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Bengal Assembly polls: Will Cong go solo or stitch alliance with Left Front

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Kolkata, March 12: After Trinamool Congress announced not to ally with the grand old party in the West Bengal Assembly polls, it is to be seen whether Congress will forge an alliance with the Left Front or go it alone.

Sources in the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) said there is a divided house in the grand old party over the alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front.

“Those against any understanding to continue in the 2026 Assembly polls have their logic. Congress first had an alliance with Trinamool Congress in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and 2011 Assembly elections. Their logic is that Trinamool Congress constantly weakened Congress in West Bengal by poaching the latter’s elected public representatives one after another,” said a senior state Congress leader.

“This section also feels that the seat-sharing arrangement with Left Front, which started since 2016 Assembly polls and continued till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had blurred the vision of the state Congress leadership to strengthen its organisational strength in the state and instead depend entirely on the seat-sharing arrangement with Left Front,” the leader said.

However, the state Congress leader added that there is an opposite view within the state unit of the party in this matter.

“They feel that Congress’ current organisational strength in West Bengal is in such a state, that any decision to go alone in the 2026 Assembly polls will mean accepting the defeat before the battle is fought. Now since both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have ruled out all possibilities of any Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance in the 2026 polls, the only alternative for Congress in case of any seat-sharing arrangement is with the Left Front,” the state Congress leader said.

However, he added, Congress’ central high command is not in favour of enforcing any decision on this issue on the state leadership.

“Rather our central leadership wants to reach a decision only after feeling the pulse of the state Congress leadership and more importantly the grassroots level Congress workers. A delegation of the All India Congress committee is expected to be on a tour to West Bengal either in June or July this year which might be headed by our national president Mallikarjun Kharge. This delegation will interact with the different levels of state leadership on this issue and only after that, any decision on seat sharing arrangement will be reached,” said the WBPCC leader.

Complications on the seat sharing agreement are there on the part of CPI(M) as well, which surface from the proposals in the draft political resolution for the 24th party Congress scheduled at Madurai in Tamil Nadu in April this year.

In that draft political resolution, released last month, the CPI(M)’s central leadership focussed more on independent political lines in the coming days rather than on electoral understanding.

“The party should pay more attention to the independent political campaign and mass mobilisation around the political platform of the party. There should be no blurring of our independent identity or diminishing of our independent activities in the name of electoral understanding or alliances,” the draft political resolution of CPI(M) read.

To maintain the independent line, the draft resolution had cautiously touched upon West Bengal and Tripura, where the CPI(M)- led Left Front had electoral understanding and seat-sharing arrangements with Congress in the past elections.

“A significant increase in the strength of the party requires the rebuilding and expansion of the party and the Left in West Bengal and Tripura. In West Bengal, while conducting mass struggles and movements, special attention should be paid to working among the rural poor and organising them. The party has to focus more on the political and ideological fight against the BJP while opposing both the TMC and BJP,” the draft political resolution as regards the West Bengal perspective has stressed.

Education

CBSE pattern in Maha govt schools from academic year 2025-26: Education Minister Bhuse

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Mumbai, March 20: Maharashtra Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse announced on Thursday that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) pattern will be implemented in government schools across the state from the academic year 2025-26.

Textbooks under CBSE will be made available in Marathi by April 1.

The Education Department has issued instructions to the schools governed by the state education boards to implement the CBSE curriculum, the Minister told the Legislative Council.

The minister replied to the question raised by the BJP legislator Prasad Lad. He wanted to know whether the Steering Committee has approved the curriculum plan of the CBSE especially when the implementation of the National Education Policy for schools from class 3 to 12 is underway in the state.

“CBSE pattern will be implemented from the academic year 2025-2026 and the government has taken this decision with an aim of improving the quality of students in the state,” said the minister.

His announcement comes days after the Steering Committee had approved the State Curriculum Framework in relation to the school education department.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had reviewed the work of all the departments including the school education department for the next 100 days.

Accordingly, he had expressed confidence in the meeting of the School Education Department that Maharashtra would once again come to the forefront of school education.

The Chief Minister directed that the Education Department should take steps for quality education.

He has also directed the School Education Department about the adoption of the CBSE pattern in the state government schools by making necessary changes.

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Mumbai court grants mutual consent divorce to Yuzvendra Chahal, Dhanashree Verma

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Mumbai, March 20: A family court in Mumbai’s Bandra on Thursday allowed a mutual consent divorce plea filed by cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and choreographer Dhanashree Verma.

