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JD-U yet to take a call on PFI ban despite BJP pressure

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After a suspected terror module was busted in Patna’s Phulwari Sharif, there is disagreement between Bihar’s two ruling alliance partners – the BJP and the JD-U – over a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), which was allegedly involved.

BJP leaders like state minister Jivesh Mishra, Rajya Sabha MP and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, state President Sanjay Jaiswal and MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur and others are demanding a ban on the PFI while the Janata Dal-United’s leadership is yet to decide.

Minority Affairs Minister Jama Khan, of the JD-U, said: “The investigation is currently underway. There is no clarity over whether the organisation (PFI) is involved in anti- national activities or not. Hence, you can’t declare an organisation illegal. How could a ban be imposed on an organisation only on the basis of the assumption of some people. The action will be taken against the organisation only after its guilt would be proven by the authorities and courts.

“Any organisations like the RSS, the Bajrang Dal or PFI, they are connected with political parties. The probe should take place on this line too. If any organisation is involved in wrongdoing, the state government will take action against them. Ban cannot be imposed on the demand of some leaders of a political party,” Khan said.

On the other hand, BJP Minister Mishra demanded complete ban on PFI.

“The security agencies have busted PFI terror module of Phulwari Sharif… the NIA is investigating this case. If its operatives’ terror links will be proven in future, the Centre will ban it. We are already demanding a ban on such an organisation,” he said.

“I also appeal to the Central government to identify organisations like PFI and ban it immediately. When the Narendra Modi government came to power, it made every possible effort to destroy such organisations. They have given life threats to BJP leaders but they are not worried about it,” Mishra said.

Jaiswal alleged that a “large number of sleeper cells” were active in Bihar.

“The Popular Front of India Phulwari Sharif module developed in Patna. I am hoping that the security agencies will break the chain of terror modules developed in every district of Bihar. It is an international conspiracy against the country to destroy… it will be prevented….

“Whoever had taken the training under the PFI from 2016 to 2022 will be exposed and arrested,” he asserted.

“The BJP leaders are not the soft target of terrorists but their connection from Bihar is emerging before us. Wherever terrorist activities taking place in the country, it has some connection with Bihar. This is also indicating that a large number of sleeper cells are active in every district of Bihar,” Jaiswal said.

BJP leader Neeraj Kumar Bablu sought that security agencies should scan all madarsas existing in Bihar.

“There are many madarsas in Bihar having excellent education systems while some of them have a fishy atmosphere. Hence, those madrasas need investigation and should be kept under close watch of intelligence agencies,” he said.

Why the Nitish Kumar government is not imposing a ban on PFI?

Despite a strong demand for a ban on the PFI by BJP leaders, the JD-U believes otherwise. The party think tank believes that banning an organisation only on the basis of allegations may prove dangerous in upcoming polls.

The JD-U is on the driving seat in Bihar but it is only due to the bargain and not due to its political strength. The party performed poorly in the 2020 Assembly election and won only 43 seats. It managed to win two more seats in the by-elections to reach 45, and subsequently merged an LJP MLA and an independent MLA to reach at the figure of 47. Still, it is in the third position in the house, as the RJD has 80 and the BJP has 77 MLAs.

The JD-U leadership believed that the party had reached to the third position not due to opposition but the “lethal” political moves of the BJP. In the last 21 months, these two parties were often involved in mud-slinging on almost every single issue.

The PFI issue has emerged as another flashpoint.

In the past few weeks, BJP hardliners like Union Minister Giriraj Singh and Hari Bhushan Thakur have claimed that they have received threatg calls from militant organisations. Even a number of BJP leaders were attacked during the Agneepath protest. Following that, the Centre government has given Y-category security to 10 BJP leaders including Giriraj Singh, Thakur, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, Tar Kishore Prasad, Renu Devi, Sanjiv Chaurasia, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey and others.

