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Shiv Sena carries out night long search to trace rebel minister Gulabrao Patil: How he planned his great escape to join Eknath Shinde

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena carries out night long search to trace rebel minister Gulabrao Patil: How he planned his great escape to join Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra’s political drama is beginning to surpass any Bollywood film in terms of entertainment with the tug of war between Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and rebel minister Eknath Shinde intensifying with every passing second. In its desperation to retain power, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sainiks are doing all in their power to prevent any party rebel from leaving the camp, but reports of MLAs going incommunicado are springing up every other second.

According to reports, many of the party’s ‘street enforcers’ have been caught off guard as they face off against their own party members as several leaders when missing to join Eknath Shinde on Monday, June 20.

In one such dramatic incident that took place on Tuesday night, Minister of Water Supply and Sanitation Gulabrao Patil dodged the Shiv Sainiks, who kept hunting for him the entire night, to reach the Eknath Shinde’s camp currently lodged in Guwahati, Assam.

According to reports, a top leader of the Uddhav Thackeray camp summoned his workers in south Mumbai to deliver orders from top brass asking them to track down Patil at any cost. The Shiv Sainiks from South Mumbai led by Shakha Pramukh Pandurang Sakpal immediately sprung into action and launched a massive manhunt through the night to track Patil, reported Indian Express.

In what transpired, the Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil was unreachable on Tuesday. The entire troop of Shiv Sainiks immediately launched a search operation to trace him. The Shiv Sainiks reportedly first went to the hotel where the MLAs were staying, only to find him missing from there. The party workers, under a lot of pressure from the top brass, kept roaming the streets of South Mumbai the entire night. They were asked to catch hold of Patil at any cost and make him speak to Uddhav Thackeray.

However, when the Shiv Sainiks had no luck with finding him, they decided to camp outside Patil’s bungalow in South Mumbai, where he ultimately caught hold of him on Wednesday morning.

“We got a call at 11 pm and were told to look for Patil. We looked for him everywhere possible, including the St Regis hotel in Lower Parel, but as we could not find him, we decided to camp near his official residence in the morning. We managed to get hold of him around 8.30 am on Wednesday,” said a party worker.

As soon as Sakpal saw Patil, he insisted that the latter speak to Uddhav Thackeray, who he said was been trying to get in touch with the minister since Tuesday evening.

Sources in the party said, according to Indian Express, that Patil misguided the Shiv Sainiks, as he told them that he already had a word with the party chief. “We were told that he has some work in Mantralaya and will go to Varsha bungalow to meet the CM after that,” said a source.

Patil then entered the Mantralaya in his official car, which somehow convinced the Shiv Sainiks that Patil would soon be going to Varsha to meet Uddhav Thackeray. Patil, however, instead of heading to Varsha dodged the Shiv Sainiks and slipped out of the Mantralaya from another exit point in a private car. “His official vehicle is still inside Mantralaya and he escaped while we were waiting for him outside the Secretariat,” a party source was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.

“Patil headed towards Chembur via the Eastern Express Highway. Our Sainiks also followed him but he vanished,” said a party worker.

Meanwhile, another party source added, “He disappeared from Chembur… We believe prior arrangements had been made near Chembur from where he was taken to the airport.”

Patil was later seen with other rebel Sena MLAs in Guwahati. When contacted, Sakpal said, “Patil told me that he is coming with us but he had made up his mind, so he kept us in the dark and escaped.”

After the MLC election results were declared on Monday, cracks developed in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. The MLC elections resulted in the BJP winning unexpected 5 seats out of 10 whereas, in spite of having adequate numbers, the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance could only manage to win 5 seats out of 6 candidates fielded.

It may be recalled that on June 20, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde was reported ‘missing’ along with several MLAs. The reports of him being ‘out of reach’ came out after legislative council elections on Monday. There have been rumours floating around that some of the Shiv Sena MLAs cross-voted in the elections resulting in the BJP winning the MLC seats.

“Thirty-nine MLAs accompanied me. We are loyal to Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology of ‘Hindutva’ and we are keen to take it forward,” Eknath Shinde had said. Shinde said now he has the support of 46 MLAs, including 6-7 independents. 

Meanwhile, amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena MP and senior leader Sanjay Raut yesterday, hinted at the dissolution of the state Assembly. In a tweet in Marathi, he said, Maharashtra state developments are heading towards a dissolution of the state assembly.

