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BJP, Congress in MP take credit as Supreme Court allows OBC reservation in civic polls

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As the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed an OBC quota in the local body elections in Madhya Pradesh, the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress started taking the credit for it. Both the parties also traded barbs over the issue.

Senior leaders of the BJP and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh welcomed the SC’s decision saying, “justice prevailed”, claiming that the initiative for providing reservation for OBCs was taken by their parties and accused each other of being anti-OBC.

Soon after a bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar pronounced the order granting permission to conduct local body polls with OBC reservation and directed the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission (MP-SEC) to notify the elections in one week, the state BJP headquarters celebrated the decision calling it a win for the party.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was greeted by state home minister Narottam Mishra and urban development minister Bhupendra Singh. The trio had visited New Delhi last week to file a review petition for seeking modification in the SC’s order of May 10, in which the court had directed the state election body to conduct elections without OBC reservation.

Expressing happiness over the SC’s decision, Chouhan said, “We had made our intentions clear on this issue. We wanted the local body elections to be held with OBC reservation and all preparations were made for this purpose. The election dates were announced, but the Congress went to the court and the process was stayed. The Congress committed a sin for political gains, but today justice prevailed and the truth won.”

Chouhan said that his government made all possible efforts to provide reservation to the OBCs. “An OBC commission was set up and a survey was conducted across the state to collect facts regarding the same. When the SC demanded more clarity on reports, we submitted the second report and the court trusted the commission’s report. Subsequently the decision to allow elections with OBC quota was pronounced,” Chouhan added.

He alleged that the Congress was in celebration mode after the SC’s order of May 10. He said that the Congress was not interested in the OBC reservation issue but was attacking the BJP for political gains.

On the other hand, the Congress maintained that it wanted local body elections with OBC reservation and for that the party fought strongly. “We were saying from day one that elections to Panchayat and urban bodies should not be held in Madhya Pradesh without OBC reservation. We had also fought regarding OBC reservation and after that the resolution was passed unanimously in the House,” said Kamal Nath, former chief minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress chief.

Nath said that the Supreme Court has given a decision to provide relief in the matter of OBC reservation. He claimed, “The OBC category will still not get the full benefit of OBC reservation increased from 14 per cent to 27 per cent by our government because the SC’s decision mentioned that the reservation should not be more than 50 per cent.”

He said that if the state government had followed the entire procedure of the triple test on time, then this unpleasant situation would never have happened but the Shivraj government woke up after snatching the rights of the OBC class.

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Asif Dari’s son Sameer Khan opened fire in a money transaction dispute, two attackers arrested, claims Mumbai Crime Branch

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The Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have solved the case of the shooting of Sameer Khan, son of D and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel’s close aide Asif Dari, in the Mumbai Dockyard Road area. In this case, the Crime Branch has succeeded in recovering weapons, mobile phones and a motorcycle. Due to a money transaction and dispute, the accused targeted Asif Dari’s son Sameer Khan and attacked him. After that, the police reached the spot and conducted other investigations including forensic examination and started a parallel investigation in this case of the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Crime Branch found the trace of the accused attackers on technical grounds, after which the Crime Branch Unit 3 arrested both the shooters near Mahim Dargah on the outskirts of Mumbai in the middle of the night. On the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti, Joint Police Commissioner Lakshmi Gautam and DCP Raj Tilak Roshan carried out this operation. The accused have confessed to the crime in the initial investigation and said that they were involved in a money dispute. After the shooting incident, a case was registered in the Byculla police under the Arms Act and a case of murder was registered in this case. The Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating the case from an angle. The two accused who have been arrested have been identified as Sadiq Sheikh Liaquat Sheikh, 30, and Zeeshan Anwar Sheikh, 30. Asif Dari has underworld connections, so the Crime Branch is also investigating this angle. It is said that Sameer Khan is also the owner of a construction company and has also obtained the contract for its construction. The Mumbai Crime Branch is also investigating this case. After this shooting, there was a sensation and tension in Mumbai, but the Mumbai Crime Branch solved the case within a few hours and the accused are in police custody. The Crime Branch is also investigating whether more people are involved in this or not and who had ordered the attack on Sameer. In the initial investigation, both the accused were found to be involved in this case.

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Maharashtra

Palghar Accident: Mango-Laden Tempo Overturns On Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway; Locals Collect Scattered Fruit

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Palghar, May 13: A tempo carrying mangoes overturned on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway near the Chamadra bridge close to the Ghol toll plaza, leading to chaotic scenes as residents rushed to gather the fruit scattered across the road.

According to reports, the vehicle was transporting mangoes from Gujarat to Mumbai when the driver allegedly lost control of the tempo, causing it to overturn by the roadside. The driver sustained minor injuries in the accident.

Following the crash, several crates of mangoes spilled onto the highway, leaving the fruit strewn across a large stretch of road. As news of the incident spread, local residents rushed to the spot carrying bags, sacks, and other containers to collect the mangoes. Videos showing crowds scrambling to pick up the fruit have since gone viral on social media.

The sudden gathering of people also disrupted traffic movement on the busy national highway for some time.

Police and local authorities later arrived at the scene to regulate traffic and clear the road. No major injuries were immediately reported, and further investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra Tragedy: 8 Devotees Injured After Mini Bus Overturns On Mumbai–Pune Highway Near Khopoli

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Navi Mumbai, May 13: Eight devotees were injured after a mini bus travelling from Murbad to Jejuri overturned at a dangerous curve on the Mumbai–Pune National Highway (NH-48) near the HOC bridge around 8:15 am on Wednesday.

The injured were first taken to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Khopoli Municipal Hospital and later shifted to MGM Hospital in Panvel for further treatment.

The accident involved a Force mini bus (MH-06-BW-4030) driven by Bharat Ramesh Shelke (28), a resident of Shelke Pada in Murbad, Thane district. The bus, carrying devotees, was heading towards Jejuri when the driver allegedly lost control on a downhill curve, causing the vehicle to overturn.

The injured have been identified as Kamalabai Ramchandra Mali (70), Gurunath Dongre (60), Balaram Bhoir (65), Ravindra Ram Mali (45), Gulabbai Dattu Humne (85), Ashok Jayaram Dongre (60), Kasturi Ganesh Mali (15), and Meenabai Gurunath Dongre. All the injured are residents of Shelke Pada in Murbad taluka.

Teams from the Borghat Highway Traffic Police, IRB patrolling unit, Delta Force, Maharashtra Security Force, along with ambulances from Lokmanya Hospital and Swamini services, and members of Help Foundation, rushed to the spot and carried out a rescue operation, safely evacuating the injured passengers.

“The driver lost control of the vehicle at a sharp turn, leading to the accident. The injured were immediately rescued and shifted for medical treatment. Further investigation is underway,” said Police Inspector Sachin Hire of Khopoli Police Station.

Traffic on the highway was restored after the damaged vehicle was moved aside, and police have initiated further investigation into the incident.

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