Archives for June 2024

Vadodara: The BJP-ruled Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) in Gujarat has issued a notice to former India cricketer and recently elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP from Baharampur Yusuf Pathan for allegedly encroaching on a plot of land the civic body said belongs to it.

While the notice was served to Pathan on June 6, VMC’s standing committee chairman Shital Mistry informed the media on Thursday after the issue was highlighted by former BJP corporator Vijay Pawar.

Talking to reporters earlier in the day, Pawar had alleged that though the state government had rejected VMC’s proposal to sell the plot to Pathan in 2012, the newly elected MP had encroached on the plot by constructing a compound wall.

“I don’t have any grudge against Yusuf Pathan. A plot in Tanadalja area under TP 22 is a residential plot owned by VMC. In 2012, Pathan had demanded this plot from VMC because his house, which was under construction at that time, was adjacent to that plot. He had offered nearly Rs 57,000 per square meter,” Pawar told reporters.

The proposal was cleared by the VMC at that time and it was passed in the general board meeting. However, the state government, which is the final authority in such matters, did not gave its approval, said Pawar.

“Though the proposal was rejected, the VMC did not put up a fence around the plot. Then I came to know that Pathan has encroached upon the plot by constructing a compound wall around it. Thus, I have asked the municipal corporation to conduct an inquiry,” said Pawar.

Mistry confirmed the sequence of events leading to the state government not approving the sale of the 978 square metre plot to Pathan and said a notice had been served to him for alleged encroachment.

“Recently, we received some representations about him constructing a compound wall. Thus, on June 6, we served a notice to Pathan and asked him to remove all the encroachments. We will wait for a couple of weeks and then we will decide further course of action. This land belongs to VMC and we will claim it back,” Mistry asserted.

He said this after a meeting with Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre at Vikasa Soudha here.

“The Forest department has handed over 500 acres of forest land for the project. In return, the Revenue department has agreed to handover equal area of revenue land to the Forest department. The process will be completed soon,” Shivakumar, who is also the Water Resources Minister said.

The meeting, which was also attended by officials and T B Jayachandra, Karnataka government’s Special Representative in Delhi, discussed the progress of Yettinahole and Upper Bhadra projects.

The Yettinahole project is aimed at providing drinking water to parts of Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru, Ramanagara and  Bengaluru Urban districts by drawing 24 tmcft of water from the Yettinahole river in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district.

Noting that officials have identified challenges facing the projects and discussions were held regarding solutions in the meeting, Shivakumar said, “there were bottlenecks at 20 different places over a stretch of 260 km pertaining to forest land. We conducted a joint survey involving the Forest department and Revenue departments and the issue is now resolved. The work will start soon.”

A compensation of Rs 51 crore needs to be given to farmers in some places, of which Rs 10 crore has already been released, he said.

There are differences between the Forest and Revenue department over the compensation and this will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting.

“The balancing reservoir in Doddaballapura taluk is pending and preparations are on to start the work. In the first phase, water will be pumped to a distance of 48 km by next month. A technical committee has been formed to explore using water which is currently flowing into the sea,” he added.

The Lok Sabha will elect its new Speaker on June 26 for which notices for motions supporting candidates can be submitted by members by 12 noon a day prior, the Lok Sabha secretariat said on Thursday.

The 18th Lok Sabha will meet for the first time on June 24 and the session will conclude on July 3.

At any time before 12 noon on the day preceding the date fixed for the election, any member can give notice in writing to the secretary general of a motion supporting another member for the office of the speaker, a Lok Sabha bulletin noted.

“In the present case, notices of motions for the election of the Speaker can be given before 12 noon on Tuesday, June 25,” it explained.

While first two days will be devoted for oath taking of newly-elected members, June 26 has been fixed for the election of the speaker.

On June 27, President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The notice for the motion has to be seconded by a third member. Also, it has to be accompanied by a statement by the candidate contesting the poll that he or she is willing to serve as Speaker if elected.

A member cannot propose one’s own name, or second a motion, the secretariat pointed out, citing rules.

A member in whose name a motion stands on the list of business will, unless makes a statement conveying unwillingness to move it, will move the motion when called upon to do so, it said.

The motions which have been moved and duly seconded will be put one by one in the order in which they have been moved, and decided, if necessary, by a division.

If any motion is carried (adopted), the person presiding the proceedings (a pro-tem speaker) will declare that the member proposed in the motion which has been carried has been chosen as the Speaker of the House.

The other motions will become infructuous.

