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Rahul Gandhi to kick-start UP campaign from Amethi

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 Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will kick-start campaign for UP assembly polls from his former Lok Sabha seat, Amethi. The date has not been finalized yet but it is said that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be in Amethi and Rai Bareli on December 17 and 18.

The Congress, which is weak at its own turf after lone Congress MLA Aditi Singh left to join BJP, has no legislative assembly member in both Lok Sabha seats as both the MLAs elected on Congress ticket in Rai Bareli have shifted to the BJP.

The party is thinking of a good show in the assembly polls to retain the seats and increase its number in the next elections.

Union Minister Smriti Irani, who had defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in 2019, has also been working in Rae Bareli to widen the party base.

Of the total ten Assembly seats in two Lok Sabha constituencies – Amethi and Rae Bareli, six are already with the BJP.

Two Congress legislators from Rae Bareli — Aditi Singh and Rakesh Singh – have switched over to the BJP, and so has Congress MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh from Rae Bareli.

Aditi Singh had revolted against the Congress last year when she defied the party’s whip and attended a special one-day session of the UP Assembly.

Ever since, she has been critical of the Congress leadership and has been praising the BJP. Her joining the BJP was expected since the past several months.

The BJP has also won the control of Zila Panchayats in the two districts.

In Rae Bareli, Irani replaced Sonia Gandhi as chairperson of District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee, in July.

Sonia Gandhi’s prolonged absence from her constituency, mainly due to her health issues, has dampened the morale of Congress workers there.

The desertion of some senior leaders, including two sitting MLAs, has damaged the party in the region that was once a Congress bastion.

Priyanka Gandhi, who oversees Rae Bareli and Amethi, has also not been able to devote much time to the two constituencies due to her preoccupation with state level issues.

The BJP, on the other hand, has deployed a well-oiled machinery to widen its reach. The Congress does not have a single MLA in Rae Bareli and Amethi.

Crime

Maharashtra: Gadchiroli Police Destroy Maoist Monuments, Arrest Naxal Supporter During Anti-Maoist Operations

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Gadchiroli: Police recently destroyed two Maoist-erected monuments and arrested a Naxal supporter actively involved in violent activities against security forces. Officials said both actions were part of ongoing anti-Maoist operations aimed at eliminating fear from local communities.

On September 30, a police team from Poste Katezari, along with SRPF personnel, was conducting a search operation in the Katezari and Marma forest areas of Mauja Katezari. During the operation, they found two Maoist monuments, erected two to three years ago, intended to spread fear and show Maoist presence in the region.

After inspection by the bomb disposal team, both monuments were demolished and destroyed. Police said that, with the cooperation of local citizens, trees were planted at the site as a symbol of peace.

Superintendent of Police, Gadchiroli, Nilotpal, said: “The Gadchiroli police is trying to free citizens from the terror of the Maoists. Such memorials have no place in society, and people are urged not to participate in such illegal constructions.”

In a separate incident on September 29, while security forces were conducting an anti-Maoist operation in the Bhamragad area, they received information about a suspicious person allegedly conducting reconnaissance of security forces.

The man was detained and later identified as Sainu alias Sannu Amlu Mattami (38), a resident of Poyarkothi, Bhamragad. Investigations revealed he was a staunch Naxal supporter involved in violent activities, including an encounter between police and Maoists in the Koparshi-Phulnar jungle area on August 27, 2025.

Mattami was arrested on September 30.

According to officials, since January 2022, Gadchiroli police have arrested a total of 110 Maoists, a result of sustained anti-Maoist operations in the district.

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Mumbai: ₹500-Crore Bhagwati Hospital In Borivali To Open By December After Delays

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Mumbai: After years of anticipation and multiple setbacks, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Shri Harilal Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali is finally nearing completion. The ₹500-crore super specialty hospital will be ready by November 15 and is expected to open its doors to patients by December, bringing long-awaited relief to residents of the city’s western suburbs.

The hospital’s redevelopment has been a prolonged process marked by repeated delays. The project was planned in two phases. The first phase, launched in 2009, became partially operational in 2016 with 110 beds, though it missed its original deadline by two years. The second phase, which began in August 2019, was scheduled for completion by October 2022. However, the deadline stretched nearly three years, pushing the project’s completion to November 2025.

Officials have cited several factors for the delay, including lapses by contractors, administrative hurdles, and rising costs. The COVID-19 pandemic further slowed progress as manpower and resources had to be diverted toward emergency healthcare. Additionally, project costs escalated due to design changes aimed at transforming Bhagwati into a modern super specialty hospital, equipped with facilities such as a Cath Lab, modular operation theatres, and advanced diagnostic units.

Once fully functional, the hospital will have 373 beds, with plans to eventually expand to 490 beds. It is expected to significantly reduce the patient burden on major civic hospitals such as Cooper, KEM, and Nair, while also serving patients from Palghar and Dahanu.

“The full-scale operation of Bhagwati Hospital will help decentralize healthcare in Mumbai and ease pressure on central civic hospitals,” said BMC Additional Commissioner (Health) Sharad Ughade.

Departments including Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, and Ophthalmology have already been revived and reopened. In the coming months, super specialty services in Nephrology, Cardiology, and Neurology will also be introduced, alongside a state-of-the-art Cath Lab.

For the rapidly growing western suburbs, the opening of Bhagwati Hospital marks a vital step in improving access to advanced healthcare closer to home, ending years of dependence on distant hospitals for specialized treatment.

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Bombay High Court Upholds SBI Decision To Declare Anil Ambani’s Account As Fraud

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The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to quash the order passed by the State Bank of India (SBI), which had classified the loan account of Reliance Communications and its chairman, Anil Ambani, as ‘fraud’.

The classification was made on June 13, 2025, under the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Directions on Fraud Risk Management and SBI’s internal policies.

Ambani had challenged the move, arguing that the bank had not followed principles of natural justice. He claimed that he was not given an opportunity to be heard before the account was flagged as fraudulent. He also stated that some crucial material used in the classification was initially withheld and only provided to him after a delay of six months.

The High Court, however, upheld SBI’s decision, noting that the classification was in line with regulatory guidelines.

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