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Maharashtra

Shiv Sena’s Raut alleges ED out to ‘fix’ him, asks VP to ‘rein in’ agency

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3 years ago

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In an unprecedented move, Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party Leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut has knocked the doors of Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Chairman of the upper house, with a plea to “rein in” the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and stop harassment of opposition political leaders.

Among the stunning points by Raut is how alleged cases are being on filed and probed on decades-old transactions, he was pressurised to help bring down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to force a mid-term election, and threatened with jail term along with two other state Cabinet Ministers, if he refused to cooperate.

Shooting off a 4-page letter, he has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of systematically targetting its erstwhile ally Shiv Sena leaders or persons close to them like family, relatives, friends, acquaintences by letting loose Central agencies like the ED against them.

Raut contended that the BJP used the probe agencies not only for harassment/ intimidation of leaders of other political parties but also to topple democratically-elected governments.

“This is certainly not a healthy sign for any country where democracy prevails,” pointed out Raut, who has received full support from the Sena leaders, Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress while the Aam Aadmi Party was left “amused”.

The development comes a year after independent Lok Sabha MP from Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli Mohan Delkar had made similar complaints to the Centre and later committed suicide in a Mumbai hotel in February 2021. Later his widow Kala M. Delkar won the same seat in a bypoll late last year.

Raut cited the instance of January when some persons approached him to assist ousting the MVA government of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to force a mid-term Assembly poll in the state, and when he refused to join the clandestine efforts, was warned of a fate similar to RJD leader Lalu Prasad with many years in jail, and that two Cabinet Ministers and 2 other senior state leaders would also be sent behind bars.

He said that there were two small property deals he conducted 10 and 17 years ago, which were duly declared by him in the election affidavits, and now the ED and other agencies are “probing” those deals, threatening the property sellers and their families are being harassed and threatened to give false statements against Raut or face jail or property seizure.

Referring to his daughter’s wedding in November 2021, Raut said that some 28 of the decorators and vendors have been picked up illegally, taken to the ED office where they are intimated into giving statements that he (Raut) made Rs 5 million in cash payments, warned of detention or arrest.

“In fact, some of the ED and other agencies personnel have even confessed to the very people they are summoning that they have been asked by their bosses to ‘fix’ me,” Raut said, adding how the Central agencies are reduced to puppets of their political masters.

Senior MVA leaders like Minister Aditya Thackeray, Kishore Tiwari, MP Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena), NCP’s Nawab Malik and Congress’ Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe came out in full support of Raut.

BJP’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, however,charged Raut of playing the “victim card” and said that tigers cannot be scared of wolves.

“Raut is an editor and know how to make headlines or earn mileage from them… In (PM Narendra) Modi’s government no one can victimise anyone and hence Raut is playing a victim card,” said Fadnavis.

Opposition AAP leader Preeti Sharma-Menon said she was “amused” by Raut’s allegations of “misuse/abuse of power” by Central law enforcement agencies, and the “Shiv Sena is no paragon of virtue”.

She also slammed the BJP for “vendetta driver witchhunt of Opposition leaders” through systematic misuse of central agencies like the ED, the NCB, and the CBI by subverting the criminal justice system and grossly abusing the power vested in them.

Harking to similar tactics of BJP in Delhi – where AAP is in power, she said the BJP’s “diabolic plans” came to nought and these agencies were also pulled up by the courts.

“The Sena should learn from AAP and welcome scrutiny. It must walk the talk if it has nothing to hide and emerge unscathed. Or, maybe the Sena does have skeletons, nay, an entire graveyard in its closet for such was its association with the BJP, whom it divorced only recently (2019),” said Sharma-Menon.

Raut has also warned that he would soon come up with an “expose” on the ED, while Malik said the MVA would unitedly vanquish the BJP at the Centre.

For special effects, Raut closed his letter with the famed poem penned by the legendary anti-Nazi German pastor Martin Niemoller: “First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a communist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”

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Maharashtra

It is unconstitutional to deprive SP MLA Raees Sheikh of his right to handle religious affairs under Article 26 of the Constitution

Published

47 mins ago

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April 2, 2025

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Mumbai: Maharashtra MLA Raees Sheikh has opposed the introduction of the Wakf Bill in the Lok Sabha. Raees Sheikh has strongly criticized the BJP for creating a false narrative and called the bill a misconception and unconstitutional bill which is harmful for the poor of the society.