Guwahati: TMC workers protest outside the hotel where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs are staying, detained by police

OpIndia Staff
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Guwahati: TMC workers protest outside the hotel where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs are staying, detained by police

As the political drama in Maharashtra is reaching to more interesting turn with every passing hour, Trinamool Congress party’s workers in Assam have tried to take the advantage of this political development to get some easy publicity. On 23rd June 2022, many TMC workers protested outside the Radisson Blu Hoteernment in Guwahati, where Eknath Shinde and MLAs supporting him are currently staying. Later they were detained and taken away from the spot by police.

Former Congress leader and TMC’s Assam unit president Ripun Bora led the protest. A party worker said during the protest, “Around 20 Lakh people in Assam are suffering due to the flood. But Chief Minister is busy toppling Maharashtra Government.”

The protesting TMC workers also said that they won’t allow horse trading of MLAs of another state in Assam. However after some time of sloganeering, police arrived and detained them. The TMC leaders and workers were loaded onto buss and taken away from the gate of the five star hotel.

The whole political unrest in Maharashtra started after reports of cross-voting during MLC elections, where the BJP won five seats despite lacking enough numbers in the assembly. Eknath Shinde, along with other rebel leaders, went untraceable after the results. Later it was reported that the rebel leaders of Shiv Sena were lodged in a hotel in Surat from where they shifted to Assam.

Amid the political stir, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has left his official residence ‘Varsha’ along with his family members. The reports of him leaving the official residence came hours after he issued a statement that he was ready to step down from CM post if the rebels return to Mumbai and asks for his removal. He said, “If any MLA wants me to not continue as the CM, I am ready to take all my belongings from Varsha Bungalow (official residence of the CM) to Matoshri.”

In the resolution signed by the rebels, it was stated that the ideology of Shiv Sena was compromised in the last two years. They also expressed their dismay over alleged ‘corruption in the government’ referring to the cases of Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh who are currently lodged in jail. Now, TMC workers in Assam have taken this opportunity to gain some publicity and protested outside the hotel in Guwahati where the rebel MLAs are currently staying.

Uttar Pradesh: Coaching centres in Aligarh pull their shutters down after facing scrutiny for their role in Agnipath protests, 11 operators arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Coaching centres in Aligarh pull their shutters down after facing scrutiny for their role in Agnipath protests, 11 operators arrested

On Wednesday, all the coaching centres in and around Tappal town in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district pulled their shutters down. This is after most of these centres faced scrutiny over the violent protests against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme.

According to the reports, the Aligarh Police arrested 11 operators of the coaching centres on the charges of inciting the students to participate in the violent protests against the Agnipath Scheme. The arrested persons includes Sudhir Sharma, the owner of one of the biggest coaching institutes of Aligarh, Young India Coaching Centre.

The owners and operators of army recruitment coaching centres across Uttar Pradesh were under the scanner after the Police found that the arrested rioters are linked to several coaching centres. The police learnt that the centres were allegedly involved in provoking students for violent protests against the Agnipath military recruitment scheme. The Police then listed all the coaching centres and began keeping watch on them.

The Police have so far arrested 76 accused across Aligarh and 68 have been given custody. Of 76 arrested, 11 have been identified as operators of coaching centres.

There are around 2,200 coaching centres for the army and other recruitments operational in the state. The coaching centres claim to train the aspiring youngsters for a range of competitive exams including the Army, Staff Selection Commission, Railway, UP Sub-Inspector, UP Police Constable, National Defence Academy, Air Force, and UP Teacher Eligibility Test, and more.  

The Aligarh Police on June 18 also released photos of protesters who stoked violence in the Tappal area and torched a bus and a police post in Jattari amid massive protest against the Agnipath scheme. The miscreants ransacked properties and pelted stones in Aligarh. They disturbed the law and order in the area further by setting the police post-Jattari on fire. The SSP and other police officers strived to save themselves as the violent protesters continued to pelt stones and glass bottles at them.

Releasing the photographs of the violent mob, Aligarh police had announced a reward for those who identified them. Following the union government’s unveiling of the Agniveer scheme in cooperation with all three armed forces, throngs of ‘youth’ protesters rushed to the streets and vandalized public property under the guise of ‘protests’ and marches. So-called armed forces aspirants damaged public property, set fire to trains, and brought life to a standstill in various Indian states.

