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As bulldozer politics enters Delhi, Congress accuses BJP of bigotry

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 Ahead of the Delhi civic polls, bulldozer politics has entered the national capital both physically and politically. The BJP, AAP and the Congress are at loggerheads since the BJP ruled civic body in Delhi started bulldozing illegal structures in Jahangirpuri and then initiating an anti-encroachment drive in places like Shaheen Bagh.

The Congress and AAP local leaders have opposed the drive in Shaheen Bagh but the Congress is more vocal than Delhi’s ruling party, the AAP. However, on Friday Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia of the AAP wrote a letter to the Union Home Minister asking that the demolition drive be stopped as it will affect 60 lakh people.

Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala reacting to the drive said, “The bulldozer of bigotry, superstition, sectarianism, fanaticism, injustice and intolerance heaped upon the Nation by the BJP government has to a large extent trampled upon India’s march ahead.”

“The issues of Development-Progress-Prosperity-Education-Schools-Roads-Hospitals-Infrastructure-Industry-Employment-Agriculture are no longer electoral issues in our country.”

He said that the BJP is not looking at the issues which are relevant to the country. The “BJP sponsored issues are Shamshan/Kabristan, Bulldozer, Loudspeaker, Mandir vs Masjid vs Church vs Gurudwara, changing names of roads and monuments, creating division on the basis of clothing and food habits.”

The politics of bulldozers which started from Uttar Pradesh is taking a pan-India turn with many states ruled by the BJP initiating this from Assam to Madhya Pradesh. However the BJP has defended this move of bulldozers. BJP leader Adesh Gupta blamed the “Bangladeshis and Rohingyas for the violent clashes”, and asked the North Delhi Mayor to remove illegal encroachments in the area. Later he also asked the other two Mayors to remove the encroachments.

However, it is not that there is no opposition. More than a dozen civil society organisations and political parties took out a procession on April 11 to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s residence protesting against the anti-encroachment drive in the national capital.

Holding placards and raising slogans, as the citizen groups marched ahead a large police force stopped them much before the road leading to the LG’s residence. The protesters also shouted slogans against “rising” communalism.

The protesters also included Left wing organisations such as the CPI, CPI(M), CPI (ML), AIFB and RSP.

All India Kisan Mahasabha Secretary Purushottam Mishra told IANS: “This is a demonstration to protest action against the poor of the country. This is not an action against illegal encroachments but an attempt to divide the Hindu and Muslim communities and a campaign for corporates to loot the common man.”

“The government is trying to distract the common man by raising communal politics. We will raise our voice against it across the country. We shall organise demonstrations throughout May,” he said.

However the Congress and the AAP were caught unawares as the BJP seems to have set the agenda for the MCD polls through Shaheen Bagh — famous for its month long anti-CAA protest.

Local AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan was arrested on Thursday for blocking MCD officials, but Congress leaders in Shaheen Bagh continue to accuse the BJP and the AAP of ‘fixing’. Khan was granted bail on Friday.

It blamed the civic body and staged high octane protests after a MCD team reached Shaheen Bagh to raze “illegal” structures in the area on Monday. Congress leader Parvez Alam Khan, Vice Chairman of the Delhi Congress’ Media Department, who was detained by the police said that the local MLA came late after the Congress started protesting; he should have spoken to the administration but “the AAP and the BJP are in match fixing”.

“Why is Adesh Gupta (Delhi BJP chief) issuing orders, this means the mayors are incompetent,” he said.

National News

Good news for Mumbaikars… Now BMC will build houses like Mahada and the sale will be like a lottery, they will be available in these areas including Andheri

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Mumbai: The BMC, which is struggling for new sources of income, has found a new way. According to the new development plan (DP), the BMC will earn money by selling the houses given to the builders on large plots through lottery. The BMC will start the lottery process for 184 houses. A senior official said that these houses will cost around Rs 150 crore. The BMC will sell these houses at a slightly higher price than the ready reckoner house. So far, the BMC has got about 110 houses, the rest will be given to the owner tomorrow. Significantly, the new development plan creates 20% of the houses in BMC on large plots of more than 4000 square meters and it is necessary to give them to people belonging to the following class.

The BMC will get these houses from builders in Kanjarmarg, Byculla, Borivali and Andheri areas. The buildings are now ready on the plot, which was approved after the approval of the new development plan (DP) in 2018. According to an official, “We are taking this initiative to fulfil the dream of providing housing to everyone in Mumbai. In the coming months, we will acquire another 300-400 houses, which we will then offer to the public through a lottery.” The BMC has decided to follow the same process as MHADA for selling houses through a lottery. According to an official, the BMC will complete the registration and other paperwork for the lottery, just like MHADA. The lottery will then take place. “We are also considering approaching MHADA for a lottery for these houses. MHADA has a complete system for conducting the lottery, whereas we have to develop it from scratch.”

