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Modi expands cabinet, inducts 21 new faces

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cabinet-expansion-modi

New Delhi: Marred by a Shiv Sena’s boycott, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday expanded his union council of ministers, inducting 21 new faces, including four with cabinet rank, giving wide representation to several northern and central states and keeping the age limit well under 68.

The much-anticipated first ministry expansion was marred with ally Shiv Sena calling off participation in the government at the last minute – exacerbating their already strained ties.

Those who were sworn-in as cabinet ministers were former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Shiv Sena’s Suresh Prabhu, senior BJP leader Jagat Prakash Nadda and former Congressman Birender Singh.

BJP MPs Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mahesh Sharma and Bandaru Dattatreya would be ministers of state with independent charge.

Those who took oath as ministers of state were Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ram Kripal Yadav, Haribhai Parthibhai Choudhary, Sanwar Lal Jat, Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya, Giriraj Singh, Hansraj Ahir, Ram Shankar Katheria, TDP’s Y.S. Chowdary, Jayant Sinha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Babul Supriyo, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Vijay Sampla.

Former Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu was sworn-in as a cabinet minister. Prabhu, who is the prime minister’s interlocutor for the G20, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is expected to become a Rajya Sabha member.

The Sena at the last minute recalled Anil Desai, who it had nominated for induction in the union ministry. According to reports, Desai arrived in Delhi for the oath-taking ceremony but was ordered to return. The growing bitterness could have further ramifications in Maharashtra, where the two former long-time allies have failed to reach an agreement over government formation.

This also puts a question mark on the continuance of lone Shiv Sena representative Anant Geete in the Modi ministry. Geeta is cabinet minister for heavy industries and public enterprises.

With the new induction, Modi’s 45-member ministry now totals 66. He inducted four cabinet ministers, three ministers of state with independent charge, and 14 ministers of state (MoS).

Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who is widely tipped to get the defence portfolio, was the first to take oath at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

BJP general secretary J.P. Nadda, who is known to be close to Modi and party chief Amit Shah, and Birender Singh, who left the Congress ahead of the recent Haryana assembly elections to join the BJP, were administered oath as cabinet ministers by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Modi also brought into his ministry the party’s known Muslim face in Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, adding to Najma Heptullah, who is minority affairs minister. Naqvi is an MoS.

He also added to the representation of women by inducting Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, BJP MP from Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, taking the number to eight.

Giriraj Singh, 61, who courted controversy with his comment while campaigning for the national elections that “those who oppose Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan” and was also booked for the hate speech, also got a place as minister of state.

The new ministry has most people in their 50s, with the oldest being Bandaru Dattatreya, MoS independent charge, at 68.

The youngest is well-known singer Babul Supriyo, the only face in the ministry from West Bengal. The Asansol MP, who was inducted as MoS, is 43, while Olympian shooter Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is 44.

The only National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally to get a berth in Sunday’s expansion was Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Rajya Sabha MP, Y.S. Chowdary as an MoS.

Among those who were widely tipped to get a berth and were inducted are Rajiv Pratap Rudy, MoS independent charge, Ram Kirpal Yadav, a former Lalu Prasad aide who quit the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jayant Sinha, son of BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha, and Vijay Sampla, BJP Hoshiarpur MP.

Sinha’s entry into the government marks the coming in of the second generation of BJP politicians. The IIT-Delhi and Harvard-educated Hazaribagh MP is an investment fund manager and management consultant. His entry is likely to give a fillip to the BJP’s chances in Jharkhand which goes to the polls in November-December.

Another new face is Hansraj Ahir, BJP MP from Maharashtra. Ahir is well-known for having unearthed the coal mining scam. He took oath as an MoS.

The states to get wide representation are Maharashtra, where the BJP has formed government for the first time, with two ministers — Suresh Prabhu and Ahir, adding to the prominent names already in the cabinet, including Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar.

In Haryana, where it won in the recent assembly elections and formed the government, has a new minister in Birender Singh.

Keeping in mind the forthcoming elections in Bihar, the council has three new faces from the state – Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Ram Kirpal Yadav and Giriraj Singh. Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Ravi Shankar Prasad are from Bihar.

Uttar Pradesh got the largest representation, with four new faces — Mahesh Sharma, a doctor who owns Kailash Hospital and is an MP from Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida); Naqvi, who is a Rajya Sabha member; Ram Shankar Katheria, Agra MP; and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.

Gujarat, where Modi was thw chief minister for three terms, got two new faces in Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, and Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundarya.