Despite all provocations, no communal tension or riots occurred in Bihar under the Nitish Kumar government, which is why a sizable part of the minority community reposes faith in him. The JD-U also knows that if the state government would impose a ban on the organisation like PFI, it would be a disaster for it in the next election as the minority community will entirely swing over to the RJD.

JD-U sources are claiming that the Union Home Ministry’s handing over the probe to the NIA is a part of ploy to declare it an anti-national and terrorist organisation and ban it.

As BJP leaders are citing the example of neighbouring Jharkhand, which has imposed a ban on the PFI, the JD-U notes that the Hemant Soren government took the decision as its “core constituency” is different.

Bihar Minister and former IPS officer Sunil Kumar said: “It is a decision of Jharkhand government to impose a ban on the PFI. Bihar government will take any such decision on the basis of the investigation report and legal observations.

As the ban on PFI is an extremely sensitive matter, officials of Bihar Police are tightlipped on it and avoiding recommendation to the state government for ban.

Meanwhile, the RJD questioned the updates in the investigation so far.

State RJD chief Jagadanand Singh said: “They (investigating agencies) are claiming that a person has a telephonic conversation with a Pakistani national. The investigators should release the transcript of the conversation in public domain. They should reveal what the act was done by youths of a particular community which turn threat for the nation. During Partition, a large number of Muslim families went to Pakistan and their relatives are living in both the countries. Can they clarify whether interacting with relatives in Pakistan is a crime?”

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, while referring to Patna SSP M.S. Dhillon’s now controversial comments, said: “RJD is saying right from the beginning that the RSS is a threat to the country. At present, whatever the poisonous and hatred spread in the society is only due to the RSS. It is in the agenda of RSS to communalise the society.”

Patna police have arrested 8 persons so far in these two cases, including the PFI module. In the suspected terror module case, Athar Parvez, Mohammad Jalaluddin, and Arman Malik were arrested, and have revealed the names of Margoob alias Danis and Shabbir. Margoob was running a social networking group called Ghazwa-e-Hind and connected with the youths of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The investigators claimed that Parvez was attached with the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and his brother Manzar Alam was involved in 2013 serial bomb blast in Gandhi Maidan rally of then PM candidate Narendra Modi. Jalaluddin also has some connection with the SIMI. During the raid, the joint team had recovered some objectionable documents which indicate that they were allegedly involved in brainwashing Muslim youths and working on “Mission 2047” to make India a Muslim country.

Crime

CBI arrests two CGST officers in Mumbai for accepting Rs 25,000 bribe

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Mumbai, Oct 8: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday said it has arrested a Superintendent and an Inspector of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) in Mumbai, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a businessman.

According to a CBI statement, the arrested officials have been identified as Superintendent Vikram and Inspector Lav Kumar Chittoria, both posted in the CGST Santacruz Division.

The case was registered on Tuesday following a complaint from a textile trader who had applied online for GST registration of his firm on September 24, the statement said.

The complainant alleged that during a field inspection on October 3, Chittoria demanded Rs 25,000 as illegal gratification for himself and his superior officer.

The officers allegedly warned that the GST registration certificate would not be issued unless the bribe was paid.

Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught both the accused red-handed while accepting the bribe amount inside the CGST West Mumbai Office on Tuesday.

The bribe money was recovered from their possession. Following the arrests, searches were carried out at the offices and residences of both officials, during which several incriminating documents were also seized.

A CBI spokesperson said that both officers were taken into custody for interrogation and will be produced before a competent court in Mumbai later in the day.

“Further investigation is underway to determine whether other officials were involved in the bribery racket and to trace possible links with similar cases,” the official added.

The agency reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption in government departments and urged citizens to report any instance of demand for bribes through its dedicated helpline and online portal.

Just a few days ago, in its crackdown on bribery in government offices, the CBI arrested two senior government officials of the Ministry of Defence and a railway hospital, in two separate cases of bribery.