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said candidates of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which prides itself on its sons of the soil agenda, won Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai on the votes of minorities as well as non-Marathi and non-Hindi speakers.

In the recently concluded general elections, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won three of the six seats in the metropolis, while the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Congress emerged victorious in one constituency each.

The opposition’s victory was not due to the votes of Marathi speakers or common Mumbaikars or the north Indian population that has lived in the city for generations, Fadnavis said in his speech.

The opposition won on the votes of those for whom the Shiv Sena (UBT) had started using “janaab” for Bal Thackeray instead of the more popular Hindu Hridaysamrat, the senior BJP leader asserted.

Uddhav Thackeray had also stopped beginning his speeches with “my Hindu brothers and sisters” in the last six months in order to win the support of the minorities, Fadnavis further claimed.

The fake narrative of the opposition during the Lok Sabha poll campaign about the BJP wanting to change the Constitution and end reservations hit the ruling party hard, he admitted. The BJP contested 28 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra but could win on just nine, down from the 23 it wrested in the 2019 edition.

“The Mumbai Graduates’ constituency elections have been announced and we should win it again as we had given it to our former political ally (Shiv Sena) some years back. Now, it is time to win it back. Our candidate Kiran Shelar will win to prove that the fake narrative against the BJP will not work henceforth,” Fadnavis asserted.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first head of government who implemented the Constitution in the entire country. Earlier, due to Article 370, the Constitution was not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir. After its (Article 370) scrapping, the Constitution is now applicable there as well,” he claimed.

The BJP got 26 lakh votes in Mumbai as against MVA candidates gaining 24 lakh votes but the “arithmetic of votes helped them, and we (ruling BJP and Shiv Sena) could win only two seats”, Fadnavis said.

“It is also a good indicator that the Worli assembly seat of Aaditya Thackeray could give a lead of only 6000 votes to their candidate (form South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat). It clearly means the Sena’s charisma is over, and the BJP will make inroads in the civic polls,” the deputy CM said.

Kochi: Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi on Friday said that the External Affairs Ministry did a “wonderful” job in coordinating the efforts to ensure treatment of the Indians injured in the Kuwait fire tragedy which claimed atleast 49 lives.

The Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum also said that he has cancelled his other programmes for the day and would be going to the international airport here to receive the bodies of the Malayalees who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy.

Meanwhile, Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters here that the bodies of 23 Malayalees, 7 Tamilians and one person from Karnataka would be received here, before the flight carrying the mortal remains of the other Indians who died in the fire goes to Delhi.

Rajan said that arrangements have been made for public display of the mortal remains at the airport and thereafter, they would be sent to the families by ambulances that have been arranged by the Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA).

He said that if extra ambulances for transporting the bodies of the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka natives were required, the Health Department was ready to arrange it.

“We have also arranged a pilot vehicle for each of the ambulances,” he said.

Rajan also said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other state ministers would be arriving at the airport here.

Earlier, while speaking to reporters, Gopi said that the External Affairs Ministry was “pressed into service” to intervene diplomatically and ensure proper treatment of the injured Indians and repatriation of the mortal remains of those who died in the incident.

“They are doing it wonderfully,” he added.

Officials had said that 49 people were killed in the fire in the Al-Mangaf building on June 12 and 42 of them were Indians; the remaining were Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals.

The building in southern Kuwait’s Mangaf area housed around 195 migrant workers.

Kuwait City: A special IAF aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians killed in the tragic fire incident in Kuwait took off for Kochi on Friday morning. At least 49 foreign workers were killed and 50 others injured in the fire on Wednesday at the seven-storey building where 196 migrant workers were staying in the southern city of Mangaf.

“A special IAF aircraft carrying mortal remains of 45 Indian victims in the fire incident in Kuwait has taken off for Kochi,” The Embassy of India in Kuwait posted on X.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who coordinated with Kuwaiti authorities to ensure swift repatriation, is onboard the aircraft.

Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution in Kuwait ordered the provisional detention of a citizen and some expatriates on charges of manslaughter and accidental injury as a result of negligence in security and safety measures to prevent fire, the Arab Times newspaper reported.

Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has ordered authorities to provide compensation to the families of each of the 49 deceased persons.

Kuwait Fire Force on Thursday said the deadly fire was caused by an electrical short circuit.

In a decisive move, Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil has instructed his department to inspect and potentially seal nursing colleges that fail to provide basic infrastructure for students. Patil issued the directive during a meeting at Vikasa Soudha, citing numerous complaints regarding infrastructure deficiencies.