Dhanashree and Chahal got engaged in 2020 and married in December of the same year in a private ceremony in Gurugram. “Divorce has been granted. The marriage has been dissolved. They are no longer husband and wife. The petition for divorce by mutual consent has been accepted,” Yuzvendra Chahal’s lawyer told media.

A day before, the Bombay High Court allowed an application filed by the estranged couple seeking waiver of the cooling-off period in their ongoing mutual consent divorce proceedings.

A bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar of the Bombay HC directed the family court to decide the divorce petition on Thursday itself considering Chahal’s participation in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).

The leg-spinner was picked by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 18 crore in the IPL 2025 auction.

The Justice Jamdar-led Bench took note of the fact that the parties had been living apart for over two and a half years and had duly complied with the consent terms regarding the payment of alimony arrived at during the mediation process.

Under Hindu law, if the husband and wife have been living separately for one year or more, they may apply to obtain a decree of divorce by mutual consent. However, under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, a statutory cooling-off period of at least six months from the date of presentation of the divorce petition is provided, to explore possibilities of settlement and reunion between the couple.

The Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict in 2017, held that the 6-month cooling-off period is not mandatory, and the court may waive the condition if it is satisfied that there exists no possibility of parties resuming cohabitation.

The 28-year-old dancer, Dhanashree is known for her fusion dance performances that blend traditional Indian dance forms with contemporary styles.

Recently, Chahal was spotted amongst the spectators sitting next to social media star RJ Mahvash during the Champions Trophy Final. However, this was not the first time the two have been linked together.

Last year, in December, a picture of RJ Mahvash with the cricketer from a Christmas celebration went viral. The social media star then took to Instagram to set the record straight.

In a note, she wrote: “Some articles and speculations have been circulating around the Internet. It’s literally funny to see how baseless these rumours are. If you get seen with a person of the opposite gender, does that mean you are dating them? I’m sorry, what year is this? And how many people are you all dating then?” “I have been patient for 2-3 days now, but I won’t let any PR teams drag my name into this to cover up other people’s images. Let people live in peace with their friends and family during tough times.”

Chahal’s IPL journey, spanning over 160 matches, has been nothing short of remarkable. With 205 wickets to his name, he is the leading wicket-taker in IPL history, having surpassed Dwayne Bravo’s record of 183 wickets during the 2023 season. His career average of 22.44 and an economy rate of 7.8 underline his ability to combine wicket-taking prowess with miserly spells, a rare feat in the T20 format.

Chahal’s crowning moment came in 2022 when he donned the Purple Cap for Rajasthan Royals (RR), scalping a phenomenal 27 wickets in the season.

During the 2024 edition, Chahal became the first bowler in IPL history to breach the 200-wicket milestone. His IPL tally includes six four-wicket hauls, one five-wicket haul, and a hat-trick. Between 2014 and 2021, Chahal was Royal Challengers Bangalore’s go-to spinner. In 113 matches for the franchise, he scalped 139 wickets, a record that still stands as the highest for any bowler in its colours.

Despite his dominance, RCB made the surprising decision not to retain him ahead of the 2022 mega auction.

Chahal’s resurgence post-RCB was nothing short of spectacular. Representing RR in the last three seasons, he claimed 66 wickets, underlining his consistent impact.

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Barelvi Cleric Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Calls For Ban On ‘Chhava,’ Blames Film For Nagpur Riots

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Bareilly: Barelvi sect cleric Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi has called for a ban on the film “Chhava,” alleging it was inciting communal tensions and was directly responsible for riots in Nagpur.

In a letter addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Razvi, who is also the National President of the All India Muslim Jamaat, Dargah Aala Hazrat, requested immediate legal action against the film’s director, producer, and writer.

Razvi claimed that the film portrayed Emperor Aurangzeb in a manner that provoked Hindu youths.

“The atmosphere of the country is deteriorating since the release of the film Chhava,” Maulana Razvi stated in his letter. “In the film Chhava, Hindu youth have been incited and provoked by showing the image of Emperor Aurangzeb as anti-Hindu. This is the reason why leaders of Hindu organisations are giving hate speeches about Emperor Aurangzeb at various places.”

Razvi specifically cited the communal riots in Nagpur on Monday a direct consequence of the film’s release.

“I immediately appealed for peace through the media and kept in touch with the Ulama and Imams of the mosque of Nagpur throughout the night to calm the atmosphere,” he said.

“The Muslims of India do not consider Emperor Aurangzeb as their idol and leader. We consider him only a ruler, nothing more than that,” Razvi added.

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