(IANS)

Woman paraded naked on Donkey in Jaipur village as 'punishment'

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(Photo credit: HT)

(Photo credit: HT)

Jaipur: In a contemptuous incident of gross brutality, a community panchayat in Jaipur’s Rajsamand district allegedly stripped a 45-year-old woman and paraded her on a donkey on Saturday, after they accused her of killing her nephew.

The incident reportedly took place in a tribal area in Jaipur, following a meeting of the panchayat that declared her to be the killer of her nephew, who had died under unknown circumstances and whom the villagers cremated without informing the police, The Times of India reported.

The man’s wife had accused the woman of killing him, and complained to the local panchayat, which heard the matter in a public meeting.

As a form of punishment, the villagers blackened the woman’s face with coal, stripped her naked and then paraded her on a donkey for an hour in Thurval village. Her husband later complained to the police, who arrested 30 people on Sunday.

“One Vardi Singh had died on 2 November. The circumstances of his death are not known because the villagers cremated his body and didn’t inform the police,” SP, Rajsamand, Sweta Dhankar told TOI.

“Singh’s wife approached the local community panchayat which decided to hear the case publicly. A meeting was held in the village in which it was declared that the man’s aunt had committed the crime, so she must be punished,” the officer said.

Following the shocking incident, the police arrested about 30 people, nine of whom are from the victim’s family, and have also deployed heavy police force in the village.

“We have arrested 30 persons including nine from the woman’s family. We have booked them under relevant sections of the IPC,” said the officer.

The woman is said to be in a state of shock and is currently in a shelter home where she is being counselled.

IAMC Report exposes roots of atrocities against Muslims in Assam, urges action to prevent ethnic cleansing

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Photo: Anupam Nath/AP

Photo: Anupam Nath/AP

The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, has released a report that exposes the roots of the mass violence in Assam in 2012 and 2014, in which hundreds of lives have been lost and over a half million people were displaced. The report titled “Rationalizing Ethnic Cleansing in Assam,” is based on data provided by human rights activists in Assam, media reports, eyewitness accounts as well as testimonies of scores of victims, many of which have been recorded.

The report documents the state complicity behind sustained violence against an ethnic and religious minority. The report also exposes the myth about Assamese Muslims being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, a canard that is all too often used to “contextualize,” the barbaric ethnic cleansing of impoverished Muslim villagers.

“The political patronage provided to armed militant groups that have spearheaded massacres at regular intervals since 1993, and the hateful rhetoric of xenophobic Hindutva groups, is at the root of the campaign to bring about demographic changes in Assam through violence and intimidation,” said Mr. Ahsan Khan, President of IAMC. “The gravity of the situation in Assam can be gauged from the fact that the state has failed to provide adequate relief or create an atmosphere conducive to the return of the thousands who were displaced from their homes during the mass violence,” added Mr. Khan.

The report includes wide-ranging recommendations to bring about reconciliation between Muslims and ethnic Bodos. An important step in this direction would be a Special Investigative Team (SIT) constituted by the Supreme Court to assess proper investigation of the crimes committed, and a prosecution of the perpetrators, including their political patrons. A lasting solution to the crisis can only be possible if Constitutional guarantees of life and liberty are ensured, and members of all communities have equal access to economic opportunities and political political power. In addition, the internally displaced should be assisted in returning to their homes to avoid repeat of this occurrence. Long term stability and development of the region will remain a distant dream unless govt takes serious action to prevent social discord. The fact that even the groups that have surrendered have been allowed to retain arms is a critical impediment in the political process towards a lasting solution.

Indian-American Muslim Council (formerly Indian Muslim Council-USA) is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States with 15 chapters across the nation.

Executive Summary

The Indian State of Assam has witnessed mass violence against minorities, particularly Muslims several times in the last few decades. The area known as Bodo Territorial Administered Districts (BTAD), as well as surrounding areas in western Assam is inhabited by Muslims as well as Bodo tribals. Ethnic rivalry between these two communities has been the primary cause of mass violence against the Muslim citizens of Assam, resulting in hundreds of deaths and the displacement of over half a million inhabitants of the state.

The right to life and security, a fundamental human right guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, has been denied to countless people of Assam, due to the failure of the state polity and law enforcement to protect the Muslim citizens of the state. In many instances, the complicity of the Relief measures have been remarkably insufficient to deal with the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis, and devoid of the need to protect the dignity of the victims.

This report covers the wider context behind the violence in Assam and the motives behind the persecution of the state’s Muslim population. It also explores the mechanisms of such persecution, including the false characterization of Muslims in western Assam as “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh. Such mischaracterization has been disseminated systematically in order to whip up sectarian tensions, often times with the complicity of sections the media.

