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Uddhav Thackeray backs Rahul Gandhi’s claims on Maha elections, says ‘masks off’ in Saamana

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Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai, June 10: Shiv Sena (UBT) has targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of ‘match-fixing’ in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, stating that a fiery ‘demon has entered the ruling party’.

Thackeray camp claimed that Rahul Gandhi has exposed the corrupt handshake of the BJP and the Election Commission of India. The ‘makeup’ of people like Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was spoiled because of this. Before shaking the dust off the faces of others, they should look at their own faces in the mirror. Now the makeup is completely off.

In a scathing editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Thackeray camp said that Rahul Gandhi is sitting on the constitutional post of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. “When Modi-Shah was in power, they did not allow Congress to get the post of Leader of Opposition, but this time the people gave strength to Rahul Gandhi, and he became the Leader of Opposition. Therefore, considering his allegations as mere complaints, the Election Commission should take ‘suo motu’ action, but will Modi-Shah allow it? That is the question.”

“Rahul Gandhi expressed his views on the Maharashtra Assembly elections through democratic means. For this, he wrote articles in many newspapers of the country and gave detailed information about how the Election Commission stole the Maharashtra elections. Maharashtra defeated Modi and company in the Lok Sabha elections. The dream of ‘Ab ki baar char sao par’ was lost because of Maharashtra. Maharashtra’s determination was so strong. After that, the Assembly elections were held within six months. However, in this election, Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena did not get even 50 seats together. How can such a reversal happen in just six months after the Lok Sabha elections? Does anyone understand this? Rahul Gandhi revealed in his article how all this match-fixing took place in the Maharashtra elections with the help of the Election Commission, how all this is harmful to democracy and how the same ‘match-fixing’ pattern will be implemented in the Bihar Assembly elections coming after Maharashtra,” said the editorial.

The Shiv Sena(UBT) said in the editorial that the Modi government did many tricks to control the Maharashtra Assembly elections, including getting whatever panel it wanted in the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi talked about the scams in the voter list and the increase in voters by 60-70 lakh, and also voting after 5 p.m. He raised this crucial question.

“Rahul Gandhi’s demand is simple. One of his demands is to publish a consolidated digital machine-readable voter list for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections of all states, including Maharashtra, and the other is to make public all the CCTV footage of polling stations in Maharashtra after 5 p.m. Instead of directly answering Rahul Gandhi’s questions, the Election Commission has appointed BJP leaders as lawyers. Since Rahul Gandhi wrote an article, Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis tried to answer Rahul Gandhi by writing an article. It is a serious matter for a political party to advocate for the Election Commission. Again, Fadnavis took the support of Urdu poetry for this. Since the results of the Maharashtra elections were a robbery, Fadnavis, the main beneficiary of this robbery, became possessed and started speaking in Urdu,” said the Thackeray camp.

“You kept making this mistake, there was dust on your face, and you kept wiping your eyes, Fadnavis said about Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi’s arrows have penetrated the hearts of Fadnavis and others. The Election Commission murdered the Constitution. To gain power in Maharashtra, Amit Shah split the two regional parties, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress, and it was approved without considering the 10th schedule of the Anti-Defection Act. All this is unconstitutional,” claimed the editorial.

“Handing over the original party Shiv Sena to the ‘unknown’ upstart Eknath Shinde with the bow and arrow symbol and in the same way putting the Nationalist Congress Party in the pocket of Ajit Pawar during Sharad Pawar’s lifetime was part of the conspiracy to steal the Assembly elections in Maharashtra. The Election Commission participated in this organised crime. Now, the Election Commission is advising Rahul Gandhi to file a written complaint about his objections. This is a cowardly attempt to clean the mud from its face. The people of the Bharatiya Janata Party are seen cleaning the dirt from the face of the Election Commission. Many complaints and objections have been registered with the Election Commission after the results of the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Election Commission, which is slow to take action on them, is pretending to be lenient about Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, saying, “Rahul should give his allegations in writing. Then we will see,” said the editorial.

Business

Adani Green Energy Sales Jump 42% In Q1, Operational RE Capacity Reaches 15.8 GW

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Key Highlights:

– Energy sales rose 42 percent YoY to 10,479 million units in Q1 FY26.

– Operational RE capacity reached 15.8 GW, the highest in India.

– EBITDA surged 31 percent to Rs 3,108 crore, backed by new greenfield projects.

Ahmedabad: Adani Green Energy Ltd’s (AGEL) energy sales surged 42 per cent (year-on-year) in the April-June quarter (Q1 FY26) to 10,479 million units, as operational renewable energy (RE) capacity grew 45 per cent to 15.8 GW which continues to be India’s largest, the company said on Monday.

While revenue growth increased by 31 per cent (on-year) to Rs 3,312 crore, EBITDA also went up by 31 per cent to Rs 3,108 crore.

According to the Adani Group company, cash profit surged by 25 per cent (on-year) to Rs 1,744 crore in the quarter.

“During Q1 FY26, we added 1.6 GW of greenfield renewable energy capacity, bringing our total increase to 4.9 GW over the past year — an achievement unmatched in India’s transition toward clean energy,” said Ashish Khanna, CEO of Adani Green Energy.

“Our investments in the massive RE development at Khavda in Gujarat as well as other resource-rich sites are delivering results both in terms of superior operational performance and industry-best EBITDA margins,” he said, adding that the company is on track to achieve its 2030 target of 50 GW RE capacity — with at least 5 GW of hydro pumped storage along with battery storage.

