Mumbai, April 15: The Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved the amendment to the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Municipal Panchayats and Industrial Towns Act, 1965, empowering the members to remove the presidents of Municipal Councils, Municipal Panchayats and Industrial Towns.

As the state legislature is not in session, the state government will issue an ordinance.

Earlier, for the removal of the president from office, a proposal with the signatures of fifty percent of the elected members needed to be sent to the District Collector. After that, action was taken at the government level to remove the president from office. Instead, now the elected members will be given the power to remove the president from office.

Accordingly, a proposal with the signatures of two-thirds of the elected members will be sent and based on which the District Collector will have to hold a special meeting within ten days and take a decision through voting.

In a related development, the Cabinet also approved to harmonise the rules for leasing real estate of municipal corporations and properties in municipal councils, municipal panchayats and industrial towns. It was also decided to issue a notification regarding new rates, Rules were framed on November 6, 2023, regarding the lease, renewal and transfer of immovable property of Municipal Corporations in the state.

Accordingly, uniformity will be brought in the transfer of properties in all urban local bodies in the state. For this, Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Towns (Transfer of Immovable Property) (Amendment) Rules 2025 will be framed on the lines of the Municipal Property Transfer Rules. The properties of the Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat, and Industrial Town have been classified as residential, educational, charitable, and public, commercial, and industrial.

According to the revised rules, the lease rate of properties for residential, educational, charitable, and public use will not be less than 0.5 percent of the current market value (ready reckoner).

The Cabinet also approved the provision for the lease rate for properties for commercial and industrial use, which will be less than 0.7 per cent of the market value. The valuation, lease rate and security deposit of these properties will be determined by a five-member committee headed by the District Collector of the respective districts. Objections and suggestions will be invited regarding these rules, and then a final notification will be published.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also cleared the Abhay Yojana for property tax dues in Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat, Industrial Township areas by waiving penalties. The government release said that there is a provision to impose a penalty of 2 per cent per month on the arrears of property taxes in the municipal council, municipal panchayat and industrial town areas.

Due to this, the total arrears of the property holders increase, and the amount of the penalty often exceeds the original tax amount. Since the penalty amount is more than the original tax amount, property holders are reluctant to pay the tax.

As a solution to this, the Abhay Yojana will be implemented by waiving the penalty on the arrears of property tax. There is no provision for such a penalty waiver in the previous Act. The Cabinet approved the inclusion of such a provision in the Act.

Bengaluru, April 15: In a shocking case of moral policing, a young Muslim woman was harassed in a park in Bengaluru by a group of individuals for being seen with a Hindu male companion.

The incident came to light after a 2-minute-14-second video went viral on social media on Tuesday. The police are currently verifying the details of the incident.

In the video, one of the men, who appears to be recording the couple, authoritatively asks the young woman to hand over her burqa and is seen threatening her.

The video shows the group approaching the couple and asking the young woman her name. When she tries to hide behind the youth, they question him, saying she is a Muslim and he is a Hindu — how can they be sitting together?

The youth responds that they are friends. One of the men in the group claims that they are more than friends and says he has the full video as evidence.

The man continues to heckle the young woman, demanding that she come to him and reveal her name as he is calling other members of his group to come to the spot. He repeatedly insists that she state her name.

He further says, “If you want to do all this, do it without wearing the burqa. She belongs to our (Muslim) community. Give me my burqa,” he demands.

When the young woman holds her friend’s hand and tries to leave, the man follows them and insists she hand over the burqa before leaving.

He continues to torment her, saying, “What antics are you up to? You want to hold his hand? Do you have any respect for the burqa? I want you to hand it over,” he insists.

“You go to hell — we don’t care. First take off the burqa, then go,” the man is heard telling her.

The woman pleads with them not to create an issue. However, the man accuses her, claiming they had been watching her since she entered a hotel. He questions her, asking how she can behave like that as a Muslim.

On April 11, the Karnataka Police arrested four individuals, including a minor, in connection with a case of moral policing reported under the Chandra Layout police station limits in Bengaluru.

The accused allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for speaking with a youth from another community. They verbally abused her and attempted to assault her.

DCP (West) S. Girish s, “Within the limits of Chandra Layout police station, a boy and a girl were sitting on a bike in front of a park. Upon seeing them, a group of four to five men approached and began questioning them. The woman was wearing a burqa.”

“The accused questioned her about why she was at the location and whether she had informed her family. Based on the young woman’s complaint, we registered a case and arrested the four accused. We have also taken the minor involved into custody,” the DCP said.

Police sources stated that the young Muslim female stood her ground and confronted the group, questioning their interference in her personal matters. She reportedly told them that the person she was speaking to was her classmate and asked why she should give out her family’s contact information. Her family lodged a police complaint later.

New Delhi/Patna, April 15: In a key move to bolster the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections slated for late this year, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi in the national capital on Tuesday.

Following the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav described the interaction as “positive” and emphasised unity within the opposition bloc.

“We discussed the strategy for the Bihar Assembly election 2025. The atmosphere was positive. A follow-up meeting will be held on April 17 in Patna with our Left allies, including CPI-ML, CPI, and CPI-M, to finalise the strategy,” he told reporters.

He reiterated the Mahagathbandhan’s readiness, stating: “We are fully prepared and will contest with full strength. The people of Bihar have decided to change the government.”

Congress chief Kharge took to X to echo Tejashwi Yadav’s sentiments and claim a shift in the political momentum in Bihar.

“Today, we met Bihar’s former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and the meeting was positive. This time, change is certain in Bihar. In the coming elections, we will offer a strong, just, and welfare-based alternative for the people of Bihar. Bihar will be freed from BJP and its opportunistic thug alliance,” he posted.

He asserted that the youth, farmers and backward and marginalised sections of society are all looking to the Mahagathbandhan for governance.

Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, RJD Rajya Sabha members Sanjay Yadav, and Manoj Kumar Jha, Congress’s Bihar in charge Krishna Allavaru and other leaders were also present in the meeting.

While leaders did not disclose specific details, sources confirm that seat-sharing negotiations were a key issue in the meeting.

In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the RJD contested 144 of the total 243 seats and won 75, the Congress contested 70 seats and won 19, the CPI-ML contested 19 seats and won 12, the CPI and the CPI-M contested on 6 and 4 seats, respectively.

The Congress’s underperformance last time has led to calls within the RJD and Left circles to revise the allocation for 2025 to better reflect ground realities.