The relief camps setup to shelter the survivors have been rocked by human trafficking, sexual exploitation of young children and women, and elderly abuse. These crimes against the hapless victims continue with impunity with virtually no consequences for the perpetrators.

Appropriate judicial intervention is urgently needed to investigate the mass violence, and crimes against humanity committed against Assam’s Muslim population. The state must provide adequate relief measures for the hundreds of thousands who have lost their property and livelihood.

The state must also ensure that all citizens, regardless of religious or ethnic affiliation, have equal access to opportunities and political power. There cannot be any democratic or constitutional basis for the reservation of 75% of seats in a legislature of a specially administered region for a particular group which barely constitutes 33% of the population. Allowing various militant groups to bear arms even after they have surrendered has exacerbated the problem in the absence of an effective strategy for counterinsurgency.

Read the complete report here:

PDF - 1.2 Mb

References:

IAMC Report on ethnic cleansing in Assam
http://iamc.com/reports/ethnic-cleansing-in-assam/

Are Held and Curfew Is Imposed After Attacks on Muslims in India
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/world/asia/militants-kill-dozens-of-muslims-in-northeastern-india-police-say.html?_r=1

6 more bodies found, Assam toll rises to 43
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/6-more-bodies-found-assam-toll-rises-to-43/article1-1216636.aspx

Assam violence, nine key demands of civil organizations
http://www.indiatomorrow.net/eng/assam-violence-nine-key-demands-of-civil-organizations

Violence in Assam Has Pan-India Implications
http://thediplomat.com/2014/05/violence-in-assam-has-pan-india-implications/

India election 2014: Assam Muslims attacked for who they voted for
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-27305178

Erosion, not immigration, driving Assam violence
http://www.business-standard.com/article/elections-2014/erosion-not-immigration-driving-assam-violence-114051500259_1.html

Laxmikant Parsekar elected as the new Goa CM

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LAXMIKANT-PARSEKAR

Panaji: Goa Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar was today elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party, paving the way for his elevation as the new Chief Minister, snuffing out any challenge from Deputy CM Francis D’Souza.

Parsekar, who was unanimously elected the leader at a meeting of the BJP Legislature Party, will succeed Manohar Parrikar after he resigned earlier in the day and is set to join the Union Cabinet.

His name was proposed by Parrikar and seconded by the Deputy Chief Minister D’Souza, who had earlier staked claim to the post on ground of seniority.

However, he backed Parsekar after being mollified by the party leadership.

“Parsekar was elected the leader of the BJP Legislature Party unanimously,” said party general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy, party’s observer for the election.

Parsekar, MLA from Mandrem constituency, would be sworn-in as Chief Minister at 4 PM at Raj Bhavan today.

Earlier, Parrikar faxed his resignation to Governor Mridula Sinha at Raj Bhavan. The 58-year-old technocrat- turned politician had taken over as Chief Minister in March 2012 after BJP rode to power in the coastal state.

New Bhopal film spotlights corporate justice dodger

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‘This was not an unavoidable accident,’ says actor Martin Sheen

Image from the movie Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain

Image from the movie Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain

by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams

A new film puts the spotlight on the disaster dubbed the Hiroshima of the chemical industry.

In December 1984, a cloud of toxic gas leaked from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killing nearly 20,000 people and injuring tens of thousands more. It has been called a “calamity without end,” as the disaster left a haunting legacy of polluted soil and water, and children who continue to be born with severe birth defects.

On Friday, just weeks ahead of the 30th anniversary of the disaster, the film Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, which takes a fictionalized look at the events that led up to the infamous events, opens. The film stars acclaimed actor Martin Sheen as Warren Anderson, then-CEO of Union Carbide.

Sheen has partnered with Amnesty International to call for Union Carbide—now a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical—to be held responsible.

Amnesty International told (pdf) the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year: “The Bhopal disaster is a case study for so far unsuccessful attempts to obtain effective remedies for a gross corporate abuse of human rights.”

In a video for the human rights group, Sheen stresses how Bhopal victims have spent decades searching for justice.

“Bhopal is not just a human rights tragedy from the last century,” Sheen says in the video. “It is a human rights travesty today.”

“This was not an unavoidable accident,” he says. “There is evidence that the companies responsible for the factory site failed to take adequate precautions both before and after the leak.”

“Those who survived have faced long-term health problems, but receive little medical help. For 30 years the survivors of Bhopal have campaigned for justice, for fair compensation, health care and for Union Carbide, now owned by Dow Chemicals, to be held to account,” he continues.