Strong revenue, EBITDA, and cash profit growth are primarily backed by robust greenfield capacity addition, deployment of advanced RE technologies, superior plant performance and deployment of new capacities in resource-rich sites in Khavda (Gujarat) and Rajasthan.

“Further, battery storage is also a key part of our future strategy. We remain committed to supporting national energy transition and security ambitions as well as maintaining our ESG leadership, highlighted by our top rankings in the FTSE Russel ESG assessment and recognition at the Reuters Global Energy Transition Awards 2025,” Khanna noted.

AGEL has consistently generated electricity exceeding the overall annual commitment under the power purchase agreements (PPA). In Q1 FY26, AGEL’s PPA-based electricity generation was 31 per cent of the annual commitment.

The company is developing a massive 30 GW renewable energy plant at Khavda in Gujarat. This is spread over an area of 538 sq km, almost 5 times the city of Paris.

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Crime

ED books 29 celebrities for endorsing betting apps

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Hyderabad, July 10: The Enforcement Directorate has booked 29 celebrities in Telugu states for endorsing betting apps.

The central agency has filed an ECIR against 29 actors, influencers, and YouTubers for allegedly promoting illegal betting platforms, in violation of the Public Gambling Act, 1867.

The probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, has been taken up based on five FIRs filed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Film actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash and Manchu Lakshmi, and Ananya Nagella are among those who have been booked by the ED.

The names of TV actors, TV hosts and social media influencers like Sreemukhi, Shyamala, and Varshini Sounderajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shoba Shetty, Amrutha Chowdary, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Pandu, Padhmavathi, Harsha Sai and Bayya Sunny Yadav also figure in the list.

Most of these celebrities were earlier booked by the Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police. FIRs were registered against them at Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad, Suryapet, and Visakhapatnam police stations.

The ED suspects endorsements of platforms like Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch, Lotus365, and others involved laundering of large sums through paid promotions.

The ECIR has been booked under BNS sections 318 (4), 112 r/w 49, Telangana Gaming Act sections 3, 3 (A), 4, IT Act 2000 and 2008 section 66D.

In March, Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj and others were booked by Cyberabad police for allegedly promoting betting apps. They, however, clarified that they are not promoting any illegal app.

While Rana Daggubati and Vijay Devarakonda stated that they endorsed only legally permitted online skill-based games, Prakash Raj said he did not renew a contract to promote an app in 2017 after realising that he should not have done it.

A case against six actors and 19 social media influencers was registered at the Miyapur Police Station of Cyberabad Commissionerate in March.

The police registered the case on a complaint by one Phanidra Sharma, a resident of Miyapur, who stated that he found several celebrities and social media influencers actively promoting illegal betting apps, websites and other platforms. The complainant said promotion of betting apps was causing harm to individuals and society by encouraging this addictive, short-term, risky money-making behaviour, leading to financial distress.

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Crime

2002 import-export fraud case: CBI takes custody of Monika Kapoor in US

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New Delhi, July 9: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken the custody of Monika Kapoor, an alleged economic offender, in the US and will bring her back to India, ending an over two-decade-long run from the law, officials said on Wednesday.

The development comes after Kapoor’s extradition from the US.

The CBI in a press release said the chase has ended after two decades “with the successful extradition of Fugitive Ms. Monika Kapoor, who is accused in a 2002 Import-Export fraud and was on run since then, from USA.”

According to the information provided by the Central agency, fugitive Monika Kapoor, Prop. of M/s Monika Overseas in conspiracy with her brothers, namely Rajan Khanna and Rajiv Khanna forged export documents viz. Shipping Bills, Invoices and Bank Certificates of Export and Realisation during the year 1998.

She obtained six Replenishment (Rep.) Licenses for the import of duty-free gold worth Rs 2.36 crore.

“In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, they sold the said Rep. Licenses to M/s Deep Exports, Ahmedabad, on premium. M/s Deep Exports, Ahmedabad utilised the said licenses and imported duty-free gold, which caused a loss to the Government Exchequer to the extent of Rs 1.44 crore during the year 1998,” the press release mentioned.

The CBI, on the completion of the investigation, filed a charge sheet on March 31, 2004, against Monika Kapoor, Rajan Khanna, and Rajeev Khanna under sections 120-B r/w 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, District Court Saket, New Delhi, vide order dated December 20, 2017, had convicted Rajan Khanna and Rajeev Khanna.

The CBI said the accused, Monika Kapoor, did not join the investigation and trial; she was declared a proclaimed offender by the trial court on February 13, 2006. The Ld. Trial Court had issued an open non-bailable warrant of arrest on April 26, 2010, and a Red Corner Notice was also issued against her.

A request for extradition was sent by the CBI on October 19, 2010, to the US authorities. Following intense coordination with authorities in the US, a CBI team travelled to the country to take custody of the fugitive.

This extradition marks a major breakthrough in the pursuit of justice and reiterates CBI’s commitment to bringing fugitives to face the law in India, irrespective of international boundaries.

The CBI team is returning to India with the fugitive. Monika Kapoor is being produced before the concerned court and will now face the trial.

The press release said that the CBI remains steadfast in its mission to combat economic crimes and will continue to pursue all legal avenues to ensure that the fugitives are brought to justice.

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