde, Abdul Sattar, Sandeep Bhumare, Bharat Gogawale, Sanjay Shirsat, Yamini Yadhav, Anil Babar, Balaji Devdas and Lata Chaudhari.

However, the Shinde camp has written to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari stating that Shinde continues to be the legislative party leader. Shinde also wrote to the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly regarding the reaffirmation of his appointment as the leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party.

Amid the continuing turf war within Shiv Sena, the Shinde faction also said that Bharat Gogawale has been appointed as Chief Whip of the party.

On the other hand, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge held the central government led by the BJP responsible for the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra where around 40 Shiv Sena MLAs have revolted against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and are currently camping in Guwahati.

Kharge alleged that the BJP-led Centre is attempting to “destabilise” the “strong” Maha Vikas Aghadi government in view of the forthcoming presidential poll next month as they need numbers to get their presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu victorious in the poll slated to be held on July 18.

Shinde also made a veiled reference to BJP and said “a big national party” has told him that his decision was “historic” and they will be present whenever he needs them.

However, BJP had said the Maharashtra crisis is Shiv Sena’s internal matter and the party has nothing to do with it.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Jayant Patil had said his party is “firmly standing with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray”. (ANI)

Three more Shiv Sena legislators arrived at a Guwahati hotel where the rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde are lodged on Thursday.

The three leaders who arrived at the hotel include MLA and Agriculture Minister Dada Bhuse, MLA Sanjay Rathore and MLC Ravindra Phatak.

Notably, Phatak was believed to be a close associate of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who had sent him as an emissary to Surat where the rebel MLAs were lodged. Interestingly, he also joined the Shinde-led faction.

Shiv Sena MLA and Agriculture Minister Dada Bhuse, MLA Sanjay Rathore and MLC Ravindra Phatak reached Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati.

According to the sources, the number of MLAs in the Shinde faction has touched the 37 mark which is more than two-thirds of the Shiv Sena MLAs.

With this, Shinde now has the support of 44 MLAs in total, out of which 37 are from Shiv Sena and 7 are Independents.

The situation for Thackeray continues to become grimmer with his close aide switching sides and the chief minister himself falling short of numbers.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday held the central government led by the BJP responsible for the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra where around 40 Shiv Sena MLAs have revolted against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and are currently camping in Guwahati.

Kharge alleged that the BJP-led Centre is attempting to “destabilise” the “strong” Maha Vikas Aghadi government in view of the forthcoming presidential poll next month as they need numbers to get their presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu victorious in the poll slated to be held on July 18.

“The MLAs were first taken to Surat where there is a BJP rule, then they were shifted to Guwahati. The BJP wants to destabilise the Maharashtra government. MVA is a strong government that the BJP is attempting to destabilise. The BJP wants that there should not be a single non-BJP government in this country,” Kharge alleged.

“The presidential poll is also forthcoming. They need the numbers also. So they want to topple the government before the presidential election. We can say that the Central government and the BJP are responsible for this. They want to gain power by destabilising the stable government in the state,” the Congress leader hit out at the BJP adding that they “did the same in the past too in Karnataka, MP and Goa”.

Meanwhile, the Eknath Shinde-led rebel faction of the Shiv Sena on Thursday released photographs of Sena MLA Nitin Deshmukh who returned to Maharashtra a day ago and alleged that he was forcibly taken to Surat in Gujarat. (ANI)

Late Punjabi singer-rapper Sidhu Moose Wala’s unreleased song ‘SYL’ unveiled on Thursday along with a music video and it is already smashing records.

The song was released this evening on Moose Wala’s official YouTube channel. It was also shared on Twitter, with the caption, “SYL OFFICIAL SONG OUT NOW LISTEN ON SIDHU MOOSE WALA’S OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL.”

The song which depicts some real-life incidents including Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, has amassed more than a million views, within hours of being released and has been trending on YouTube.

Following the release of ‘SYL’, several fans expressed their feeling for the late singer in the comment section. One user wrote, “No one can ever be able to replace him …. Always in our hearts…. Keep listening to this song with tears in my eyes …”

Another person shared, “Miss you Ustaad. Long live on heart mere Bhai. Sidhu moosewala Legend JINDJAAN.”

Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by assailants in Jawaharke village of Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29. The incident took place a day after his security was withdrawn by the Punjab police among 424 others. Notably, the singer had joined the Congress party last year in December ahead of the Assembly elections.

Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar had claimed responsibility for Moose Wala’s murder in a Facebook post. Goldy Brar is a close aide of gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi, who is the chief suspect in the Punjabi rapper’s murder. (ANI)

Delhi’s daily COVID count doubled in the last 24 hours, with 1,934 fresh cases in the city.

The national capital recorded zero fatalities on Thursday, while the positivity rate stood at 8.10 per cent, as per the Delhi Health Department.

With this, the cumulative positive cases rose to 19,27,394 including 5,755 active cases. Of the 23,879 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, a positivity rate of 8.10 per cent was observed.

Further, 1,233 new discharges were recorded by the government data thereby taking the total recoveries in the city to 18,95,397. The death toll, meanwhile, stood at 26,242 as the city logged in zero fatalities. The case fatality rate is at 1.36 per cent.

On the COVID-19 vaccination front, 26,121 beneficiaries were vaccinated in the last 24 hours. The cumulative doses provided so far is at 3,47,58,218.

On Wednesday, Delhi had recorded 928 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest in over a week, with a positivity rate of 7. 08 per cent and three more fatalities.

In view of an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in India, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday reviewed the COVID-19 and vaccination situation in the country.

The Union Minister chaired a meeting with key experts and officials.

In a high-level meeting, Mandaviya advised strictly to monitor the COVID-19 situation in the country focusing on vaccination of the elderly population, school-going children and surveillance and genome sequencing.

India has been witnessing a high number of COVID-19 cases over the last couple of weeks.

The Union Minister stressed the need to focus on districts reporting high case positivity and undertake adequate testing (with a higher proportion of RTPCR) and effective COVID-19 surveillance to assess and control the spread of infection in a timely manner.

Mandaviya directed the officials to continue to focus on surveillance and on whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to scan for any possible mutation.

He also directed monitoring of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, and SARI/ILI cases.

He exhorted to increase the pace of vaccination including booster doses in districts reporting high cases. “As there are adequate vaccine doses available, let there be no vaccine wastage while focusing on accelerating vaccination among the eligible and vulnerable groups,” he directed. (ANI)

Battling the political crisis faced by the party-led MVA government in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has filed a petition before the Deputy Speaker of the state assembly seeking the cancellation of membership of 12 rebel MLAs including Eknath Shinde for “not attending” legislative party meeting held on Wednesday.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant told ANI that a notice had been issued before the meeting which said that if an MLA does not attend the meeting, legal action will be taken.

“We’ve filed a petition before the Deputy Speaker (of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly) and demanded that the membership of 12 (MLAs) should be cancelled as they didn’t attend yesterday’s meeting,” Sawant said.

“Before the meeting notice was issued in which it was said that if you didn’t attend the meeting then legal action will be taken as per the constitution. Some didn’t come and some gave unnecessary reasons,” he added.

Apart from Shinde, Shiv Sena has sought disqualification of Prakash Surve, Tanaji Sawant, Mahesh Shinde, Abdul Sattar, Sandeep Bhumare, Bharat Gogawale, Sanjay Shirsat, Yamini Yadhav, Anil Babar, Balaji Devdas and Lata Chaudhari.

The petition has been filed by Ajay Choudhari, who was appointed “legislative party leader” after Shinde was “removed” from the post by the Shiv Sena.

Shiv Sena’s Chief Whip, Sunil Prabhu had issued a letter to party MLAs, asking them to be present in the meeting.

The letter stated that if someone remains absent, it will be considered that the said MLA has decided to quit the party voluntarily.

The letter also warned that if any MLA remains absent from the meeting without proper reason and prior information, they should keep in mind that action will be initiated to cancel their membership as per constitutional provisions.

However, the Shinde camp has written to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari stating that Shinde continues to be the legislative party leader. Shinde camp has claimed the support of 46 MLAs, which includes 37 Shiv Sena MLAs and nine independents. The rebel MLAs are at a hotel in Guwahati and held a meeting on Thursday authorising Shinde to decide on the further course of action.

The resolution, adopted on Tuesday by rebel MLAs, said that Shinde was unanimously elected as leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party in 2019 and continues to be the leader of the legislative party.

Amid the continuing turf war within Shiv Sena, the Shinde faction also said that Bharat Gogawale has been appointed as Chief Whip of the party.

