Rift within Maharashtra govt as Shiv Sena minister backs Marathi rally, slams police crackdown
Remove Ads
Mumbai: Differences cropped up within the Maharashtra government between BJP and Shiv Sena over the issue of Hindi language and the handling of protests by Marathi outfits in the state.The disagreement came to fore when a Shiv Sena minister on Tuesday called out his own government for denying permission to MNS and other outfits wanting to carry out a ' Marathi Morcha ' in Mira Road over the language issue.Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik slammed police officials and said it was wrong to deny permission for the rally. "It is a democratic right to take out protest marches... the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and several other organisations, including MNS, had asked for permission for the rally. Police should not work at the behest of a political leader or a political party. Police is detaining those who are going to the rally... I am going to the rally, if they want they can arrest me," Sarnaik said.Sarnaik castigated his own government after the Mira Road police denied permission to MNS and Marathi Ekikaran Samiti, an outfit committed to preserving and spreading Marathi, to take out a rally. The outfits wanted to take out a rally through the same spot where a non-Marathi speaking trader was assaulted a few days ago for not being able to speak Marathi. Traders, mainly non-Marathi speaking, had observed a day-long shut down and carried out a march in Mira Road in protest. The Marathi outfits wanted to take out a "countermarch".Justifying police action, Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said: "Police asked organisers to change route as they deliberately wanted a route where there would be some confrontation (with traders)."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘It's Loktantra, not Loktantar': BJP mocks spelling error in oppn banner; protest was over Bihar SIR
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday mocked opposition for displaying a banner with incoorect spellings of 'Loktantra' (democracy) in Hindi during a protest inside the Parliament complex. In a social media post, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya highlighted the error, saying, 'It's Loktantra, not Loktantar.' "Can't blame Congress They can neither spell nor save Loktantra They believe in Parivar Tantra and Emergency! Surely they can spell and save that," BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said. The jibe came as opposition MPs, including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, staged a demonstration at Parliament's Makar Dwar over the issue of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. During the protest, MPs raised slogans against the Election Commission 's exercise while holding a large banner that read: 'SIR: Loktantra par war' (Attack on democracy). The opposition has alleged that the voter roll revision is being misused to suppress votes and disenfranchise certain sections of the population. According to the Election Commission, 98.01% of voters in Bihar have been covered under the ongoing SIR as of July 23. Officials said the process has so far identified nearly 20 lakh deceased voters, 28 lakh individuals who have permanently migrated, 7 lakh voters enrolled in multiple locations, 1 lakh untraceable voters, and about 15 lakh unreturned voter forms. The EC also noted that 7.17 crore voter forms — approximately 90.89% of the total — have been received and digitised. This is the first such revision in Bihar in 22 years. The EC says the aim of the SIR is to clean up the electoral rolls by removing ineligible, duplicate, or non-existent entries, while ensuring all eligible citizens are included.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Delhi High Court's three new judges take oath of office
Three new judges on Thursday took the oath of office, taking the strength of the Delhi High Court to 43. Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya administered the oath of office to Justices Vinod Kumar, Shail Jain and Madhu Jain. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the High Court premises. All three judicial officers, who have been elevated to the High Court, took the oath in Hindi. With their swearing-in, the High Court's strength has gone up to 43. The sanctioned strength of the High Court is 60. The Centre had on July 22 notified the appointment of three judicial officers of the Delhi district judiciary as judges of the High Court. The three officers, who joined the Delhi Judicial Service in 1992, were serving as principal district and sessions judges at various trial courts prior to their elevation — Vinod Kumar was posted at Karkardooma court, Madhu Jain at Tis Hazari court and Shail Jain at Saket court. The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai on July 1 had recommended the names of judicial officers Shail Jain and Madhu Jain as judges of the Delhi High Court. A day later, the collegium had also recommended judicial officer Kumar's name. On July 21, six other judges — Justices V. Kameswar Rao, Nitin Wasudeo Sambre, Vivek Chaudhary, Anil Kshetrapal, Arun Kumar Monga and Om Prakash Shukla — had taken the oath of office of the Delhi High Court.
Scroll.in
an hour ago
- Scroll.in
Madhya Pradesh Police asks trainees to recite Ramcharitmanas to cope with homesickness
The Madhya Pradesh Police will start daily reading sessions of the Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas for recruits at its training centres, The Indian Express reported on Thursday. The decision was reportedly taken after 300 recruits requested to be shifted to training centres closer to their home districts. Around 7,400 newly-appointed constables, sub-inspectors and deputy superintendents are undergoing training in the state, according to the Hindustan Times. Raja Babu Singh, the additional director general of police (training), told The Indian Express that Ramcharitmanas, especially the episode involving deity Ram's 14-year exile, is expected to impart lessons in living away from home to the recruits. 'Lord Ram did not return to Ayodhya for 14 years,' Singh was quoted as saying by the newspaper. 'During that time, he learned to live in the forest, built an army and overcame hardship. If we want to teach our recruits lessons, they will have to be from our local culture, which they can relate to.' On Tuesday, Singh directed district police superintendents overseeing training centres to immediately procure copies of the Ramcharitmanas and begin recitations, the Hindustan Times reported. The trainees will be asked to recite at least two chapters each night, reported The Indian Express, quoting unidentified officials. An unidentified police officer posted at a training institute said the sessions would not be mandatory for non-Hindu trainees, the Hindustan Times reported. 'The meaning of all the couplets will be explained in Hindi so that everyone can take life lessons from them,' the officer was quoted as saying. The Congress has criticised the move, stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government and its officials have a habit of 'mixing religion with everything'. 'Instead of making these trainees secular, who can respect and treat people of all religions alike, they are giving extra importance to one religion,' the Hindustan Times quoted party leader KK Mishra as saying. However, BJP Spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai defended the initiative and said that 'trainees are being prepared to get ready for every kind of challenge and Lord Ram is the best example of surviving in the forest while fighting against demons'.
