Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday stalled the move of the Purba Medinipur district authorities to demolish 140 hotels built illegally on the sea beach of Mandarmani, a well-placed source said.

The CM, who was unhappy since the state secretariat was “not informed” of the order beforehand, said no bulldozers would be allowed, according to the source.

The directive of the district authorities was issued following a National Green Tribunal order regarding the violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone by these hotels.

Banerjee, the bureaucrat said, gave strong instruction that “bulldozers will not be allowed anywhere in the state”.

“The CM is very very unhappy with the development at Mandarmani beach. She has directed that no such activity will be allowed there. The notice was issued by the district administration without consulting or informing the state secretariat. In fact, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant was also not informed,” he told PTI.

The Purba Medinipore district administration recently issued a demolition notice to 140 hotels in Mandarmani, a popular seaside destination.

“Regarding Coastal Regulation Zone violation by hotels/resorts and homestays in Mandarmani, Purba Medinipur, all stakeholders are hereby directed to demolish and clean your illegal construction by November 11, otherwise legal action will be taken,” the notice, a copy of which is with PTI, read.

The order, however, is yet to be executed.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman on Wednesday revealed that the Argentina football team, including legendary player Lionel Messi, will visit the state next year for an international match.

Addressing a press conference here, the minister stated that the match would be conducted under the complete supervision of the state government.

“All the financial assistance for organising this high-profile football event will be provided by the merchants of the state,” the minister said, expressing confidence in Kerala’s ability to host the historic occasion.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday cast his vote in Mumbai, and urged people to exercise their franchise by coming out in large numbers in order to “protect the self respect of Maharashtra”.

Thackeray cast vote with his wife Rashmi and sons Aaditya and Tejas in Bandra East.

“Vote in large numbers and protect the self-respect of Maharashtra,” the former chief minister said.

Thackeray’s nephew Varun Sardesai is in the fray from the Bandra East assembly constituency. This is the first time that Uddhav Thackeray and his family members are voting for their relative.

Aaditya Thackeray is seeking his re-election from the Worli seat in the city that he currently represents.

New Delhi: Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark has been crowned Miss Universe for the year 2024, marking her country’s first win at the international beauty pageant.

The 73rd edition of the pageant, which saw participation by more than 120 contestants, was held on Saturday night at the Mexico City Arena.

Miss Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina placed second, whereas Miss Mexico Maria Fernanda Beltran came in third.

“A new era begins! Congratulations to Denmark, our 73rd Miss Universe. May your reign inspire and empower women worldwide. #73MissUniverseCompetition,” read a post on the official Instagram page of Miss Universe.

Theilvig, an animal protection advocate who works in the diamond selling business, was crowned by Miss Universe 2023 Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua.

Rhea Singha, who represented India at the 73rd edition of the competition, was called into the list of top 30 contestants.

The event kickstarted with a performance by mariachi musicians and singer Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas on “Mexicana”, a song created by Emilio Estefan for the contest.

Miss Universe 2024 was hosted by Mario Lopez, Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo, presenter Zuri Hall, and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.

The gala, hosted for the third time in Mexico, also had first-time representatives in countries such as Belarus, Eritrea, Guinea, Macau, Maldives, Moldova and Uzbekistan.

Latur: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of spreading disinformation in Maharashtra, asserting that his party has implemented all its poll guarantees in the southern state.

Addressing a press conference, he expressed confidence that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), will win the November 20 assembly elections and give Maharashtra a better government.

He said the Congress government in Karnataka has implemented its five key guarantees, including Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to homemakers, loan waivers up to Rs 3 lakh for farmers, Rs 25 lakh health insurance per family, Rs 4,000 monthly allowance for unemployed youth, and free bus travel for women.

The funds are being directly credited to women’s bank accounts, said the Congress leader.

“The skyrocketing inflation has burdened citizens immensely,” said Shivakumar, and slammed the BJP over the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Sindhudurg district in August.