In Uttar Pradesh, violent protests were executed in Varanasi, Firozabad Amethi, Ballia, Mathura, Agra, and several other areas. The rioters raised slogans against the scheme and demanded its repeal. They set a bogey of an empty train on fire and also vandalized a few other trains in Ballia, Firozabad, and Varanasi.

The protesters also reached the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and the Yamuna Expressway and damaged the buses on the way. Reportedly, four buses were damaged due to stone pelting on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, and eight vehicles were set ablaze on the Yamuna Expressway. Protesters also set a coach of an empty train on fire in Ballia, where police lobbed teargas shells to disperse them and took 100 people in custody.

So far, the UP Police has registered 34 FIRs against the miscreants and arrested around 387 people from various parts of the state. Of 387, 76 have been arrested from Aligarh and 145 have been booked under Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offenses) of the CrPC. Others arrested have been booked under various IPC sections, including rioting and damage to public property.

Eknath Shinde camp to claim a stake on Shiv Sena’s party symbol, may avoid anti-defection law if his claims hold true: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Eknath Shinde camp to claim a stake on Shiv Sena’s party symbol, may avoid anti-defection law if his claims hold true: Read details

It looks like Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and his group of MLAs are on the verge of successfully charting out their rebellion from the Shiv Sena. In a new development, the Shinde camp is moving forward to claim a stake on the Shiv Sena election symbol itself, News 18 reported.

In a huge setback to Uddhav Thackeray, the rebel Shinde group has asserted that it is the real Shiv Sena. Eknath Shinde, who officially had 34 Shiv Sena MLAs backing him, has increased his support base with four more MLAs reaching Guwahati on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, three more Sena MLAs reached the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati where the Shinde camp is stationed.

“Thirty-nine MLAs accompanied me. We are loyal to Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology of ‘Hindutva’ and we are keen to take it forward,” Eknath Shinde had said. 

Shinde said now he has the support of 46 MLAs, including 6-7 independents. 

CM Uddhav Thackeray yesterday, conceded defeat in his Facebook Live address and said that he is ready to resign as the CM given his party workers say so. However, he has not tendered his resignation as of now.

What happens when a faction claims the party symbol?

The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 empowers the Election Commission to officially recognize political parties and allot them election symbols. During a split within the party, The EC primarily takes into consideration the support enjoyed by the claimant faction within a political party among its elected representatives and the organisation.

The Election Commission has the power under Paragraph 15 of the Order, to decide disputes among rival groups or sections of a recognised political party staking claim to its name and symbol. If the Shinde camp claims the symbol of the party and has the required numbers to prove its stature, it would be upon the Election Commission to recognise the rebel group as the official Shiv Sena or not.

Could the Anti-defection law be attracted against Eknath Shinde?

The Anti-defection law attempts to control and limit the defection of elected representatives from their original party. It however permits legislators or elected representatives to join another political outfit under certain conditions. Paragraph 4 of the law categorically states that disqualification of elected members would not account if a merger with a new political party happens with 2/3rd of the members from the original party.

Given that Shiv Sena has 55 members in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Eknath Shinde needs the support of 2/3rd MLAs of his party i.e. in total 37 MLAs backing him to avoid being penalised under the anti-defection law. With Shinde claiming that he has the support of 46 MLAs, including 6-7 independents, anti-defection law could not be attracted against him – provided he has more than 37 Shiv Sena MLAs backing him. If his claims of 39 MLAs supporting him is true, Shinde may just avoid the anti-defection law and manage to stake a claim on the party symbol.

With more and more Sena MLAs deflecting to the Shinde camp in Guwahati, the rebel group has at least 41 members excluding the Independents. With the help of these Shiv Sena MLAs and independents, it can bring down the MVA government and form an alliance of its own, possibly with the BJP. However, future developments will chart the course of whether Eknath Shinde, the self-proclaimed upholder of Hindutva will also uphold the ‘bow-and-arrow’.

Hours before Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar flew to Guwahati to join Eknath Shinde, his son had publicly sided with Uddhav Thackeray: What he said

OpIndia Staff
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Hours before Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar flew to Guwahati to join Eknath Shinde, his son had publicly sided with Uddhav Thackeray: What he said

On June 22, Aniket Sarvankar, son of Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar, shared multiple tweets hours before his father flew to Guwahati. In his tweets (in the Marathi language), Aniket sided with the Uddhav Thackeray camp and suggested the party does not finish if a few of its members leave.

