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Goa CM rejects demand for ban on Sanatan Sanstha

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Laxmikant Parsekar

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday rejected a demand to ban Sanatan Sanstha, whose members are accused of killing leftist leader Govind Pansare in Kolhapur in Maharashtra in February.

“There have been allegations against them (Sanstha) in Maharashtra, but as far as their functioning in Goa is concerned, there is nothing we have found objectionable. They have not created any controversy,” Parsekar told reporters at the state secretariat here.

The chief minister said a case against eight members of the Hindu right-wing organisation in connection with the 2009 improvised explosive device blast case in south Goa’s Margao town fell through because “concrete proof could not come out”.

While six Sanstha members were acquitted, two other accused, including Rudra Patil who is wanted in leftist Govind Pansare murder case, are still absconding.

The Goa unit of the Congress on Wednesday demanded a ban on state-based Sanatan Sanstha.

The right wing Hindu organisation was allegedly involved in spreading hatred and dividing the country on religious lines and should be banned, Goa Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from St. Andre constituency, Vishnu Wagh, demanded a ban on the Sanstha, headquartered in Ramnathi village, 35 km from Panaji.

“In a democracy, there is no scope for violence. All those who try to use bullets to threaten the voice of opposition are terrorists, because they try to frighten the opposition. It is evident from the killing of Govind Pansare and M.M. Kalburgi. The Sanatan Sanstha’s hand is evident in these cases,” alleged Wagh who is considered close to the chief minister.

Many top politicians, including some cabinet ministers in the BJP-led coalition in Goa, have backed the organisation in public fora.

The Sanstha, through statements issued in Panaji, has repeatedly rejected the charges that its members were involved in the attack on Pansare, even as a Special Investigation Team probing the murder arrested Sanstha member Sameer Gaikwad and is on the lookout for another member Rudra Patil.

(IANS)

Somnath Bharti an embarrassment to AAP, should surrender: Kejriwal

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: In a stern message to AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said the legislator, who is on the run in a domestic violence case filed by his wife, is becoming an embarrassment to the party and he should surrender and cooperate with the police.

Breaking his silence on the row involving his former ministerial colleague, the AAP chief questioned Bharti’s act of going into hiding and asked why he was running away from the police and scared of going to jail.

“Somnath should surrender. Why is he running away? Why is he so scared of going to jail? Now he is becoming embarrassment for party and his family.

“He should cooperate with police,” Kejriwal said in his tweets referring to Bharti, who was the Law Minister during the 49-day stint of AAP government in 2013.

Yesterday, the Delhi High Court rejected Bharti’s anticipatory bail in a case related to domestic violence filed by his wife Lipika. Police teams have been looking for him.

Last week, a local court rejected his anticipatory bail in the same case. The party’s top brass had then expressed its displeasure over his disappearance and asked him to cooperate with the police.

The party has been taking the stand that the Delhi Police has been targeting it. However, Bharti’s act of going into hiding has not gone well with party leadership.

AAP leader Ashutosh today said while police has been “unnecessarily showing a lot of interest” in the case, Bharti should “surrender and present his side of the story”.

“The High Court has rejected his bail… he should come out in open and present his case before the investigating agency. There is no point in running away from the law.. we have respect for the law, we have respect for the courts and we believe that justice will be done,” he said.

(PTI)

SIT raids houses of Janardhan Reddy, 7 others in Bellary

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Janardhan Reddy

Bellary: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Lokayukta today raided the houses of former state Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy and seven others, including two legislators, in connection with alleged export of iron ore illegally from Belikere port.

“The SIT officials of Karnataka Lokayukta raided the houses of Janardhan Reddy and seven others including two legislators at three different locations in Belikere,” a SIT official told PTI here.

The six-member team led by Shailendra Kumar also raided the houses of two MLAs – B Nagendra (independent) and Suresh Babu (BJP) – along with Swastik Nagaraj, a close aide of Reddy and others, the official said.

The raids were conducted at Kampli, Ballari and Hospete, the official said.

The team has seized documents pertaining to the illegal export of iron ore from Belikere port, the official said. “The team is scrutinising the documents,” he said.