The three legislators who arrived in Guwahati on Thursday include Agriculture Minister Dada Bhuse, MLA Sanjay Rathore and MLC Ravindra Phatak.

Phatak is believed to be a close associate of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who had sent him as an emissary to Surat where the rebel MLAs were lodged. (ANI)

A Mathematics teacher and innovator from Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar has invented an affordable electric car that runs on solar energy.

Hailing from Tangmarg in Jammu and Kashmir, Bilal Ahmed has been working on this project for over 13 years and finally, he achieved the milestone.

Speaking to ANI, Ahmed said that he wanted to make a car for the disabled but couldn’t pursue this due to financial constraints.

“I wanted to make a car for the disabled people but financial constraints made it difficult. The idea of a solar car intrigued me…that it’s free energy… and recently I also read in newspapers that petrol prices are expected to rise in 10 years,” he said.

He said that he used to watch and study various luxurious cars which were made since 1950.

Breaking the notion that only the elite can have luxurious rides, Ahmed made a solar car which does not only give a luxurious feel but is also affordable for the common people.

“I thought of something to give a luxurious feel to the people and started working on the car and modified it by watching various videos and started adding the features in it,” he said.

“In Kashmir, most of the time, the weather is gloomy. I used solar panels which can give higher efficiency even on low sunlight days. I went to many solar companies to check the efficiency of solar panels and worked on this solar innovative car,” he added.

At times, the doors of the car when parked at the place received light sunlight, to overcome this problem, he made a gullwing door which opens upwards like the ones in a Ferrari.

Making and balancing the gullwing doors was a challenge as well as a difficult task for him, Ahmad said.

He has driven the car on the roads and he received a good response from the passers-by. (ANI)

US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that he was “deeply disappointed” by a Supreme Court decision that struck down a New York law restricting gun-carrying rights.

“I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen,” Biden said in a statement. “This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,” he added.
Biden in the statement also urged states to continue enacting and enforcing so-called “commonsense” gun laws.

The court ruled that Americans have a fundamental right to carry firearms in public and that limiting that right violates the 14th amendment of the Constitution.

The court ruled that Americans have a fundamental right to carry firearms in public and that limiting that right violates the 14th amendment of the Constitution.

The New York State law in question required individuals who wished to carry a firearm outside their home to prove that they have “proper cause” to do so based on a special need for self-defence beyond that of an ordinary citizen.

“New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defence needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defence,” the US Supreme Court said.

The decision to invalidate New York’s law throws into question the legality of similar restrictions in more than a half dozen other states that give licensing officials wide discretion over concealed carry permits.

The ruling jeopardises similar restrictions in other states and expands gun rights. The ruling broke along ideological lines, with the court’s six conservatives joining a majority opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas.

Thomas argued that no other constitutional right requires a citizen to demonstrate to the government the need to exercise that right.

The New York State law prevents law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, Thomas concluded.

The National Rifle Association (NRA), on the other hand, celebrated the ruling.

The gun lobby helped back the plaintiffs in the case, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch – two New Yorkers who had applied for a concealed carry permit but were denied them, despite having licences for recreational gun ownership.

Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, the US Senate had announced steps towards new legislation tightening access to firearms.

More than 390 million guns are owned by civilians in the US. In 2020 alone, more than 45,000 Americans died from firearms-related injuries including homicides and suicides.

The ruling comes at a time of heightened support for gun control following a string of high-profile mass shootings. The May 24 massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers, was the bloodiest mass shooting in the United States this year, which occurred only 10 days after another shooting that killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo. (ANI)

In the wake of the recent petrol price hike, the members of the Youth Association of Nepal and the Youth Union of the opposition, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) on Thursday evening clashed with police near the parliament while protesting against the recent petrol price hike.

Protestors marched towards parliament with live torches in their hands and chanting anti-government slogans demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.
Police resorted to the use of force as the agitating side tried to enter the lane with heavy traffic with live torches, following which the agitated parties started pelting stones at security forces and damaged a government-owned vehicle which was passing by the protest site.

As per the protest organizers, several protestors have been injured during the clashes.

The state-owned syndicate, Nepal Oil Corporation on Monday raised the price of one litre of petrol and diesel by 12 and 16 per cent respectively.

The government under the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been facing mounting pressure after the hefty hike in the price of petroleum.