Despite leniency, many private college managements have not rectified the issues. Patil noted, ‘Most colleges lack adequate teaching staff, library, and laboratory facilities, and they charge exorbitant fees.’ He added that stringent actions would be taken against non-compliant institutions.

The minister also rejected a 20% fee hike proposed by college managements, prioritizing students’ interests. Additionally, he urged colleges to increase government quota seats from 20% to 40% to support more underprivileged students. Patil emphasized the need for inspections before admissions to ensure compliance with government norms.

Rajkot: Police have arrested a co-owner of the Rajkot game zone, where a fire claimed 27 lives last month, taking the number of arrests in the case to ten, an official said on Friday.

Ashoksinh Jadeja, one of the six owners of the TRP game zone, surrendered before the police on Thursday evening, the official said.

Jadeja, who owns the land on which the game zone had come up, had been absconding after a fire devastated the recreation facility on May 25 in Gujarat’s Rajkot city.

Rajkot Police Commissioner Brajesh Kumar Jha confirmed on Friday that Jadeja is in the custody of the crime branch after his surrender.

Earlier, police had arrested five co-owners and a manager of the game zone. They also took into custody four government officials, including Rajkot’s Town Planning Officer (TPO) M D Sagathia, assistant TPOs Mukesh Makwana and Gautam Joshi, and former station officer of Kalavad Road fire station Rohit Vigora.

During the probe, it was confirmed that one of the co-owners, Prakash Hiran who was named in the FIR and missing since the tragedy, had died in the deadly fire as he was inside the facility when it was gutted.

CCTV camera footage showed the fire started after sparks fell on thermocol (polystrene) sheets during welding work on the ground floor. Though workers present there tried to douse the fire with fire extinguishers, it spread quickly and eventually engulfed the game zone.

According to the police, the game zone was being operated without any no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.

Several game zones and other recreation hubs were sealed across the state after the Rajkot incident and FIRs were also filed against the owners for running such facilities without any permissions.

Jaipur: In hard-hitting remarks on the outcome of the Lok sabha polls, RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Thursday slammed the ruling BJP for “arrogance” and the opposition INDIA bloc for being “anti-Ram”.

Speaking at the ‘Ramrath Ayodhya Yatra Darshan Poojan Samaroh’ at Kanota near Jaipur, the RSS national executive member did not mention the rivals by name but suggested that the poll outcome reflected their attitudes.

“The party which did the bhakti (of lord Ram) but became arrogant was stopped at 241 but it was made the biggest party,” he said, in an apparent reference to Narendra Modi-led BJP which got 240 seats in the Lok Sabha seats.

“And those who had no faith in Ram, they together were stopped at 234,” he said, apparently referring to the INDIA bloc.

“See the ‘Vidhan’ of Ram Rajya in democracy; those who did ‘Bhakti (worshipped) of Ram but gradually turned arrogant, that party emerged as the biggest party, but the vote and power that should have been given was stopped by God due to their arrogance,” he said.

“Those who opposed Ram, none of them was given power. Even all of them together were made number two. God’s justice is true and enjoyable,” he said.

“Those who worship Ram should be humble and those who oppose Ram, the Lord himself dealt with them,” he said.

He said Lord Ram does not discriminate and does not punish. “Ram does not make anyone lament. Ram gives justice to everyone. He gives and will keep on giving. Lord Ram was always just and will remain so,” he said.

Kumar also said Lord Ram protected people and did good to Ravana too.

The remark came days after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that a true ‘sevak’ does not have arrogance and serves the people by maintaining ‘dignity’.

Bhubaneswar: Four-time MLA and tribal leader Mohan Charan Majhi was on Wednesday sworn in as the first BJP chief minister of Odisha at a ceremony here attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union ministers and chief ministers.

Senior BJP leader and Patnagarh MLA KV Singh Deo and debutant from Nimapara assembly segment Pravati Parida took oath as deputy chief ministers.

Governor Rabghubar Das administered the oath of secrecy and office to them at Janata Maidan.

This is the first time that a BJP government has been formed in the eastern state.

Apart from Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram, Ashwini Vaishnaw and others attended the ceremony.

Several chief ministers of BJP-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were also present. Odisha’s outgoing chief minister Naveen Patnaik also attended the ceremony.

BJP for the first time got a clear mandate in Odisha, ending the 24-year-old stint of the BJD.

The saffron party stormed to power in Odisha by securing 78 seats in the 147-member Assembly while Patnaik-led BJD got 51 seats, Congress (14), CPI(M) won in one seat while Independents got three.