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Uddhav Vs Shinde: Political Showdown Set For Dussehra Rallies In Maharashtra

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Mumbai: On the occasion of Dussehra, five different rallies will be held in the state, including those of Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde.

Heavy rains have caused huge damage to agriculture in many places in the state. Marathwada has been hit the hardest by the rains. Against this backdrop, Dussehra rallies of various leaders and parties will be held in the state tomorrow. Dussehra rallies have special importance in the state’s politics.

The Vijayadashami programme of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is also organised in Nagpur.

While rallies of both the Shiv Sena factions will be held in Mumbai. BJP leader and Minister of Environment Pankaja Munde will also hold her Dussehra rally at Bhagwan Gad in Ahilyanagar district. Pro Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil will also hold a rally at Narayangad tomorrow.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party’s Dussehra rally 2025 will be held at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park, also known as Shivtirth in Dadar.

The party chief Uddhav Thackeray’s speech will be the main attraction, and party insiders said that he is likely to sound the bugle for the upcoming election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other local bodies in the state.

He is also expected to step up the attack against the MahaYuti government, especially for its handling of the present natural disaster caused by heavy rains and floods in Marathwada and other parts of the state.

The party took to X to announce Thursday’s rally, “Thoughts of Thackeray, Voice of Maharashtra, Dussehra Gathering 2025. The torch of Maharashtra’s welfare will blaze right here!”

On the other hand, Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally will be held at NESCO Exhibition Centre, Goregaon instead of Azad Maidan. Shinde, in his post on X, said, “This year’s Dussehra rally on the farmers’ bund. The venue has changed, tradition is not.”

Shinde is expected to fire a fresh salvo against his former boss and Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray while outlining the party’s plan to win the BMC elections as a key ally in the MahaYuti.

The Shiv Sena Dussehra rally has been a tradition for the past 58 years. In 2006, due to heavy rains on Dussehra day, the Shivaji Park ground was covered with mud and due to this, the rally was cancelled that same year, while in 2009, it was postponed due to the model code of conduct for the assembly elections.

In the two years 2020 and 2021, due to the Corona crisis in the state and the country, the Dussehra rally was held in a closed hall at the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Memorial. However, after the Shinde group split from Shiv Sena in 2022, separate Dussehra rallies of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray group and the Shiv Sena Shinde factions are being organised.

BJP leader Pankaja Munde’s Dussehra rally will be held at Bhagwan Gad. Her rally is important amid ongoing protests for pro-Maratha and OBC reservations.

The pro-Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil will address at Narayangad in Beed district. Jarange-Patil, who called off his protest in Mumbai last month, is pressing for the implementation of the government resolution issued early September with regard to providing Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community members.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is completing 100 years of its formation. In this context, the rally organised by the RSS on the day of Dussehra will have special significance. On the day of Dussehra, the Sangh performs Shastra Pujan. After this, there will be a speech by Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat.

Crime

Delhi Police arrest three in illicit liquor supply case

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New Delhi, Aug 22: In a major crackdown on the illegal transportation and supply of liquor, the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) team of the North-East District of Delhi Police arrested three persons and recovered 778 quarters of Haryana-marked illicit liquor along with two taxis allegedly used to transport the consignment.

The action was carried out on August 21, 2026, after Head Constable Deepak, along with Head Constable Anuj and Constable Mukesh, was conducting area patrolling duty near Maujpur Chowk.

At around 6:30 a.m., the police team received information from a secret informer that two taxis carrying illicit liquor from Haryana would arrive near Seelampur Metro Station. The taxis’ numbers were also shared by the informer.

Acting on the information, the police team reached the location. At around 7:30 a.m., both taxis arrived and were intercepted. Three persons were apprehended, while another individual reportedly managed to flee from the spot.

A search of the vehicles led to the recovery of 399 quarters of illicit liquor from taxi HR55AX3345 and 379 quarters from taxi DL1ZD5015, taking the total recovery to 778 quarters.