As human rights advocates Bill Quigley and Alex Tuscano have summed up: “Union Carbide put profit for the corporation above the lives and health of millions of people.”

Anderson, though arrested day after the disaster, left on bail and returned to the United States. He died in September. Advocates for Bhopal victims say he died unpunished for his crimes.

Dow, which has denied responsibility for victims of the disaster, faces a November 12 court date in Bhopal.

“The time has come for Dow to appear in an Indian court and account for the failure of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Union Carbide, to respond to the criminal charges against it,” Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s Director for Global Issues, said in a statement.

A trailer for the film, which also stars Mischa Barton and Kal Penn, is below:

Manohar Parrikar quits, new Goa chief minister to be named by evening

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MANOHAR PARRIKAR

Panaji: A day ahead of being sworn in as union minister, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Saturday resigned from office.

He faxed his resignation to Governor Mridula Sinha.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also expected to announce a new chief minister for Goa after a meeting of party legislators in the evening.

BJP general secretary J.P. Nadda said the announcement will be made at 4 p.m.

“The parliamentary board meeting discussed Goa legislative assembly leadership and the Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh. The decision will be announced at 4 p.m. today (Saturday),” Nadda told reporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi and did not attend the meeting.

The party’s national observers Rajeev Pratap Rudy and B.S. Yeddyurappa will be present at the meeting in Goa to tide over the process of transition from Parrikar to the new chief minister.

While current Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Speaker Rajendra Arlekar are the top seeds for the post, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza put a spanner in the works late Friday by insisting that he would not work under either of the two leaders because they were junior to him.

D’Souza, who claimed that 12 BJP as well as independent legislators were on the same page with him on the issue, however, was more receptive to the idea of union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shripad Naik being brought to state politics and appointed as chief minister.

Efforts by Parrikar to cajole D’Souza and get him to agree to either Parsekar and Arlekar did not bear fruit, even as the senior BJP leader tried to put a brave face through the embarrassment caused by D’Souza tantrum.

“I have tried my best, now it is up to the party to decide,” Parrikar told reporters late Friday after a one-to-one meeting with D’Souza.

When asked who in his opinion could be his best successor as chief minister, Parrikar said: “Tomorrow (Saturday) at 1 o’clock on the 8th of November, you can ask.”

On Monday, Parrikar is expected to fly to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh where he will file his nomination papers to book passage to parliament through the Rajya Sabha.

With inputs from IANS

Thirthahalli: Nandita’s suicide note is not fake, say forensic experts

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Thirthahalli Nandita

Bengaluru: In a major breakthrough in probe into Nandita death case, the forensic experts have upheld the authenticity of the death note found in her note book.

The handwriting analysis of the suicide note has found that it was in fact Nandita’s writing, according to top sources in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here.

The FSL’s question document division has come to this conclusion and the report is expected to be submitted on Monday, according to sources.

Nandita, a Class 8 girl from Thirthahalli died at a private hospital in Manipal on October 31, after she allegedly consumed poison.

The parents of the girl and Sangh Parivar complained that she was allegedly abducted and poisoned by three men belonging to a different community.

However, the death note, which was later found by the police, suggested that she had decided to end her life. The family contended that the death note found by the police in one of the girl’s notebooks was fake.

The sources said the report would be submitted to the CID officials for further investigation. While the post-mortem report revealed that the victim was not sexually assaulted, the CID was waiting for the handwriting expert’s opinion.

A senior CID official, who is heading the investigation, said he had not seen the report and that he would not be able to say anything now.

“It could also have been sent to the jurisdictional police directly,” he added.

However, the local police said they had no role to play, as the case had been handed over to the CID.

Army admits to killing two teenagers in Kashmir by ‘mistake’

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Mother of one of the slain youths consoled at her Nowgam residence by relatives and neighbours. Photo: Faisal Khan

Mother of one of the slain youths consoled at her Nowgam residence by relatives and neighbours. Photo: Faisal Khan

Srinagar: The Indian Army took responsibility and apologised for the recent firing incident in Kashmir’s Budgam district in which two teenagers were killed and two other people were injured. Army men had fired at a Maruti car on Monday.

“Army fully takes responsibility for the civilian killings at Chattergam in Budgam district,” Lieutenant General D S Hooda, Army’s Northern Command chief said at a press conference on Friday.

Army said there will be a transparent probe into the firing incident.

“I assure that there will be a transparent probe in the firing incident,” he said.

Two youth – Faisal Yousuf, Mehraj-ud-din- were killed and two – Zahid Ayoub, Shakir Rehman – critically wounded when army men fired indiscriminately at a car these youth were traveling in. While one youth – Basim Amin- escaped unscathed from the car.

