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

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
Congress locks Mumbai ED office, Case registered against Congress workers

Mumbai: Mumbai Enforcement Directorate Police have registered a case against 15 to 20 Congress workers for protesting by locking the ED office. The protest was held at the ED office when it was on holiday and the Congress workers locked the already locked office. According to the police, the office was closed during the protest, but a case has been registered against Congress workers and protesters in this case. The protesters also raised anti-government slogans during the protest at the ED office and the protesters said that Modi sends the ED forward whenever he is afraid. Congressmen have continued to protest against the investigation and inclusion of their names in the charge sheet against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case. Congressmen have protested in the same manner, after which a case has been registered. This case was registered by MRA Marg Police and the investigation is ongoing. No one has been arrested in this case, this has been confirmed by local DCP Praveen Kumar. Police have tightened security around the office following the protest.
Crime
Accused in air hostess sexual assault case was porn addict: Gurugram Police

Gurugram, April 19: Gurugram Police said on Saturday that the accused in the air hostess sexual assault case was a porn addict, an official said.
Gurugram Police Spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said that the accused used to watch porn videos habitually, which was also confirmed from the mobile phone recovered from him.
He said that during police interrogation, it was found that the accused has a B.Sc. (OT) degree from a private institute from the years 2019-2022, and he was an average student in studies.
“For the last five months, he was working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital. The accused going to the victim at the time of the incident was confirmed from the CCTV cameras installed in the hospital,” he said.
The Spokesperson said that during interrogation of the accused, it was also found that he had watched porn videos before the incident and even after committing the crime.
“Which is also being confirmed from the search history of the accused’s mobile phone. He was produced before the court on Saturday, from where he was sent to judicial custody for further proceedings,” he said.
Meanwhile, the SIT on Friday nabbed the accused, after analysing at least 800 CCTV cameras installed inside and outside of the hospital, who sexually assaulted the woman when she was on a ventilator.
The accused was identified as Deepak (25), a native of Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The accused had been working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital for the past five months and was arrested in the Sadar police station area on Friday.
An official privy to the investigation said that the accused has confessed to his crime in the matter.
“While investigating the incident, eight police teams checked the footage of 800 CCTV cameras installed in the hospital, and around 50 hospital staff, including doctors, were questioned about the incident. Keeping in mind the seriousness of the incident, the police teams investigated from every angle and collected a lot of information related to the incident, as a result of which the police got great success in identifying the accused who committed the crime,” said Arpit Jain, DCP (Headquarters).
On Thursday, Vikas Kumar Arora, Commissioner of Police, Gurugram, had constituted an SIT and ordered the identification and arrest of the accused.
As per the order of the Police Commissioner, an SIT was constituted under the leadership of Arpit Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Headquarters, Gurugram, in which a total of eight different police teams were given special directions and deployed to collect information and evidence related to the incident.
Dr. Sanjay Durani, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said in a statement that: “We have been informed that the police have identified a suspect who has been taken into custody in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning allegations of sexual assault on a patient. On the basis of information provided to us by the police, we have suspended the suspect employee. As we await the final outcome of the investigation, we will continue to provide full support to the police.”
Business
FM Sitharaman to showcase India’s economic dynamism during US, Peru visit

New Delhi, April 19: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to embark on an official visit to the US and Peru, beginning April 20, where she is slated to participate in multilateral dialogues to showcase India’s economic dynamism, as the country prepares a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US, it was announced on Saturday.
During her visit to the US, the Finance Minister will visit San Francisco and Washington, DC, from April 20-25, according to a Ministry of Finance statement.
In San Francisco, FM Sitharaman would deliver a keynote address at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, titled ‘Laying the foundations of Viksit Bharat 2047,’ followed by a fireside chat session.
The Finance Minister will also interact with top CEOs from prominent fund management firms during a roundtable meeting with investors, besides holding bilateral meetings with CEOs from top information technology (IT) firms based in San Francisco.
She will also participate in an event featuring the Indian diaspora in San Francisco and interact with the Indian community settled there, said the ministry.
In Washington, DC, FM Sitharaman will participate in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meetings, the Development Committee Plenary, IMFC Plenary, and Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meeting.
On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, she will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from several countries, including Argentina, Bahrain, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and the US; besides meeting EU Commissioner for Financial Services; President, Asian Development Bank (ADB); President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA); and First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During her maiden visit to Peru from April 26-30, the Finance Minister will lead an Indian delegation of officials from the Ministry of Finance and business leaders, highlighting the strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations between the two nations.
Beginning her visit in Lima, she is expected to call on the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, and Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, besides holding bilateral meetings with the Peruvian Ministers of Finance and Economy, Defence, Energy and Mines, and also holding interaction with local public representatives.
The Finance Minister will chair the India-Peru Business Forum meeting with prominent business representatives in attendance from both India and Peru.
FM Sitharaman will also hold an interaction with the Indian investors and businesses currently operating in Peru, as well as the Indian business delegation visiting Peru. The Finance Minister will also participate in a community event in Lima, where she will interact with the Indian diaspora living in Peru, according to the ministry statement.
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