The BMC has planned several new infrastructure projects in the last few years. Currently, the BMC has only Rs 70,000 crore in reserves. Experts say that the cost of completing these projects is estimated at Rs 2 lakh crore (about $200 million). Therefore, the BMC is in dire need of funds. In this regard, the BMC is trying to find new sources to increase its revenue at all costs.

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National News

1st Test: Jadeja, Kuldeep, Siraj strike as India eye innings win, reduce WI to 66/5

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Ahmedabad, Oct 4: Ravindra Jadeja continued his dream run in the longer format with figures of 3-30, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj struck with a scalp each as India tightened their march towards an innings win over the West Indies in the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.

At lunch on day three, India have left the West Indies reeling at 66/5 in 27 overs, with the visitors’ still trailing by 220 runs and the prospect of an innings defeat looming large. Jadeja has a chance to pick a five-for after hitting an unbeaten 104, as India declared their first innings at 448/5 in 128 overs before day three got underway.

After not opting to give Nitish Kumar Reddy a hit with the bat and instead pushing for a swift finish, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj set the tone with a probing new-ball spell. Siraj also produced a snorter to beat Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s edge before dismissing him with a short ball.

The wicket was also made possible due to Nitish’s athleticism at square leg – diving full stretch to pouch a stunning catch airborne – something which can become a viral Instagram reel in what was an exceptional session of catching for India.

Jadeja then took over to remove John Campbell with a ball that drifted in and took the outside edge via extra bounce to forward short leg. He followed it up with a clever change in flight to trap Brandon King, who had earlier driven him for four but was lured into a mistimed poke to slip.

Kuldeep chipped in with the dismissal of Roston Chase – beating him with a legbreak that didn’t turn before crashing into off-stump. Jadeja had his third wicket of the session when Shai Hope was undone by extra bounce on a backfoot cut and Yashasvi Jaiswal held on to a sharp chance at backward point.

Amidst the procession, young Alick Athanaze stood tall by showcasing his skill against spin with decisive footwork and calculated strokeplay. His reverse sweeps and cover drives led him to be unbeaten on 27, while Justin Greaves showed some resistance at the other end to be not out on 10. It would be interesting to see for how long West Indies can fight it out in the face of a relentless Indian bowling line-up.

Brief Scores: West Indies 162 and 66/5 in 27 overs (Alick Athanaze 27 not out, John Campbell 14; Ravindra Jadeja 3-30, Kuldeep Yadav 1-15) lead India 448/5 dec in 128 overs (Dhruv Jurel 125, Ravindra Jadeja 104 not out; Roston Chase 2-90, Jayden Seales 1-53) by 220 runs.

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Bollywood

Mumbai: Farhan Akhtar’s Family Driver Misuses Actor’s Cards To Fill His Pockets, Booked For ₹12 Lakh Fraud

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Mumbai: The police have registered a case against the driver of actor Farhan Akhtar’s mother, Honey Irani, and an employee of a petrol pump near Bandra Lake. The accused driver, Naresh Singh, 35, used Akhtar’s cards to fill fuel in Irani’s cars. However, he merely swiped the cards at the petrol pump and an employee there, Arun Singh, 52, gave him cash after keeping his share for the deal.

On October 1, Irani’s manager filed a complaint with the Bandra police against Singh and the petrol pump employee for allegedly cheating them of Rs 12 lakh. According to the FIR, Irani’s manager, Diya Bhatia, 36, while checking the fuel accounts, discovered that a Maruti car with a diesel capacity of 35t was recorded as having received 621t.

When Bhatia questioned Singh, he gave unsatisfactory answers, claiming he only had one card to fill petrol and diesel. The manager examined the cards’ history. She discovered that Singh had used three cards, all registered under Akhtar’s name. She further found that Singh had purchased vehicle oil for a car that had been sold seven years ago. She arranged a meeting with Trani, during which Singh confessed to cheating them.

Singh revealed that in 2022, he obtained three cards from Akhtar’s former driver, Santosh Kumar. After obtaining the cards, he always filled petrol and diesel at the SV Road petrol pump near Bandra Lake, where he conspired with the petrol pump employee. Singh frequently swiped the cards without filling petrol or diesel and was given cash after a deduction of Rs 1,000- 1500.

A case has been registered under Sections 318 (criminal breach of trust), 418 (cheating), and 3(5) (general provisions) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

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