Mumbai, Sep 23: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, on Wednesday, while expressing profound sorrow over the tragic death of 20-year-old Sahil Wakode, criticised the growing tendency to frame every tragedy through the lens of caste and religion. He warned that such polarisation distracts from the deep-seated flaws in India’s education system.

Wakode, a second-year BTech student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, committed suicide on September 18.

Thackeray, in his long post on X, emphasised that while invigilators must uphold rules during exams, branding a deceased student as a wrongdoer before an official inquiry is complete is unfair. Equally, he noted, declaring faculty members guilty solely on the basis of unverified allegations undermines due process.

Pointing to a trend since 2000, Thackeray observed that caste consciousness has seeped into classrooms and workplaces across Maharashtra. He lamented that even premier institutions — once hailed by Jawaharlal Nehru as the “temples of modern India” — have become the centres of divisive caste narratives.

The MNS chief highlighted the immense, cutthroat pressure students face — from hyper-competitive entrance exams to gruelling academic workloads and dwindling campus placement guarantees. He argued that this environment of pervasive despair spans across engineering, commerce, arts, and medical fields.

Addressing the student community, Thackeray urged youth leaders and student movements not to allow genuine systemic reform efforts to be derailed by identity politics. He noted that political entities often deploy caste and religion as convenient tools to deflect accountability from structural policy failures.

“The issue is not about which specific government is in power. Over the past 30 to 40 years, in the pursuit of commercializing education, we have caused immense damage to the entire Indian education system; radical changes are needed to address this. Just as it seemed that the recent ‘Gen Z’ movement was marking the beginning of such a shift, this new incident has emerged. I urge the students to remember that your movement garnered nationwide support because it focused on finding solutions to systemic flaws. Your movement must continue along this same path. If it does, the government will be compelled to answer difficult questions and take concrete action,” said Thackeray.

He further noted, “Does the government intend to do so? If yes, that is excellent; if not, they always have the potent weapons of caste and religion at their disposal.

Thackeray argued that once the issues of caste and religion are introduced, it becomes easy to derail the conversation. “Do not get drawn into such distractions,” he advised.

Thackeray called for an urgent, structural overhaul in higher education rather than short-term political posturing. He urged youth movements to stay focused on demanding systemic accountability, mental health infrastructure, and fair academic practices from the government, ensuring that the fundamental struggle for educational reform is not lost to identity-based divisions.

Mumbai, Sep 22: The Bombay High Court warned “Fugitive Economic Offender” UK-based businessman Vijay Mallya against posting court documents on social media while the money laundering matter being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is still being heard, a lawyer said on Tuesday.

Advocate Ashish Mehta said that High Court’s direction to the fugitive businessman, allegedly present in the UK, followed the ED’s objection to Mallya uploading the probe agency’s affidavit on social media platform X even before the court had considered its contents.

Posting the matter for hearing on October 13, the High Court directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to file a fresh affidavit taking into account the disclosures made by the ED.

Earlier, Mallya had told the High Court in February that he was not in a position to specify when he would return to India.

He cited restrictions imposed by courts in England that he said prevented him from leaving the country.

The High Court was hearing two petitions filed by Mallya.

One petition challenges his designation as a “Fugitive Economic Offender” under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA), while the other contests a court order formally declaring him a fugitive.

Senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Mallya, had referred to Supreme Court judgments where writ petitions were heard even in the absence of petitioners.

He had submitted that extradition proceedings against Mallya are ongoing in the UK and that his client is aware of them but is unable to leave the English jurisdiction due to binding court orders.

The High Court, however, questioned Mallya’s intent to appear before the court, saying that he appeared to be relying on UK court orders without clarifying whether those orders had been challenged.

The Bench indicated that such reliance could not be treated as a blanket justification.

The court had directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to file a response to Mallya’s affidavit.

It also asked Desai to submit a detailed affidavit placing on record all statements made during the hearing so that the Union of India could respond accordingly.

Mumbai, Sep 22: The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Tuesday alleged that serious irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state could result in the exclusion of a large number of eligible voters, posing a threat to democratic participation.

In a representation submitted to Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam, the party pointed to discrepancies in draft electoral rolls, large-scale deletions of names, and delays in implementation of the revision process.

Led by state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, the delegation claimed that out of Maharashtra’s 9.78 crore registered voters, over 2.06 crore names, accounting for 21.14 per cent of the electorate, have been shifted to the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category.

The party further alleged that nearly 40 lakh voters added during the 2024 elections had been removed over the last 22 months. It also claimed that more than 1.22 crore voters have received notices due to unmapped links with the 2002 electoral rolls or other data-related anomalies, potentially putting genuine voters at risk of exclusion.

The Congress also alleged that duplicate entries continue to exist despite the revision exercise. Citing an example from Nagpur district, the party said around 25,000 duplicate names were found across the Kamthi, Hingna, Ramtek, Umred, Saoner and Katol Assembly constituencies.

It further claimed that the distribution of physical notices to voters was delayed by 15 to 20 days, affecting the effectiveness of the revision process.

According to the party, the ongoing claims and objections period, running from August 31 to September 30, coincides with major festivals such as Janmashtami, Bail Pola and Ganesh Utsav, reducing public participation.

It also expressed concern over the workload on school teachers serving as Booth Level Officers (BLOs), saying election-related duties alongside academic responsibilities could adversely affect both the revision process and educational activities.

In its memorandum, the Congress sought a two-month extension of the revision exercise to enable voters to complete registrations, file Form 6 applications and respond to notices.

The party also demanded broader acceptance of commonly available identity and citizenship documents, including ration cards, MGNREGS job cards, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, school leaving certificates, assessment extracts and gazette notifications for married women.

The party additionally called for mandatory notices and in-person hearings in cases where voter status is challenged through Form 7, arguing that such measures are necessary to uphold principles of natural justice.

It also recommended doorstep hearings for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and medically unfit voters.

Among other demands, Congress sought the appointment of Assistant BLOs at polling booths with more than 600 voters and the daily online publication of booth-wise data relating to Forms 6, 7 and 8 received during the claims and objections period.

The party maintained that unless corrective measures are taken urgently, the Election Commission’s objective of ensuring that no eligible voter is excluded while preventing ineligible entries may be undermined.