The illegal export of iron ore from Belikeri port in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district was exposed by former Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde, who in his report had said 7.74 million tonnes of iron ore were illegally exported between 2006-2007 and 2010-11, causing huge loss to the exchequer.

(PTI)

Hardik Patel surfaces, says he was abducted

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Hardik Patel

Ahmedabad: Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel, who went ‘missing’ after giving a slip to police yesterday, today surfaced under mysterious circumstances at a highway passing from Dhrangadhra town in Surendranagar district of Gujarat, claiming that he was abducted.

According to Patel leaders, Hardik called them at around noon and asked them to pick him up from the highway.

After being ‘found’, Hardik claimed that he had been “abducted” by people with weapons.

“Some persons chased my car near Bayad (in Aravalli district)… then I was picked up by some persons.. after that I was made to sit in a car for the entire night,” Hardik told reporters.

“I was threatened to leave this agitation or I would be eliminated. The person threatened me saying that it is the first and last warning, and if I am ever seen addressing a public meeting in a village, I will be eliminated,” he added.

“After threatening me for entire night and ferrying me from Bayad, he left me at a village in Dhrangdhara taluka of Surendranagar,” said Hardik.

“I do not know who was he, whether a policeman or anyone else but he had a revolver with him,” Hardik claimed.

“I wanted to know about the person and at whose behest he had kept me under his custody for the entire night,” he said.

When asked about his present location, he said he is at Halvad highway in Surendranagar district.

Meanwhile, Gandhinagar Range IG Hasmukh Patel said they could not locate him but if he is found, then he will be produced before court.

“We learned that Hardik Patel is somewhere between Dhragadhra and Halvad towns of Surendranagar district. But, since we do not have his exact location, we could not locate him yet,” Patel said.

“Surendranagar Police is also not having any specific input about his current location,” the IG added.

“If we found him, our first priority would be to present him before the High Court. If he is in any trouble, as claimed by his lawyer, we will definitely help him,” the officer said.

The Gujarat High Court had in a early morning hearing directed the state government to find Hardik Patel, the face of Patel quota stir in Gujarat, after an aide moved a habeas corpus petition alleging that he had been illegally detained by police.

However, police had maintained that he was not detained by them.

Hardik had yesterday organised a public meeting in Bayad taluka of Aravali district allegedly without prior permission. After the meeting, police tried to detain him but according to IG Hasmukh Patel, he managed to evade them.

Police later registered an FIR against Hardik and 20 others for violating prohibitory orders.

Hardik is leading an agitation for inclusion of Patel community in OBC category for reservation.

(Agencies)

Prof. K S Bhagwan receives 20 threat calls in 2 hours

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K S Bhagwan

Mysuru: Prof. K S Bhagawan has reportedly received as many as 20 threat calls on his mobile in just 2 hours on Sunday September 20 evening.

Bhagawan later filed a complaint with this regard. The complaint stated that he received calls from several numbers between 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm. The callers spoke to the writer using foul language and also threatened to kill him.

He then stated that he switched off his phone at about 8.30 as he was unable to bear the calls.

Police sources say that they were trying to trace the call. The writer also received a threat letter which was sent to his residence on September 9. The security arrangements were tightened post Kalburgi’s murder in Dharwad. Bhagawan was provided police protection earlier too after warnings from organisations.

(Agencies)

Row over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s quota remark

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Mohan Bhagwat

New Delhi: The remarks by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on quota triggered strong reactions from the RJD and the Congress on Monday, with the RSS issuing a clarification and the BJP seeking to end the controversy by saying it was not in favour of reconsideration of reservation.

Seizing on the remarks by Bhagwat made in the run-up the crucial Bihar assembly polls, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad dared him and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to end education and job quotas.

“I challenge the RSS and the BJP to end reservations,” the former Bihar chief minister posted on Twitter.

Lalu Prasad said 80 percent of the country’s population was made up of Dalits and backwards who would oppose any attempt to do away with reservations.

“The RSS is talking about ending reservations and we are talking about increasing it on the basis of the population,” he said.

Sensing that Bhagwat’s remarks made during an interview was turning into a big political issue, both the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP came up with separate statements. The RSS is seen as the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

Apparently distancing itself from the remarks, the BJP repeatedly said it does not favour reconsideration of the reservation policy.