In his first tweet posted at 1:24 AM on June 22, he said, “Chhagan Bhujbal left, the party did not finish. Ganesh Naik left, but the party did not finish. Narayan Rane’s letter, the party did not finish. Raj Thackeray left, but the party did not finish. The party is not finished when somebody leaves. Because a party is based on the workers and the MLAs MPs and ministers get elected on account of the workers.”

Ten minutes later, at 1:34 AM, he quoted what Sanjay Raut had said and questioned if he had said something wrong. He wrote, “Just see which portfolio you had in the government with BJP and which portfolio you have now. – Sanjay Raut. Tell me what is wrong with this.”

At 1:37, he published another tweet saying, “Read somewhere on WhatsApp message. Not every Dadhiwala (bearded) in Thane is an Anand Dighe.” Dighe was one of the prominent Shiv Sena leaders. Eknath Shinde is an MLA from Thane who took charge of the party after Dighe’s demise.

A day before, on June 21 morning at 9:04 AM, Aniket published another tweet saying, “Those who are seen here, but are actually there; such people are the most dangerous in life as well as in politics.” He was pointing toward the Shiv Sena MLAs who were in Uddhav camp but were on the verge of moving to Eknath Shinde‘s camp.

Notably, Sarvankar is MLA from Mahim, which is close to Shivsena Bhavan. His son’s tweets were posted before Sarvankar himself flew to Guwahati to join the Eknath camp. Aniket has not posted anything since his father flew for Guwahati.

Political unrest in Maharashtra

The political unrest in Maharashtra started after reports of cross-voting during MLC elections, where the BJP won five seats despite lacking enough numbers in the assembly. Eknath Shinde, along with other rebel leaders, went untraceable after the results. Later it was reported that the rebel leaders of Shiv Sena were lodged in a hotel in Surat from where they shifted to Assam.

Diego Maradona death case: Eight including doctors, nurses, and psychologists accused of homicide, court orders trial

OpIndia Staff
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Diego Maradona death case: Eight including doctors, nurses, and psychologists accused of homicide, court orders trial

A cour in Argentina on Wednesday made public an important document in the death case of soccer legend Diego Maradona. The Court ordered eight people including the doctors, nurses, and psychologists who were taking care of Maradona before his death to appear for trial. The eight people have been accused of homicide.

According to the reports, the Court released a 236-page document to question the active or unwitting behaviours of all the accused which contributed to the death of Diego Maradona. Maradona who was considered one of the greatest soccer players in history died on November 25, 2020. He was 60.

This is after the medical board which was appointed in the year 2021 to investigate the death case revealed that the medical team that was looking after the soccer legend’s health acted in an inappropriate, deficient, and reckless manner. The doctors and the nurses have been accused of homicide which means taking life with intent.

The accused have been identified as Leopoldo Luque who was Maradona’s neurosurgeon and personal doctor, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Diaz, nurses Gisella Madrid, and Ricardo Almiron, their boss Mariano Perroni and doctors Pedro Di Spagna and Nancy Forlini.

While the eight have denied the allegations, a lawyer for Maradona’s sons, Mario Baudry has stated that the soccer legend was in a helpless condition during the time of his death. “As soon as I saw the cause, I said it was a homicide. I fought for a long time and here we are, with this stage completed,” Baudry was quoted.

The Argentine prosecutors have launched an investigation at the properties owned by Maradona’s doctors and accused nurses. If found guilty, the accused may face an 8 to 25 years of prison sentence under Argentinian law.

NCB files draft charges against actress Rhea Chakraborty and others in drug case linked to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

OpIndia Staff
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NCB files draft charges against actress Rhea Chakraborty and others in drug case linked to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

On June 22, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) filed draft chargesheet against actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and others in connection to the drug case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The submission was made before a special court by special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande. He said the prosecution had maintained charges against all accused in the charge sheet filed before the special court. Special judge V G Raghuwanshi heard the case.

In the draft chargesheet, the prosecution has proposed to charge Showik and Rhea for the consumption of narcotic substances. Also, it was proposed to charge them with procurement and paying for narcotic substances for the deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

In a statement, Sarpande said the court was scheduled to frame the charge, but some of the accused had moved discharge applications, delaying the process. The court has said it would frame charges once the discharge pleas are decided. During the hearing, Rhea, Showik and other accused were present in the court.

The court has posted the matter for further hearing on July 12. Rhea is currently on bail after staying in custody for over a month following her arrest in the case in September 2020. Her brother and others were also listed as accused in the case over alleged consumption, possession and buying of drugs. Most of the accused are currently on bail.