“They even misused funds for this. As a citizen, I feel ashamed,” he said.

He also accused the BJP of not fulfilling its earlier promises, including a railway coach factory in Latur that was supposed to create 50,000 jobs.

“Not a single coach has been produced, nor has anyone gained employment,” he said, alleging that the BJP and PM Modi are running a disinformation campaign.

The Karnataka deputy CM predicted that MVA would win over 175 of the state’s 288 assembly seats and appealed to people to elect late CM Vilasrao Deshmukh’s sons Amit Deshmukh and Dhiraj Deshmukh in Latur City and Latur Rural constituencies, respectively.

He also released the ‘Latur Report’, detailing sitting MLA Amit Deshmukh’s contributions to the constituency from 2019 to 2024.

BJP has nominated Archana Patil Chakurkar, daughter-in-law of former Union home minister Shivraj Patil, and Ramesh Kashiram Karad in Latur City and Latur Rural seats, respectively.

Pune: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday likened the BJP and RSS to “poison” and termed them as “politically most dangerous” in India.

Addressing a rally in Sangli on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly polls concluded, Kharge used the “killing the poisonous snake” analogy in his speech.

“If there is anything which is politically the most dangerous in India is the BJP and RSS. They are like poison. If a snake bites, the person (who is bitten) dies…such a poisonous snake should be killed,” said Kharge.

He targeted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the death of 10 newborns in a fire at a medical college.

Without naming Vishal Patil, the Congress rebel and Independent MP from Sangli, Kharge accused him of betraying the party and supporting his sister-in-law, who is contesting as an Independent nominee in the November 20 assembly elections.

In a dig at BJP, Kharge said the number of leaders who campaigned in Maharashtra polls outnumbered the number of candidates of the saffron party in the fray.

“The Prime Minister, Home Minister (Amit Shah) and other leaders have come here. Today, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was also here. No idea what happened to him. In UP, in a fire at a hospital in Jhansi, 10 kids died. Despite that, his rallies in Maharashtra didn’t stop,” the Congress president said.

Kharge took potshots at PM Narendra Modi for holding rallies for state-level elections.

This is an election for assembly and not to elect the prime minister of the country, he said, adding that his (Modi’s) “thirst for authority” is unsatiated.

He slammed Modi for not visiting strife-torn Manipur and instead travelling abroad.

“Modi was here till yesterday. Today he is abroad. Manipur is burning, people are dying, adivasi women are disrespected, and women are raped but Modi never visited Manipur. He is on foreign tours. Today he is also visiting a country. I want to tell him first to look after your home. Make the country strong first. You can go anywhere later,” Kharge added.

He questioned the output of Modi’s meetings with Donald Trump, Pakistan’s prime minister, and presidents of Russia and China from India’s perspective.

The 83-year-old leader said his age didn’t stop him from supporting the Congress’ ideology and meeting people.

“There are leaders who were given positions by the party and benefited. We are not criticising anyone but if the Congress party is giving you everything, you should not betray it,” said Kharge in an apparent dig at Vishal Patil.

Kharge said the Congress didn’t want any rift in the family of (former chief minister) late Vasantdada Patil, who hailed from Sangli.

“I was told that the Lok Sabha MP from Sangli (Vishal Patil) won with the support of Congress party and Congress party has re-inducted him with respect,” he said.

Kharge said he respects the woman candidate who is contesting as an Independent because of her association with Congress.

“I had promised and told Ramesh Chennithala (Maharashtra Congress incharge) that we will offer whatever she wants after the elections. We sent Chennithala and KC Venugopal to talk to them as we did not want any rift in Vasantdada Patil’s house and Sangli,” he added.

Kharge said his assurances, however, didn’t work.

Jayashree Patil, from former chief minister Vasantdada Patil’s family, has entered the fray as an independent candidate from Sangli against Congress nominee Prithviraj Patil.

“It is difficult to wake up those people who are pretending to sleep,” Kharge added.