Connect with us
Saturday,09-August-2025
Breaking News

National

Drama of discontent in Mahayuti govt due to greed for power: Uddhav Thackeray’s Saamana

Published

on

Mumbai, June 5: Shiv Sena(UBT) on Thursday claimed that a strong discontent was brewing in the grand alliance (Mahayuti) government of Maharashtra, and the people were getting “free entertainment” from the inner fight.

Thackeray camp in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ editorial said, “No matter which party the government belongs to, those who are dissatisfied in the government have no party. The Mindhe Mandal (Shinde camp) was dissatisfied with Uddhav Thackeray’s government, and now their dissatisfaction continues with the Fadnavis government as well. The root of the disease of dissatisfaction lies in power, greed for position, money, ego and political ambition. There is no cure for this disease of dissatisfaction. Once it takes root, it grows stronger. Let us hope that the dissatisfaction drama in the three parties that is going on in the Fadnavis government should not lead to gang wars from breaking out within the cabinet in the future.”

“The Mindhe group (Shinde camp) in the cabinet is unhappy with Finance Minister Ajit Pawar. Money or ‘funds’ is said to be the main reason for the discontent. In other words, the old disease has once again revived. The same discontent and complaint of the Mindhe group (Shinde camp) were present while breaking the Shiv Sena and toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. It continues. The same root cause of discontent has again bedevilled the ministers of Mindhe. At that time, the people of Mindhe had considered Ajit Pawar a ‘villain’ while being dishonest with the original Shiv Sena,” the editorial said..

“However, instead of going to jail, Ajit Pawar followed in Mindhya’s footsteps, entered the government and became the Finance Minister. Ultimately, all ministries have to look at and depend on the finance ministry for the allocation and release of funds. In a nutshell, many people’s lives were ruined because Ajitdada controls the funds of the government,” claimed the Thackeray camp.

“After the cabinet meeting held last Tuesday, the displeasure of the ministers, who were upset over the lack of funds, erupted. Thereafter, the Mindhe group ministers met and complained against Ajitdada for not releasing funds to their respective departments. They expressed their discontent against Ajitdada in front of their leader, Mindhe (Eknath Shinde). ‘Finance Minister Ajitdada is sabotaging the development works of our department. If the finance department and the finance minister will not give us money, how will we do development works?” asked the disgruntled ministers from the Shinde camp. It is said that Ajitdada was the sole target during the meeting,” said the editorial.

“In the same meeting held last week, Deputy Chief Minister Shinde independently reviewed the functioning of the departments held by the Mindhe group and individually discussed with the concerned ministers to know the present status. The agitated ministers raised a slew of questions, such as how the work will be done for want of funds. If the work is not done, how will we face the elections and what answers will we give to the people?” said the editorial.

Since the nature of the complaint and ‘target’ were the same, Dy CM Shinde attempted to pacify them, assuring that he would find a way out by talking to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Dy CM Ajitdada Pawar.

“In fact, in the Mahayuti government, the Mindhe (Eknath Shinde) himself is being beaten with sticks, and there is no way to bombard this disgruntlement again. So, he was upset and had to go to the native village in Satara and count the strawberries in the fields. As Mindhe (Eknath Shinde) had found a solution to overcome disgruntlement by going to the native village, it is difficult to guess whether he has suggested a similar solution to the disgruntled ministers from his camp,” said the editorial. However, at the end of the day, the people of Maharashtra have to bear the discontent among the ruling partners.

Furthermore, the Thackeray camp claimed that it was not just the Shinde camp but the BJP legislators who met Home Minister Amit Shah and lodged a complaint against Finance Minister Ajitdada Pawar.

“Amit Shah gave his party legislators the ideal mantra of the double engine government, ‘Keep doing work and follow up with Ajitdada so much that he himself should come to me with a complaint’. This is such an interesting drama going on in the grand alliance government in Maharashtra. If Ajit Pawar is bringing the BJP, which has 132 MLAs, and the Mindhe Party formed by Amit Shah to the table, then only Ajit Pawar is happy in this government, and this is a great skill of Ajitdada,” the editorial said.

Business

Adani Green Energy Sales Jump 42% In Q1, Operational RE Capacity Reaches 15.8 GW

Published

on

Key Highlights:

– Energy sales rose 42 percent YoY to 10,479 million units in Q1 FY26.

– Operational RE capacity reached 15.8 GW, the highest in India.

– EBITDA surged 31 percent to Rs 3,108 crore, backed by new greenfield projects.

Ahmedabad: Adani Green Energy Ltd’s (AGEL) energy sales surged 42 per cent (year-on-year) in the April-June quarter (Q1 FY26) to 10,479 million units, as operational renewable energy (RE) capacity grew 45 per cent to 15.8 GW which continues to be India’s largest, the company said on Monday.

While revenue growth increased by 31 per cent (on-year) to Rs 3,312 crore, EBITDA also went up by 31 per cent to Rs 3,108 crore.

According to the Adani Group company, cash profit surged by 25 per cent (on-year) to Rs 1,744 crore in the quarter.

“During Q1 FY26, we added 1.6 GW of greenfield renewable energy capacity, bringing our total increase to 4.9 GW over the past year — an achievement unmatched in India’s transition toward clean energy,” said Ashish Khanna, CEO of Adani Green Energy.

“Our investments in the massive RE development at Khavda in Gujarat as well as other resource-rich sites are delivering results both in terms of superior operational performance and industry-best EBITDA margins,” he said, adding that the company is on track to achieve its 2030 target of 50 GW RE capacity — with at least 5 GW of hydro pumped storage along with battery storage.

