Thiruvananthapuram Dec 13: Congress candidate Vaishnav Suresh on Saturday described her victory in the Kerala local polls as “a triumph of democracy and truth”, days after her candidature, initially rejected by the authorities, was restored following the intervention of the Kerala High Court.

Suresh defeated sitting Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councillor Amshu Vamadevan, who shifted from his original seat to contest the Muttada seat but lost to the first-timer.

The Muttada seat, since its inception, was a citadel of the CPI-M.

Soon after the early results indicated her victory, Vaishnav said she was “very happy” and termed the outcome a clear message from the people.

“This is a victory for democracy. Truth will always triumph, and it has done so here. People knew what was happening,” she said, adding that she had “fought a good fight”.

Vaishnav’s candidature had attracted statewide attention after her nomination papers were rejected during scrutiny on technical grounds.

The decision triggered protests from the Congress, which alleged unfair treatment and claimed the rejection was politically motivated.

Vaishnav subsequently approached the High Court, which, after hearing her plea, ordered the authorities to accept her nomination, allowing her to re-enter the fray.

The legal battle, coupled with her young age, turned Vaishnav into a prominent face of the Congress campaign in the constituency.

Party leaders projected her case as an example of institutional injustice and rallied support around what they described as a fight to protect democratic rights.

Her campaign, which resumed after the court order, focused on governance issues as well as the larger theme of safeguarding democratic processes.

Political observers note that the verdict in her favour is significant not just for the Congress, but also in the broader context of the local body elections, where procedural disputes and legal challenges featured prominently in several places.

Vaishnav’s win is being seen as a morale booster for the Congress, particularly among youth and first-time candidates.

Congress leaders welcomed the result, stating that it reaffirmed public faith in both the judiciary and the electoral process.

They also credited voters for “seeing through attempts to deny a candidate her legitimate right to contest”.

For Vaishnav, the victory marks the beginning of her political journey under intense public scrutiny.

Reiterating her commitment to the electorate, she said she would work to justify the trust placed in her and focus on addressing local issues.

“This mandate belongs to the people who stood by me,” she said, signalling that the fight, though won at the ballot box, was only the first step in public life.

Nagpur, Dec 13: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday expressed serious concern over the rising incidents of child abduction and missing children in Maharashtra, urging Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take concrete and immediate action.

In a post on X, Thackeray cited National Crime Records Bureau data to underline the scale of the problem.

“According to NCRB data, even if we look at recent years, this rate has increased by nearly 30 per cent from 2021 to 2024. Interstate gangs have emerged that abduct young children and then force them into labour or push them into begging on the streets. These gangs are brazenly abducting very young children, and it is unclear what exactly the government is doing about it,” he said.

Thackeray said mere statistics offered little reassurance to families. “We in Maharashtra do not want a government response along the lines of, ‘So many cases of child abduction have been registered, and X per cent of those children have been traced and safely returned to their families.’ Fundamentally, the figures reported by the NCRB only show how many parents have filed complaints with the police. But do even a few thousand such complaints actually reach the police in the first place?” he asked.

He also raised concerns about the long-term impact on rescued children. “Even if a child is somehow rescued and returned, what about the trauma inflicted on their minds during that time? More importantly, how are these child-abducting gangs allowed to operate at all, and how do they carry out their activities so boldly and without fear?” Thackeray said.

Questioning the government’s resolve, the MNS chief asked whether there was any urgency to deal with the issue. “When we see young children begging on the streets, at railway stations, or at bus stands, who are they? Are the adults begging alongside them really their parents? Should the government not issue orders for investigations or, if necessary, even conduct DNA tests?” he asked.

The MNS chief further said that in the state today, young children and girls were being abducted and land in Maharashtra was being usurped, and asked whether these issues should not be discussed in the legislature with the administration compelled to take unanimous steps.

