Pune, July 4: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the responsibility of creating the India of Shivaji Maharaj’s dreams rested with 140 crore Indians, and sometimes, there is a need to fight to protect our ‘Swaraj’. He cited Operation Sindoor as an example of this.

“When there was a need to fight for Swaraj, we fought. If there is a need to fight to preserve Swaraj, we will fight. Operation Sindoor is an example of this. But alongside Swaraj, the idea of a great India also encompasses the concept of Shivaji Maharaj,” he stated in his speech after unveiling the statue of the great patriot and symbol of Maratha pride, Shriman Bajirao Peshwa, on the premises of the National Defence Academy.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, and Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol were among others present on the occasion.

“Our goal should be to create an India where we are number one in the entire world. If there is a personality that inspires effort, dedication and sacrifice for this, it is Shrimant Bajirao Peshwa,” he noted.

“PM Modi has given the formula of development and heritage. There have been many personalities in our thousand-year-old culture who keep inspiring us. Their history needs to be given to today’s youth. Bajirao never fought for himself. He fought for the country and Swarajya. The British distorted history. Despite having so much prowess and power, Bajirao was a lifelong Peshwa. He fought for Swarajya. In his 40 years of life, he wrote an immortal history that no one will be able to write for many centuries,” said the Home Minister.

“The inspiration that will come from installing the statue of Shrimant Bajirao at the National Defence Academy, where the chiefs of all three armed forces train and graduate, will ensure that no one can touch India’s borders,” he asserted.

“Some rules of the art of war never become outdated. The importance of strategy in war, the importance of swiftness, the spirit of dedication, the spirit of patriotism, and the spirit of sacrifice are important. These are what lead armies to victory; only the weapons keep changing. The most exemplary embodiment of all these qualities in 500 years of Indian history is found only in Shrimant Bajirao Peshwa,” said HM Shah.

He further stated, “Shrimant Bajirao Peshwa fought 41 battles in 20 years and did not lose a single one, a record no other commander could match. The most fitting place to install the statue of such a brave warrior, who never let defeat come near him until his death, is the National Defence Academy.”

He said the land of Pune is the birthplace of the values of Swaraj. In the 17th century, it was from here that the concept of Swaraj spread across the nation.

“When the time came to fight for Swaraj again in the face of the British, it was Tilak Maharaj who first roared like a lion — ‘Swaraj is my birthright’. The example of how much a person can do for their country in their lifetime was also set by Veer Savarkar from this sacred land of Maharashtra,” he added.

HM Shah also connected Bajirao’s legacy to the broader historical context, crediting the Maratha warrior and the Peshwas for preserving India’s cultural and structural identity through their resistance against external forces.

He stated, “Had the battle for Independence that was started by Shivaji Maharaj and taken forward by the Peshwas for 100 years not been fought, India’s basic structure would have ceased to exist.”

New Delhi, July 4: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea of HDFC Bank CEO and Managing Director Sashidhar Jagdishan to quash an FIR lodged against him, following a complaint by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, which runs Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, that he has accepted a bribe of Rs 2.05 crore.

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan opined that it would be improper on the part of the apex court to intervene in the matter when Jagdishan’s plea to quash the criminal complaint is tentatively listed before the Bombay High Court for hearing on July 14.

Following the recusal by judges of the Bombay High Court at least on three different occasions, Jagdishan approached the Supreme Court over the delay in listing of his petition and prayed for an immediate interim relief.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing on behalf of Jagdishan, argued that the reputation of HDFC Bank is affected because of an internal dispute between the trustees of the Lilavati Trust, requiring an interim protection order. However, the Justice Narasimha-led Bench declined to pass any interim order and asked Rohtagi to raise all contentions before the Bombay High Court.

“We sympathise that the Bench after the Bench (of the Bombay HC) have recused. It is unfortunate! But, now it is listed,” remarked the apex court, hoping that the matter would be taken up by the Bombay High Court for hearing on July 14.

On Thursday, the top court agreed to urgently list Jagdishan’s plea for hearing on July 4 (Friday) after it was contended that a “frivolous” FIR was filed as “part of an arm-twisting tactic” to prevent the HDFC Bank from recovering money from the Lilavati Trust.

Jagdishan’s plea had come up for hearing in the Bombay High Court on June 30; however, noting that there was no urgency in the matter, it listed the matter on July 14, prompting him to move the Supreme Court for relief.

The FIR, registered last month at the Bandra police station in Mumbai under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), and 420 (cheating), levels serious allegations against Jagdishan.

The Lilavati Trust has claimed in its complaint that Jagdishan accepted a bribe of Rs 2.05 crore as a quid pro quo for providing financial advice to help the Chetan Mehta Group retain illegal and undue control over the governance of the Trust. It has accused Jagdishan of misusing his position as the head of a leading private sector bank to interfere in the internal affairs of a charitable organisation.

On the other hand, Jagdishan has strongly denied the allegations, calling the case a malicious attempt to defame him and HDFC Bank. He stated that HDFC, along with a consortium of banks, had granted loans to Splendour Gems Limited in 1995.

When the firm defaulted, recovery proceedings were launched in 2002 against its guarantors, including Kishor Mehta, Prashant Mehta’s father. An arrest warrant was issued in 2020, and though Kishor Mehta passed away in 2024, the proceedings continued against his sons.

Ranchi, July 4: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out raids at eight locations linked to close associates of former Congress MLA Amba Prasad from Jharkhand’s Barkagaon Assembly constituency.

The raids are part of an ongoing money laundering probe involving a prominent company engaged in coal transportation, infrastructure, and the power sector.

According to sources, simultaneous searches were conducted in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and Barkagaon.

Among the locations searched are the residence of Amba Prasad’s aide Sanjeet in Kishoreganj (Ranchi) and the homes of her personal assistants — Sanjeev Sao, Manoj Dangi, and Pancham Kumar — in Barkagaon.

Security forces have been deployed in large numbers at all the premises where raids are being conducted.

This move comes months after the ED conducted a similar crackdown between March 12 and March 14 this year, targeting Amba Prasad, her father, and former Minister Yogendra Sao, brother Ankit Raj, and several other relatives and associates.

During those raids, the agency had seized Rs 35 lakh in cash, digital devices, fake stamps of banks and government offices, handwritten receipts, diaries, and other incriminating documents.

Officials believe that the current searches are based on evidence and leads gathered during the earlier raids. The ED is now closely examining documents related to financial transactions, land deals, and mining activities.

Ten companies reportedly registered in the names of Amba Prasad and her family members are under scrutiny.

Earlier, the ED had questioned Amba Prasad, her father Yogendra Sao, and her brother Ankit Raj at its zonal office in Ranchi in connection with the same case.

Amba Prasad was elected to the Jharkhand Assembly from Barkagaon in 2019 on a Congress ticket. Her parents — Yogendra Sao and Nirmala Devi — have also represented the same constituency in the past.