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Business

Committed to boosting Mumbai’s infrastructure, ease of living: PM Modi

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Mumbai, Oct 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to enhancing Mumbai’s infrastructure and the ‘Ease of Living’ as he is set to inaugurate Phase-1 of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and the Mumbai Metro Line-3.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, “On the way to Navi Mumbai to take part in the programme marking the inauguration of Phase-1 of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. With this, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region will get its second major international airport, thus boosting commerce and connectivity.”

“The final phase of the Mumbai Metro Line-3 will also be inaugurated. We are committed to enhancing Mumbai’s infrastructure and boosting ‘Ease of Living’ for the people of this dynamic city,” he added.

Phase-1 of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, developed at an estimated cost of Rs 19,650 crore, will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister in line with his vision of transforming India into a global aviation hub.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport is India’s largest Greenfield airport project, developed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. As the second international airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, it will work in coordination with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to reduce congestion and position Mumbai among global cities with multi-airport systems.

Spread across 1,160 hectares, NMIA is designed to be one of the most efficient airports in the world, capable of handling up to 90 million passengers per annum and 3.25 million metric tonnes of cargo.

Among its standout features is an Automated People Mover (APM) system that will connect all four passenger terminals to facilitate smooth inter-terminal transfers. A landside APM will also link the city-side infrastructure, ensuring convenience for passengers and staff.

Committed to sustainability, the airport will include storage for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), solar power generation of nearly 47 MW, and electric bus services for city-wide connectivity. NMIA will also become the country’s first airport to be connected by a Water Taxi service.

In addition to the airport, PM Modi will inaugurate Phase 2B of the Mumbai Metro Line-3, which stretches from Acharya Atre Chowk to Cuffe Parade and has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 12,200 crore.

With this launch, the Prime Minister will dedicate the entire Mumbai Metro Line-3 (Aqua Line) to the nation. Built at a total cost exceeding Rs 37,270 crore, this milestone marks a major leap forward in the city’s urban transport infrastructure.

Mumbai Metro Line-3, the city’s first fully underground metro line, is set to redefine commuting in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region by offering faster, more efficient, and eco-friendly transport options for millions of daily commuters.

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National News

Akhilesh Yadav to meet SP veteran Azam Khan in Rampur amid rumours of latter’s party switch

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Lucknow, Oct 8: In a significant political development in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav is set to meet old warhorse Azam Khan on Wednesday, a meeting seen by many as an attempt to bring an end to ‘differences and distrust’ with the party stalwart.

The meeting between the duo will be closely watched, not just by SP workers but also by political analysts, as this is expected to have greater ramifications for the party in strengthening its Muslim votebank, as the latter is one of the biggest Muslim faces of the party and commands strong influence in Western Uttar Pradesh areas like Moradabad, Amroha, and other cities.

SP’s Bareilly president Shivcharan Kashyap said that Akhilesh Yadav will arrive in Bareilly from Amausi Airport and from there, he will travel to Rampur by road.

He informed that the two leaders will meet and discuss issues in private.

The proposed meeting between the two comes amidst rumours of Azam Khan, once one of the most powerful ministers in the SP government, contemplating a switch to BSP.

Azam Khan, one of the tallest SP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, was incarcerated in jail for about two years, and this left him ‘disillusioned and disenchanted’ with the SP leadership, as the latter failed to show solidarity with him during his difficult time.

After his release from Sitapur jail on September 23, Azam Khan also said that he will meet only Akhilesh Yadav and no one else.

“Akhilesh Yadav will meet me, and I will meet only him,” he said, while replying to reporters, when quizzed about meeting the SP supremo.

He also said sarcastically, “It’s his magnanimity that he’s coming to meet a goat thief and a buffalo thief.”

Rumours of Azam Khan joining the BSP have been circulating in political circles for quite some time. However, he rubbished all these speculations, calling himself a true soldier of the party.

Azam Khan was one of the founding members of the Samajwadi Party and one of the closest aides of late Mulayam Singh Yadav. The meeting with Akhilesh Yadav is not only an attempt to rekindle old relationships but also to convey a message of unity within the party.

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