On Monday, the House Speaker had ruled the government to come forward with the reason for the unprecedented hike in petroleum prices after members of parliament demanded an answer from the government. State syndicate, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has raised the price of petrol to Rs 199 per litre and diesel to Rs 192 with effect past Sunday midnight.

Issuing a release on Sunday evening, the state syndicate- NOC has stated the Russia-Ukraine War is the sole reason affecting the international fuel market and prices were adjusted in line with the international market.

On Thursday (June 16), the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the sole supplier of fuel to the NOC, sent a list by increasing the price of fuel.

As per the price list, the price of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel was increased by Rs 6.52, Rs 19.3 and Rs 91.91 per litre respectively. (ANI)

As Moscow has been facing Western sanctions over its operation in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on BRICS leaders to cooperate in the face of “selfish actions” from the West,

“…only on the basis of honest and mutually beneficial cooperation we can look for ways out of the critical situation that has emerged in the world economy because of the ill-conceived and selfish actions of certain states, which, by using financial mechanisms, are actually shifting their own macroeconomic policy mistakes onto the rest of the world,” Putin said in his virtual address.
The 14th BRICS summit is being hosted by China in a virtual mode.

Putin also pointed out that this is an objective process, since the five countries have a truly great economic, scientific, technological and human potential. They can effectively work together to ensure international stability and security, sustainable growth and prosperity and the well-being of their people.

The Russian president added that Moscow considers the theme of today’s meeting, ‘Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development’, relevant. He drew attention to the fact that the complexity and transnational nature of the challenges and threats the international community faces require a search for collective responses with the bloc’s active participation.

“We have repeatedly said that only together we can solve such problems as conflict resolution, combating terrorism, organized crime, including the criminal use of new technologies, combating climate change, and the spread of dangerous infections,” the Russian president stressed.

BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of common concern for all developing countries. BRICS countries have regularly called for reform of the multilateral system in order to make it more representative and inclusive.

BRICS is a multilateral forum consisting of five major emerging economies of the world, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. (ANI)

Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP will back Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who is facing rebellion from his own party MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, leading to uncertainty over the future of MVA government.

Addressing a press conference here, Pawar, who was credited for stitching the MVA alliance after the 2019 state Assembly elections, said that the current political situation will change once rebel Shiv Sena MLAs return to Mumbai.
“MVA decided to back CM Uddhav Thackeray. I believe once the (Shiv Sena) MLAs return to Mumbai the situation will change,” he said.

“Everyone knows how the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs were taken to Gujarat and then Assam. We don’t have to take the names of all those assisting them… Assam Government is helping them. I don’t need to take any names further,” the NCP chief said.

Pawar expressed confidence in overcoming this crisis and said the government under the leadership of Thackeray will run smoothly.

“We have seen such situations in Maharashtra several times. With my experience, I can say that we will defeat this crisis, and the government under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray will run smoothly,” he said.

“Maharashtra government is in minority or not has to be established in Vidhan Sabha. When procedures will be followed, then it will be proved that this government is in majority,” he added.

In a jolt to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, senior Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde with over 40 party MLAs revolted against his own party on Monday night and camped in Surat.

After camping in Surat for some time, they are currently staying in Assam. The number of rebel MLAs has now risen to 42.

Meanwhile, party MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the Sena is ready to quit the MVA government if the group of rebel legislators camping in Assam returns to Mumbai in 24 hours and discusses the issue with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

“You say you are real Shiv Sainiks and will not quit the party. We are ready to consider your demand provided you come back to Mumbai in 24 hours and discuss the issue with CM Uddhav Thackeray. Your demand will be considered positively. Don’t write letters on Twitter and WhatsApp,” Raut told reporters.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLA Kailas Patil, who had escaped from a car carrying rebel legislators to Surat, claims some of those taken to the camp led by Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde might be wanting to return, but were forced to stay back.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday held the central government led by the BJP responsible for the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra. Kharge alleged that the BJP-led Centre is attempting to “destabilise” the “strong” Maha Vikas Aghadi government in view of the forthcoming presidential poll next month as they need numbers to get their presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu victorious in the poll slated to be held on July 18.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole also accused the BJP of trying to split Shiv Sena. “We’re working on how to sort this out… Maha Vikas Aghadi government will continue and will complete 5 years. We are keeping an eye on the situation. Congress stands with MVA,” he said. (ANI)