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Maharashtra

80-hour regime: Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis ‘ko gussa kyun aata hai’

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Thirty months after BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar suddenly took oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively, in the morning of November 23, 2019, that incident continues to haunt and embarrass them.

Despite their best efforts to chase away the ghost of that clandestine swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan that morning, it keeps popping up frequently in the most unexpected ways — this time raked up by none other than Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray himself at his huge rally on May 14.

Replying to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s criticism, Thackeray declared that he allied with the Congress (and NCP) openly, not in an ‘early morning’ oath-taking ceremony of the 80-hour-long two-man regime — and his words pierced the target.

Willy-nilly, the CM also hinted at the ‘real secret’ behind why the Central probe agencies like the CBI, ED, NCB, I-T and the NIA keep hounding only the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party leaders for over two years.

The Shiv Sena President thundered saying if the BJP and MNS do not stop their vicious politics, hounding by the Central agencies, lodging false cases against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government leaders or their families, then “we won’t forgive or spare you”.

“Tomorrow, they will go after Dawood (Ibrahim Kaskar) but if he joins them, he will be made a cabinet minister… If that (2-man govt) ‘experiment’ had succeeded, then people like Anil Dashmukh or Nawab Malik would have been in your good books,” said Thackeray amid applause.

As the MVA government trudges to the mid-way mark in its five year term, BJP’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis continues to cry over the spilt milk, his ‘birth-right’ to power that he was unceremoniously deprived of after the 2019 Assembly elections.

The Ajit Pawar-Fadnavis duo has been lampooned and ridiculed since that indiscretion in Raj Bhavan, sans any trappings, but with the drapes drawn tightly to keep off peeping-toms prying at the political hustle enacted that dawn when the groggy state was engaged in its morning ablutions.

Once, displaying rare courage, Fadnavis confessed that “it should not have happened”, and again hammered Thackeray for ‘backstabbing BJP’ to grab power with the help of the Congress-NCP.

Even the much-pilloried Ajit Pawar, painted as a ‘black sheep’, feebly tried to justify the swearing-in event, saying it was not in the early morning as speculated, but “at 8 a.m.”, though later the NCP hugged him and rewarded him with the same post as Fadnavis did for 80 hours!

Wily Uncle and NCP President Sharad Pawar also never missed an opportunity to take a swipe at the dawn ceremony in his characteristic style.

In late-2020, when Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari published a coffee table book, Pawar wrote to him how everything was there in his coffee table book “except a particular swearing-in ceremony”.

Congress state President Nana Patole also took a potshot saying Ajit Pawar was to “explain” it at an appropriate time, but has nothing till date.

“So much water has flowed under the bridge… We 3 parties are now working together, the government is running well… Why do you keep raising it repeatedly,” an irked Ajit Pawar said of that 80-hour fling, Monday.

There have been heated exchanges inside the Maharashtra legislature and outside with the MVA leaders laughing and leering at that morning venture while livid unrepentant BJP leaders shielding it.

Maharashtra

Accused of beating blind woman in disabled compartment of Mumbai local train arrested

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Mumbai: The Railway PRP has claimed to have arrested Mohammad Ismail Hassan Ali for allegedly beating up a blind woman in a disabled compartment in a Mumbai local train. Mohammad Ismail Hassan Ali was travelling in a disabled compartment with his pregnant wife and 10-year-old daughter in a train departing from Mumbai’s CST railway station. During this, a blind woman, 33, entered the compartment. Other passengers requested Hassan Ali to give up his seat for the disabled woman. He refused. During this, the victim abused him, so Hassan Ali, 40, got angry and started beating up the woman. Somehow, the passengers in the compartment saved the blind woman and the beating went viral on social media, after which comments on it also started on social media. Taking notice of this, Kalyan GRP took action and arrested Mohammad Ismail Hassan, a resident of Mumbra, and the matter has been handed over to the police for further investigation. A case has also been registered against Hassan Ali for traveling in a disabled compartment without any excuse, assaulting, and violating the rights of a blind passenger.