Referring to the winter session of the Assembly, he criticised what he described as a lack of seriousness. “Is the winter session only meant to clear supplementary demands to cover up faulty budget estimates? Very often, ministers are absent when answers are required. It almost feels unreasonable to expect discussions on issues like missing children or abducted girls. But this is what Maharashtra expects,” he said.

Thackeray also suggested a coordinated national approach. “Ideally, the central government should discuss this with all states and form task forces. But it does not appear likely that a central government busy with heated debates over ‘Vande Mataram’ will hear the anguish of mothers,” he said.

Addressing Fadnavis directly, he added, “As the Chief Minister and Home Minister of the state, we expect you not only to facilitate a discussion on this during the session but also to take concrete action.”

Nagpur, Dec 13: Maharashtra’s opposition, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT), on Saturday alleged that the rights and interests of the Marathi people are being undermined by the government, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“The Fadnavis-Shinde government has reduced the Marathi people’s status to that of a ‘doormat’ and is now applying the balm of ‘Pagdi-mukta’ (Pagdi-free) Mumbai. This is hypocrisy. The real problem in Mumbai is that Marathi people are denied housing, and (Union Home Minister Amit) Shah, Shinde, Fadnavis and some cronies are the masterminds behind this,” it said in a hard-hitting editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

It targeted DCM Shinde over his announcement of Mumbai to be made pagadi-free through a separate set of rules for the proper and fair redevelopment of old buildings under the pagadi system (a form of tenancy), which is claimed to benefit over 19,000 such buildings. Further, he had announced to grant “amnesty” to buildings without an Occupancy Certificate (OC), redevelop chawls on mill lands, and housing for police. There are reportedly 20,000 OC-less buildings in Mumbai, the editorial said, questioning how much of this will benefit the original residents of Mumbai— “the Marathi Manoos” or the sons of the soil.

The editorial also highlighted the “hypocrisy”, noting that in Shinde’s own Thane district, hundreds of Marathi families were rendered homeless after bulldozers razed many OC-less buildings, an outcry that went ignored.

“The amnesty in Mumbai is a move aimed solely at winning votes. These announcements were made when flood-affected farmers in Marathwada are reportedly not receiving aid, and 6.5 lakh farmers are deprived of the Samman Yojana, requiring Rs 5,975 crore in necessary funds. Further, all these announcements were made while the municipal elections are expected to be announced within the next 72 hours,” it said.

The Thackeray camp claimed that the recent announcements made by CM Fadnavis and DCM Shinde are with an eye on the upcoming elections to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and other civic bodies in the state, and are nothing but “old wine in a new bottle”. The overall strategy is to use money to fight elections and shower people with popular announcements to deceive them, it said.

It highlighted the alleged discrimination against Marathi people in Mumbai’s housing societies, claiming that in areas like Mira-Bhayandar and Mumbai, some builders have reportedly displayed boards on societies stating: “Only Marwadi-Jain will get homes here”, and that the BJP and RSS-affiliated people claim the primary language of Ghatkopar is Gujarati.

The Thackeray camp also claimed that Shinde and his associates have hatched a plan to snatch Mumbai from the hands of the Marathi people and present it as a gift to Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the Marathi people to be extremely careful. “A senior minister in the Maharashtra Cabinet reportedly stated during a legislature session that the BJP has a plan to divide Maharashtra, and Chief Minister Fadnavis is working on it. The individuals who call themselves ‘Shivsena’ (referring to the Shinde faction) are cowardly soldiers who remain silent, neglecting the state’s welfare. The moves to snatch Mumbai are part of these tactics,” the editorial said.

The Saamana editorial also said that the Chief Minister is said to have sanctioned a massive Rs 32,523 crore fund for various development projects across the Pune Metropolitan Area, encompassing 220 projects. “This rush of announcements is taking place despite the Chief Minister’s alleged admission of an economic emergency in the state, which is burdened with a debt of approximately Rs 9.5 lakh crore accrued under the Fadnavis-Shinde government.