The case against Rhea and others was filed by the investigating agency following the death of 34-years-old Sushant Singh Rajput. He was found dead in his apartment located in Bandra on June 14, 2020. The case of his death was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Rhea was accused of abetment of suicide. Later NCB also initiated an investigation after it was found that the deceased actor, Rhea and others had consumed narcotics. Enforcement Directorate has also initiated a separate investigation. Rhea and the other accused have been questioned by the investigation agencies multiple times in the case.

Jamat-e-Islami linked Indian American Muslim Council gives cash prizes to ‘journalists’ from Wire, Newslaundry, Scroll Caravan etc for peddling its narrative

OpIndia Staff
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Jamat-e-Islami linked Indian American Muslim Council gives cash prizes to ‘journalists’ from Wire, Newslaundry, Scroll Caravan etc for peddling its narrative

The Indian American Muslim Council, a radical Islamist group that has alleged links with banned terror organizations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and has a long history of lobbying against India, has distributed cash prizes to ‘journalists’ from The Wire, News Minute, Newslaundry and other publications for furthering its cause.

In its annual Human Rights and Religious Freedom Journalism (HRRF) Awards, the IAMC, which claims to be the “largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the US” and often advocates for Sharia courts and peddles misinformation against India has declared prize money worth lakhs for some of its favourite ‘journalists’.

The shortlisted names for various cash prizes included Shahid Tantray of The Caravan Magazine, Aishwarya S Iyer of Scroll, Ismat Ara from The Wire, Sumedha Mittal from The Caravan, Naomi Barton from The Wire, and Priyanka Thirumurthy of The News Minute and  Akanksha Kumar of Newslaundry etc.

In the ‘best media organisation’ award, the Islamic terror-linked organisation had listed the portals like The Scroll, Newslaundry, Maktoob media, Article 14, and ‘Mooknayak’.

Popular Twitter handle The Hawkeye had shared the screenshots of the various shortlisted names.

The winners have now been announced in various categories.

In the ‘Best text reporting on human rights and religious freedom’ category, the winner is Newslaundry’s Akanksha Sharma, whose highlighted stories were mostly about the UP conversion racket mastermind Umar Gautam.

IAMC’s cash price winner from Newslaundry, screenshot from IAMC website

In the video story category, the winners were Priyanka Tirumurti from News Minute and Shahid Tantray from Caravan magazine.

screenshot from the IAMC website

One Syed Shahriyar from a UK-based magazine is the winner in the best photo category.

The Wire’s Ismat Ara, who was recently viral on social media for her ‘story’ of a tea seller named Manaf, who allegedly hurried to take her to buy sanitary pads when she suddenly got her periods, is one of the winners in the ‘young journalist of the year’ category, along with Scroll’s Aishwarya S Iyer.

All the awards have been given to media stories that peddle the cause of Islamist, pro-Pakistani narrative that claims Muslims in India are being terrorised under the Modi government.

Article 14 and Mooknayak are the winners in the best media organisation category. US-based journalist and producer of the show ‘Democracy Now’ Amy Goodman was the keynote speaker at the award event, while British journalist Yvonne Ridley said “India has become one of the dangerous places for journalists to write critically about certain aspects of India including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi”, in her speech, as per the IAMC website.

What is IAMC and what does it do?

The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group. In the past, it had reportedly collaborated with and had even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). A detailed report by Disinfo Lab has exposed its links with terror outfit Jamat-e-Islami.

IAMC founder Shaik Ubaid and member Abdul Malik Mujahid have headed the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the US front for Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan. According to DisInfo Lab, ICNA has established links with Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Rasheed Ahmed, who heads the IAMC currently was the former executive director of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). IMANA’s director of Operations is Zahid Mahmood an ex-Pak Navy official.

IAMC had been caught spreading fake news and misinformation to further the Islamist cause in India. It had also been slapped with the UAPA in 2021.

The IAMC has also been lobbying against the proposed Uniform Civil Code in the state of Uttarakhand.

Three more Shiv Sena MLAs reach Guwahati to join rebel leader Eknath Shinde as CM Uddhav Thackeray leaves official residence, moves to Matoshri

OpIndia Staff
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Three more Shiv Sena MLAs reach Guwahati to join rebel leader Eknath Shinde as CM Uddhav Thackeray leaves official residence, moves to Matoshri

On June 23, three more Shiv Sena MLAs have reached Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati, Assam, where Eknath Shinde, the rebel leader of the party, is holed up. Shinde had been staying in Surat earlier with other rebel leaders of the party and flew to Guwahati on June 22. In a statement, Shinde has called the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) alliance between Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena an ‘unnatural alliance’.