“See mistake has been done. Dos and don’ts of operating procedures are being constantly taught to troops. We will get to know about the incident fully once the probe is over,” Hooda said.

“We sincerely wish the incident should not have happened. Inquiry has been ordered. We have recorded testimony from 15 civilian and service witnesses. The testimonies are being examined. The inquiry will be completed within 10 days,” Hooda said.

He said that the Army shares the sorrow and grief of the families.

Following the outrage over the incident, army replaced 53 RR unit with 35 RR in Chattergam.

Army had earlier claimed that the car refused to stop at two check posts, the claim which was rejected by a government inquiry conducted after the incident.

Clashes and restrictions continue in the native place of these youth from last four days. All the youth are residents of Nowgam locality in Srinagar.

Now, city business is on Call Bengaluru

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CALL Bangalore launch photo-01

Bengaluru: The business world of Bengaluru is now in your smart phone. After Coimbatore and Kerala, Bengaluru became the third city in India to have “The only OFFLINE mobile business directory”.

Call Bengaluru, a free mobile app providing service plus business directory of Bengaluru was launched by Sam Signator. Call Bengaluru service comes a few days after Bangalore officially became Bengaluru from November 1. “we would like to highlight this point – where-by this product is Patent Registered in 142 countries. It is a very user-friendly offline search engine for business data in Bengaluru, which works both offline and online. The eco-friendly service, which has eliminated the use of bulky business directories. This product is adaptable with all the smart phones”, said Mr.Sam Challa., Chairman & Managing Director of Sam Signator which is a part of Sam Gulf International Group WLL, a 25 years old Bahrain based Group Company.

The bulky, time-consuming, non-eco friendly and tough to carry conventional printed yellow pages are outdated. Call Bengaluru is banking on smartphone users who number 45.3 lakh users besides social media users who include Android (24 lakh), iOS (3.4 lakh), Windows phone and Windows 8 (10.8 lakh) and Blackberry (6.5 lakh). This product has over 4,00,000 listings in 5,000 categories besides search for special offers and pop-up option. Updating of the data is always on auto mode. Search can be done with keywords, categorywise, company name, phone numbers and areawise. There are separate categories for public utilities, Brandex, Entertainment, Events & Exhibitions, emergency service, classifieds, tourist places, RTO helpline, metro information and airline information.

From Call Bengaluru listed addresses a customer can make a direct call, direct sms, direct email, direct link to web page, link to location map, view banner ads, video, offers and deals. User can even share the app with his associates, send business cart and view all business activities.

For those in business each listing can bring in the company name, phone numbers, location, address, email ID, Web address, brands and keywords. In term of benefits for business the services leads to increase in business enquiry, instant response from users, enquiry through e-mails and web sites, options for listing preference, banner ads and promo offers besides multiple listing facility, fast updating of information and world wide coverage.

Praniti Shinde must apologise for her ban MIM statement, says Asaduddin Owaisi

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asaduddin-owaisi

Mumbai: All India Majlis-e-Itteh-adul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly condemned the remarks made by Praniti Shinde, the Congress MLA from Solapur Central, over banning his party. He threatened to file a defamation case against the daughter of former Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, if she did not apologise for dubbing the MIM a “treasonous political party.”

Mr. Owaisi said in Hyderabad that the MIM’s success in the recent Maharashtra Assembly election had led to her outburst.

“Why is she [Praniti Shinde] calling for a ban on us now? Nobody spoke of a ban when we supported the Congress from 2004 to 2012. It was we who bailed out the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh in 2011 when the main opposition party, the Telugu Desam Party, tabled a no-confidence motion,” said Mr. Owaisi adding that Ms. Shinde’s controversial statement smacked of Congress hypocrisy.

On Wednesday, Ms Praniti had demanded a ban on the MIM saying that the party was working against the country’s interest.

“The MIM is inimical to the country’s interests. They have never tried to project their ideas on a democratic platform. I am firmly for the proscription of this party,” she said, speaking in Solapur district.

Ms. Shinde, the MLA for Solapur City Central, further said that the speeches of MIM leaders ought to be carefully studied and police action initiated against them.

“The MIM has fundamentally been against India rather than any section of the population and harboured plans for subversion,” she remarked.

“Our decision to contest the Maharashtra election and our success in Solapur has thoroughly shaken Ms. Shinde. Solapur is not the private property of the Shindes. Any party can contest elections in India anywhere,” Mr. Owaisi said.

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