Strong revenue, EBITDA, and cash profit growth are primarily backed by robust greenfield capacity addition, deployment of advanced RE technologies, superior plant performance and deployment of new capacities in resource-rich sites in Khavda (Gujarat) and Rajasthan.

“Further, battery storage is also a key part of our future strategy. We remain committed to supporting national energy transition and security ambitions as well as maintaining our ESG leadership, highlighted by our top rankings in the FTSE Russel ESG assessment and recognition at the Reuters Global Energy Transition Awards 2025,” Khanna noted.

AGEL has consistently generated electricity exceeding the overall annual commitment under the power purchase agreements (PPA). In Q1 FY26, AGEL’s PPA-based electricity generation was 31 per cent of the annual commitment.

The company is developing a massive 30 GW renewable energy plant at Khavda in Gujarat. This is spread over an area of 538 sq km, almost 5 times the city of Paris.

Continue Reading

Crime

ED books 29 celebrities for endorsing betting apps

Published

on

Hyderabad, July 10: The Enforcement Directorate has booked 29 celebrities in Telugu states for endorsing betting apps.

The central agency has filed an ECIR against 29 actors, influencers, and YouTubers for allegedly promoting illegal betting platforms, in violation of the Public Gambling Act, 1867.

The probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, has been taken up based on five FIRs filed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Film actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash and Manchu Lakshmi, and Ananya Nagella are among those who have been booked by the ED.

The names of TV actors, TV hosts and social media influencers like Sreemukhi, Shyamala, and Varshini Sounderajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shoba Shetty, Amrutha Chowdary, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Pandu, Padhmavathi, Harsha Sai and Bayya Sunny Yadav also figure in the list.

Most of these celebrities were earlier booked by the Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police. FIRs were registered against them at Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad, Suryapet, and Visakhapatnam police stations.

The ED suspects endorsements of platforms like Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch, Lotus365, and others involved laundering of large sums through paid promotions.

The ECIR has been booked under BNS sections 318 (4), 112 r/w 49, Telangana Gaming Act sections 3, 3 (A), 4, IT Act 2000 and 2008 section 66D.

In March, Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj and others were booked by Cyberabad police for allegedly promoting betting apps. They, however, clarified that they are not promoting any illegal app.

While Rana Daggubati and Vijay Devarakonda stated that they endorsed only legally permitted online skill-based games, Prakash Raj said he did not renew a contract to promote an app in 2017 after realising that he should not have done it.

A case against six actors and 19 social media influencers was registered at the Miyapur Police Station of Cyberabad Commissionerate in March.

The police registered the case on a complaint by one Phanidra Sharma, a resident of Miyapur, who stated that he found several celebrities and social media influencers actively promoting illegal betting apps, websites and other platforms. The complainant said promotion of betting apps was causing harm to individuals and society by encouraging this addictive, short-term, risky money-making behaviour, leading to financial distress.

Continue Reading

Crime

2002 import-export fraud case: CBI takes custody of Monika Kapoor in US

Published

on

New Delhi, July 9: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken the custody of Monika Kapoor, an alleged economic offender, in the US and will bring her back to India, ending an over two-decade-long run from the law, officials said on Wednesday.

The development comes after Kapoor’s extradition from the US.

The CBI in a press release said the chase has ended after two decades “with the successful extradition of Fugitive Ms. Monika Kapoor, who is accused in a 2002 Import-Export fraud and was on run since then, from USA.”

According to the information provided by the Central agency, fugitive Monika Kapoor, Prop. of M/s Monika Overseas in conspiracy with her brothers, namely Rajan Khanna and Rajiv Khanna forged export documents viz. Shipping Bills, Invoices and Bank Certificates of Export and Realisation during the year 1998.

She obtained six Replenishment (Rep.) Licenses for the import of duty-free gold worth Rs 2.36 crore.

“In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, they sold the said Rep. Licenses to M/s Deep Exports, Ahmedabad, on premium. M/s Deep Exports, Ahmedabad utilised the said licenses and imported duty-free gold, which caused a loss to the Government Exchequer to the extent of Rs 1.44 crore during the year 1998,” the press release mentioned.

The CBI, on the completion of the investigation, filed a charge sheet on March 31, 2004, against Monika Kapoor, Rajan Khanna, and Rajeev Khanna under sections 120-B r/w 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, District Court Saket, New Delhi, vide order dated December 20, 2017, had convicted Rajan Khanna and Rajeev Khanna.

The CBI said the accused, Monika Kapoor, did not join the investigation and trial; she was declared a proclaimed offender by the trial court on February 13, 2006. The Ld. Trial Court had issued an open non-bailable warrant of arrest on April 26, 2010, and a Red Corner Notice was also issued against her.

A request for extradition was sent by the CBI on October 19, 2010, to the US authorities. Following intense coordination with authorities in the US, a CBI team travelled to the country to take custody of the fugitive.

This extradition marks a major breakthrough in the pursuit of justice and reiterates CBI’s commitment to bringing fugitives to face the law in India, irrespective of international boundaries.

The CBI team is returning to India with the fugitive. Monika Kapoor is being produced before the concerned court and will now face the trial.

The press release said that the CBI remains steadfast in its mission to combat economic crimes and will continue to pursue all legal avenues to ensure that the fugitives are brought to justice.

Continue Reading

Trending