Reportedly, four other MLAs, Chandrakant Patil, Yogesh Kadam, Manjula Gavit and Gulabrao Patil, reached Guwahati late at night on Wednesday. The exact number of MLAs supporting Shinde remained unclear. Notably, Shinde claimed on Wednesday that 34 MLAs from his party supported him and passed a resolution to reinstate him as leader of the Shiv Sena legislative party. The announcement by Shinde came a day after he was removed from the party leadership post.

Amid the political stir, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has left his official residence ‘Varsha’ along with his family members. The reports of him leaving the official residence came hours after he issued a statement that he was ready to step down from CM post if the rebels return to Mumbai and asks for his removal. He said, “If any MLA wants me to not continue as the CM, I am ready to take all my belongings from Varsha Bungalow (official residence of the CM) to Matoshri.”

In the resolution signed by the rebels, it was stated that the ideology of Shiv Sena was compromised in the last two years. They also expressed their dismay over alleged ‘corruption in the government’ referring to the cases of Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh who are currently lodged in jail.

The whole political unrest in Maharashtra started after reports of cross-voting during MLC elections, where the BJP won five seats despite lacking enough numbers in the assembly. Eknath Shinde, along with other rebel leaders, went untraceable after the results. Later it was reported that the rebel leaders of Shiv Sena were lodged in a hotel in Surat from where they shifted to Assam.

4 members of the student wing of Congress, NSUI, arrested for setting fire outside BJP President JP Nadda’s house: What had happened

OpIndia Staff
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4 members of the student wing of Congress, NSUI, arrested for setting fire outside BJP President JP Nadda’s house: What had happened

The Delhi police have arrested 4 members of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party, for arson outside BJP President JP Nadda’s house. According to reports, the NSUI members were protesting against the Agneepath scheme and Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by ED in the National Herald scam.

According to reports, the accused were identified as Sagar Preet Hooda identified the suspects as Jagdeep Singh (30), NSUI’s national delegate, Sarvottam Rana (25), NSUI’s Chandigarh state general secretary, Pranav Pandey (26), NSUI’s national co-ordinator, and Vishal (28), NSUI’s general secretary. While the 4 NSUI workers have been arrested, other accused have also been identified and attempts to nab them are underway by the Delhi Police.

On the 21st of June, at around 4:30 PM, 8-10 people had gathered outside the Moti Lal Nehru Marg residence of BJP President JP Nadda. The gathered mob started sloganeering against him and the BJP, but soon, this “protest” by Congress workers turned violent. The NSUI members took two Khakhi shorts, wrapped them on a stick and set it on fire.

“They threw the burning shorts over the security room and at the gate of the house, but this attempt was thwarted by the residence’s staff on duty,” said Sagar Preet Hooda, special commissioner of the Delhi Police (law and order), according to a Hindustan Times report. According to the CCTV footage recovered by the police, 10-12 people had reached the location in 2 separate vehicles, one registered in Rohtak, Haryana and the other in Bijnaur, Uttar Pradesh. After gathering the footage, raids were conducted at the residences of the NSUI members and arrests were made.

“During the course of the investigation, exhibits were lifted from the spot for scientific examination and footage of CCTVs installed outside the place of the incident was examined. It was captured in the footage that about 10-12 people had come there in two vehicles which were found to be registered at Rohtak, Haryana and Bijnaur, Uttar Pradesh,” Special Commissioner said.

A case has been registered under IPC sections 188/146/147/149/278/285/ 307/436/120-B – this includes attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and rioting.

It is pertinent to note that earlier, the police had given a statement, elaborating how Congress members had violated prohibitory orders and protested in violation of the permission they had got.

According to the special commissioner of Delhi Police (law and order), on June 20, an application was received from the Secretary, All India Congress Committee (AICC), for grant of permission to hold a ‘Satyagraha’ at Jantar Mantar. “The programme was to be held against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme and the appearance of Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi before the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The permission was granted subject to the condition that only 1,000 party workers will be allowed at the protest site. But instead of holding the dharna at Jantar Mantar, the protestors assembled at AICC headquarters at 24 Akbar Road and marched out in the form of a procession in violation of the prohibitory orders promulgated under section 144 CrPC in force,” he had said.

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