“The BJP firmly believes that reservation is important for the social, education and economic development of the SC, ST, OBC, Backwards and extremely backwards classes. The BJP is not in favour of any reconsideration of these constitutional provisions,” the party said.

“Right from the day of its inception and even before the Jana Sangh days, the BJP very firmly supported the constitutional reservation for the SC, ST, OBC, backwards and extremely backwards classes,” the party said.

“However, the BJP is further of the view that if further measures are suggested for those who are economically and socially backwards, then the same is welcome,” it said.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also spoke to the media and said there should be a debate how to extend the benefit of reservation to those poor and backward classes who have been left out.

Bhagwat on Sunday pitched for a review of the reservation policy, contending it had been used for political ends and suggested setting up an apolitical committee to examine who needs the facility and till when.

With the controversy brewing up over Bhagwat’s remarks, the RSS in a statement suggested that its chief’s remarks during the interview were misconstrued in the media.

“Bhagwat ji has not commented on the reservation being availed by different weaker sections of the society,” RSS chief spokesman Manmohan Vaidya said.

“Instead, he had said that everybody should discuss how benefits of reservation should reach all weaker sections of the society as envisaged by the constitution makers.

“The subject of the interview was integral humanism, not reservation,” the statement added.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala slammed Bhagwat’s remark on quotas and also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, alleging that as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had pursued “anti-Dalit” policies.

He said Bhagwat sought a “review of reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes”.

“It is a manifestation of the anti-poor mindset espoused by the RSS and the BJP. The RSS-BJP combine continue to spread polarising agenda to undermine the rights of deprived and underprivileged, particularly the SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes,” Surjewala alleged.

He said the Congress introduced the system of reservation for SCs, STs in government employment, educational institutions as well as elected bodies as part of affirmative action enshrined in India’s Constitution.

Surjewala alleged that Modi as chief minister of Gujarat did not hold a meeting of SC Sub Plan (SCSP) and ST Sub Plan (STSP).

“The policy had not been intentionally implemented on account of malafide and malicious intent of the then chief minister,” he alleged.

Surjewala said the population of SCs in Gujarat was 14 percent but allocation of budget for them was only 5.42 percent when Modi was the chief minister.

(IANS)

Bharti’s house raided, missing: police

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Somnath Bharti

New Delhi: The office and residence of Delhi’s former law minister Somnath Bharti were raided on Tuesday after his anticipatory bail was dismissed, but police said he could not be found.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), accused of domestic violence by his wife Lipika Mitra.

“A team of Delhi Police officers raided his house in Malviya Nagar and his office but he was found absconding from both places,” Joint Commissioner of Police Deependra Pathak told IANS.

“We need to arrest Bharti to interrogate him in a case of domestic violence and attempt to murder filed by his wife,” he said.

Bharti was named in a FIR filed at Dwarka North police station in west Delhi.

Police said they filed the FIR following a June 10 complaint by Bharti’s wife who said he had abused her since their marriage in 2010. She claimed Bharti used to beat and torture her and once tried to kill her.

(IANS)

Saffron terrorism: ‘Pansare murder suspect knew Goa blast mastermind’

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Rudra Patil

Panaji: Hindu right-wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha member Rudra Patil, a suspect in leftist Govind Pansare’s murder, was in regular touch with the mastermind of the 2009 Goa bomb blast, police said.

Patil, who has been on the run since the 2009 improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Goa, is one of the main suspects in Pansare’s murder, said the Maharashtra Police Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Police also said that Patil was in telephonic touch with 32-year-old Sameer Gaikwad, a member of the Sanstha, who was also arrested in the Pansare murder case.

However, a statement by the Sanatan Sanstha said: “Sameer Gaikwad, arrested by police in case of the killing of comrade Govind Pansare from Kolhapur, is a full-time seeker of Sanatan Sanstha, and we are sure that he is innocent.”

A probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the blast on Diwali at South Goa’s Margao town revealed that Rudra Patil was in touch with the mastermind Malgonda Patil, who died in the explosion.

On October 16, 2009, Malgonda Patil and Yogesh Naik, both full-time members of the Goa-based Sanatan Sanstha, died while ferrying IEDs on their scooter to a Diwali gathering in Margao, located 35 km from Panaji.