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Maharashtra

Traffic police collect fines worth over Rs. 556 crore

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‎Mumbai: Through the ‘Mumbai One State One Challan’ digital portal, the Mumbai Traffic Police Department has collected challans worth a whopping Rs 556 crore 64 lakh 21 thousand 950 (₹5,564,219,050) between January 1, 2024 and February 28, 2025. This revelation came through an RTI application. During the said period, a total of 1,81,613 online complaints were received on the portal, out of which 1,07,850 complaints were rejected. That is, about 59% of the complaints were rejected.

Right to Information (RTI) activist Anil Galgali had sought information from the Mumbai Traffic Police on e-challan complaints. According to Mumbai Traffic Police, the classification of complaints received based on vehicle types (such as two-wheelers, four-wheelers, goods vehicles, passenger vehicles, etc.) is not available on the ‘One State One Challan’ portal, due to which it is currently impossible to analyse the action taken on specific vehicle categories.
‎Complaint Investigation Procedure:

‎All complaints are investigated at the Multimedia Cell, Traffic Headquarters, Worli, Mumbai. It involves examining the images of the vehicle and the visual evidence around it. If the images or evidence are not clear, it is sent to the concerned traffic department or police station for investigation. The final decision to uphold or cancel the challan will be taken only after receiving the local investigation report.
‎RTI activist Anil Galgali said that it is the need of the hour that the e-challan system should be transparent. Citizens should be given a full and fair opportunity to present their views and every complaint should be investigated fairly and thoroughly.

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health

Maharashtra reports two Covid-linked deaths, govt urges citizens not to panic

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Mumbai, May 21: Maharashtra has reported two Covid-related deaths since January this year, the state health department has said, adding that the two were patients with comorbidities.

The department, late Tuesday night, stated that both deaths were reported from Mumbai and involved patients with comorbidities (simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions in a person). One of the deceased had nephrotic syndrome with hypocalcemia seizure, while the other was a cancer patient.

According to the health department, a total of 6,066 swab samples have been examined for coronavirus since January, of which 106 tested positive for the infectious disease. Of these, 101 were from Mumbai and the remaining from Pune, Thane, and Kolhapur. Currently, 52 patients are undergoing treatment for mild symptoms, while 16 are being treated at hospitals.

“A spike in Covid-19 cases is not only being seen in Maharashtra, but also in other states and even other countries,” said the health department release.

“Covid is a disease caused by a virus. Currently, the ILI (Influenza-like Illness) and SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infection) survey is going on in Maharashtra for Covid. In that survey, such patients are tested for Covid. These Covid patients are being treated regularly after testing positive, Covid cases are currently rare in the state. Mild symptoms are being found in Covid patients. Covid testing and treatment facilities are available through the health department. Therefore, the public is urged not to panic,” said the release.

Earlier, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday said, “Covid-19 is now considered an endemic and an ongoing health problem. As the virus has become established at the community level, cases are now sporadic and very rare.

In recent days, the number of Covid cases has been increasing in Singapore, Hong Kong, East Asia and other countries. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s health department is constantly monitoring the spread of Covid to keep it under control. “The number of patients has been very low from January to April. Some patients have been seen since May; however, the BMC administration is appealing to the citizens not to panic in this regard,” said the release.

According to BMC, treatment and guidance facilities are available in the civic hospitals, including Seven Hills Hospital with 20 beds (MICU), 20 beds for children and pregnant women and 60 general beds. Also, Kasturba Hospital has 2 intensive care (ICU) beds and a special ward of 10 beds with a provision to increase the capacity immediately.

“Common symptoms of Covid-19 include fever, cough (dry or with phlegm), sore or achy throat, fatigue, body aches, and headache. Symptoms may also include a runny nose and a loss of taste or smell. These symptoms can often be similar to those of a common cold and can vary from person to person. In severe cases, difficulty in breathing is a major warning sign,” said the BMC advisory.

The BMC further said that Covid-19 can be prevented by taking proper precautions. Especially patients with serious illnesses and low immunity, e.g., cancer, the elderly, diabetes, high blood pressure, and liver disease, should take proper precautions. BMC has urged the citizens to consult a municipal clinic, hospital, or family doctor if they find symptoms like fever, cough (dry or with phlegm), sore or achy throat, fatigue, body aches, and headache.

The Corporation has also appealed to the citizens to wear a mask in public if found with symptoms, keep a distance from others, wash hands frequently with soap and water and follow a proper diet and take rest.

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