Shaikh further said that Article 26 of the Constitution guarantees freedom to run religious institutions. It is unconstitutional to take away the right of a person to run his institution under Article 26 of the Constitution. MLA Shaikh said that this move is against the constitutional guarantee of dealing with religious matters.

Shaikh said that the BJP government is showing the UPA government that it is doing politics of appeasement of a particular community, while the BJP-led government is not doing so. This is an attempt to spread a lie that allows the community to seize any land under Waqf or claim it to be Waqf. The Waqf Board is not a private organisation of the Muslim community but a statutory body established under the Waqf Act. In the process of declaring a property as Waqf, a government surveyor conducts a survey and officially declares the property as Waqf. Sheikh remarked that it is completely wrong to present the idea that Muslims can arbitrarily declare any property as Waqf.

Shaikh further said that he strongly opposes the false image being created by the government and the government has not considered the suggestions given by Muslims or the opposition. All Waqf governing boards and trusts have been given the option to exit the Waqf framework. This has weakened the system. “This is an unimaginable and unimaginable bill that only harms the poor of the society,” Sheikh said.

He further said that some provisions, such as the condition that the person making the donation should have been a Muslim for five years, are strange. Earlier encroachment on wakf property was a non-bailable offence, but now it has been made a criminal offence

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Maharashtra

Who put up 103 out of 306 hoardings on railway land? BMC has no information. Hoarding mafia is active in Central and Western Railways.

Published

2 hours ago

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April 2, 2025

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Mumbai: A total of 306 hoardings have been put up on Central and Western Railway land in Mumbai. Of these, 179 hoardings are on Central Railway land and 127 on Western Railway land. It is noteworthy that no information is available about who has put up 68 out of 179 hoardings of Central Railway and 35 out of 127 hoardings of Western Railway. This shocking information has come to light from an investigation conducted under the Right to Information (RTI) by RTI activist Anil Gilgali.

Anil Gilgali had sought various information from the Licensing Superintendent Office of Mumbai Municipal Corporation regarding the hoardings installed in the city. In response, the Licensing Superintendent Office provided detailed information about the hoardings installed on the land of Central, Western and Harbor Railways.

127 hoardings have been installed on Western Railway land. There are 3 seats in A ward, 1 in D ward, 1 in G South, 12 in G North, 2 in K East, 1 in K West, 10 in P South and 4 in R South. 35 hoardings are on Western Railway land, which have no owner and 179 hoardings are on Central Railway land. There are 68 hoardings on Central Railway land, which are not owned by anyone. There are 5 hoardings in E ward, 10 in F South ward, 2 in G North ward, 9 in L ward and 42 in T ward, a total of 68 hoardings.

According to Anil Gilgali, it is very important for the railway administration to maintain transparency after the Ghatkopar accident. Apart from this, the rules of the Municipal Corporation should be followed completely. If these hoardings are unauthorized, then the railway administration should remove them immediately and take strict action against the people concerned. Hoarding mafia is active in Mumbai and an IAS officer was given the charge of licensing department to bring a positive impact on the new advertising policy of Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Because financial irregularities are being done deliberately and without permission.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai’s Bandra Worli Sea Link Toll Rates To Go Up By 18% From April 1

Published

7 hours ago

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April 2, 2025

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Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has announced an 18% increase in toll charges for Mumbai’s Bandra Worli Sea Link from April 1. According to media reports, this hike in toll rates is limited to-one way travel.

After the implementation of the surge rates, cars and jeeps, from Monday, will have to pay Rs 100, up from the current Rs 85.

On the other hand, minibus, tempos, and similar vehicles will have to pay Rs 160. Earlier, these vehicles paid Rs 130.

While two-axle trucks currently pay Rs 175, they will have to spend Rs 210 for a one-way trip from tomorrow.

The old rates were put in place in April 2021. The new rates will be in effect for three years – from April 1 to March 31, 2027.

The report added that the MSRDC officials announced a rebate of 10% for motorists and 20% on the purchase of booklets carrying 50 and 100 toll coupons in advance, respectively.

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link was opened to the public in 2009. The cable-stayed bridge was named after former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi. It connects Mumbai’s Worli and Bandra, making it easy for commuters to avoid congestion in Dadar, Mahim, Prabhadevi, and Worli neighbourhoods.

In a big relief to commuters, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated the Mumbai coastal road. The 9.6-km high-speed corridor also connects Worli with Marine Drive.

The coastal road has been constructed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

It proposes to connect the Marine Drive area in south Mumbai to Kandivali, a western suburb, via the existing Bandra Worli Sea Link and is expected to ease Mumbai’s northbound traffic.

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