The Sanstha has strongly opposed organisation of Narakasura Vadh celebration during Diwali, insisting it ends up glorifying the demon rather his slayer, Lord Krishna.

“Malgonda was putting the plan together. We believe he was taking instructions from someone,” an NIA official familiar with the probe told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

Founded by the United Kingdom returned clinical hypnotherapist Jayant Athavale, the Sanatan Sanstha is headquartered in Ramnathi, in Ponda, known for a cluster of popular temples.

The Sanstha has several thousand members, primarily from Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka, and also publishes a newspaper and a range of magazines and books.

Several top politicians, including some cabinet ministers in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led coalition cabinet have backed the organisation in public fora.

Pansare was shot, along with his wife, near his residence in Kolhapur in Maharashtra on February 16. He died from his injuries four days later.

(Agencies)

Government shelves proposal mandating storage of messages

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Whatsapp

New Delhi: Following a public uproar over threat to privacy, the government today withdrew the draft encryption policy which made it mandatory for storage of all messages, including social media, for 90 days.

“I personally feel that some of the expression used in the draft are giving rise to uncalled-for misgivings. Therefore, I have written to DeitY to withdraw that draft, rework it properly and thereafter put in the public domain,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.

Generally, all modern messaging services like WhatsApp, Viber, Line, Google Chat, Yahoo Messenger and the like come with a high level of encryption and many a time, security agencies find it hard to intercept these messages.

“Yesterday, it was brought to our notice that draft has been put in the public domain seeking comments. I wish to make it very clear that it is just a draft and not the view of the government. I have noted concerns expressed… by the public,” Prasad said.

As per the original draft, the new encryption policy proposes that every message a user sends — be it through WhatsApp, SMS, e-mail or any such service — must be mandatorily stored in plain text format for 90 days and made available on demand to security agencies.

Prasad said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted social media activism.

“The right of articulation and freedom, we fully respect but at the same time, we need to acknowledge that cyber space transaction is rising enormously for individuals, businesses, the government and companies,” Prasad said.

The draft proposed legal action that could entail imprisonment for failure to store and produce on demand the encrypted message sent from any mobile device or computer.

The draft, issued by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, was applicable on everyone, including government departments, academic institutions, citizens and for all kinds of communications — be it official or personal.

Besides, all service providers located within and outside India that use encryption technology must register themselves with the government, as per the draft.

Prasad, however, maintained that there’s need for an encryption policy which would apply to those who are involved in encrypting a messaging product “for a variety of reasons”.

The policy was proposed under section 84 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 through an amendment in 2008.

The sub-section 84 C, which was also introduced at around the same time, carries provisions of imprisonment for any violation of the Act.

(Agencies)

Siddaramaiah requests union govt to reconsider decision on IIT in Dharwad

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siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has requested HRD Minister Smriti Irani to reconsider setting up of the IIT at Raichur instead of the proposed Dharwad as the venue.

Earlier this month the Centre had given its decision of setting up the first IIT of Karnataka in Dharwad. The decision made the district of Dharwad happy and politicians from Hubballi-Dharwad were given the credit for bringing the IIT, however, on the other hand people in Raichur were disappointed and protested against the government’s decision of choosing Dharwad over Raichur.

CM Siddaramaiah was attacked by several organisations in Raichur for not giving them the privilege of hosting an IIT.

However, BJP leaders Pralhad Joshi, Jagadish Shettar and HN Ananth Kumar, all from Hubballi-Dharwad credited themselves of getting the IIT sanctioned to the district.

In his letter to the HRD ministry, Siddaramaiah has stated that the state government had shortlisted Raichur, Mysuru and Dharwad for the IIT. He said that he felt that as it was decided recently that Dharwad would host an International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), the proposed IIT had to be set up in Raichur.

He further stated that Raichur was the district headquarters located in the Hyderabad-Karnataka backward region and enjoyed a special status under Article 371-J of the Indian Constitution, hence it would be an ideal spot for the IIT, which would also help in balanced regional development.

He concluded saying that the state would extend all necessary assistance and cooperation in establishing the IIT at Raichur.

(Agencies)

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