The arrested accused have been identified as Vinit Chauhan (35), owner of taxi bearing number — HR55AX3345; Akash Sharma (25), driver of taxi bearing number — DL1ZD5015; and Vishal (23), who was allegedly accompanying the other accused.

During interrogation, the accused reportedly disclosed information about the source of the illicit liquor. Police are verifying the information and conducting further investigation to identify other individuals allegedly involved in the supply chain.

A case has been registered as FIR No. 288/26 under Section 33 of the Delhi Excise Act at Seelampur Police Station. Police said none of the three arrested accused has any previous criminal involvement on record. Further investigation is underway, according to police.

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Business

Banks raise $72.8 billion in forex inflows till Aug 21, FCNR(B) deposits reach $65.4 billion: RBI

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New Delhi, Aug 22: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday said that authorised dealer banks have raised a massive $72.848 billion in forex inflows till August 21, and a major chuck came from FCNR (B) deposits at $65.397 billion.

External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) and Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings (OFCBs) under Reserve Bank’s Swap facility helped raised another $7.451 billion till August 21.

RBI had introduced a special USD-INR forex swap facility covering FCNR(B) deposits, ECB and OFCB inflows on June 8, 2026.

“As already announced vide Press Release dated August 14, 2026, the Scheme is open till August 31, 2026 for FCNR(B) deposits, and up to December 31, 2026 for ECBs and OFCBs,” The Research Bank said in a statement.

The massive foreign inflows arrive as Indian banks have stepped up their efforts to attract FCNR(B) deposits by offering higher interest rates after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suddenly cut short the deadline for its dollar-rupee swap window to August 31, from September 30.

The swap facility, announced in June to boost the inflow of dollars amid a weakening rupee, was originally available until the end of September, but the RBI abruptly shortened this by a month due to the “encouraging response” to the facility, which resulted in the required amount of foreign exchange flowing into the country.

While there may be valid reasons to justify an early closure of the RBI’s FCNR(B) deposit scheme, the most likely reason could be that the target for dollar mobilisation has already been achieved with inflows at $57 billion, and another $25-30 billion could easily flow in the remaining days of August, taking the total collections to around $85 billion, an SBI Research report said earlier this week.

According to the SBI report, “we don’t believe that the cost of swap could have been a constraining factor”.

“Our estimates show that the cumulative cost would amount to around 15 per cent of the corpus, or $10.5 billion. While this appears sizeable in absolute terms, it needs to be viewed against the scale of India’s foreign-exchange reserves rather than the FCNR(B) corpus alone,” the report argued.

Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves jumped $9.905 billion to $716.90 billion during the week ended August 14, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. The latest increase comes a week after the country’s forex reserves had surged by $14.1 billion to $707 billion, marking their highest level in the current financial year.

The rise in reserves was supported by inflows under the RBI’s FCNR(B) deposit scheme, which began to reflect in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

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National News

CJP vs villagers: Rajasthan school shifted within 24 hours in Jaipur

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Jaipur, Aug 22: A day after a dispute between the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and villagers of Rampura over an inspection of a government school in Jaipur escalated into allegations of assault, intimidation and a law-and-order breakdown, the government school was shifted to a building about 50 metres away, within 24 hours of Friday’s clash.

After the confrontation, CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke had warned of an escalation stating that he would sit on a dharna in Jaipur if steps weren’t taken within 48 hours to improve the condition of the school.

The Rampura government school was shifted to a house in the village on Saturday morning. More than 16 children were present at the new location along with two teachers.

The room being used for classes had previously operated as a grocery shop. At the time of inspection, some children were also seen studying outside in the Sun.

A blackboard had been placed outside one of the rooms, while the room itself contained a storage chest and other belongings.

Children also reported that the ceiling fan inside the room was not working, leaving them uncomfortable in the heat.

On Saturday morning, both sides filed complaints against each other at Shivdaspura police station, accusing one another of assault and creating a ruckus.

Both parties have also alleged that police personnel are putting pressure on them.

CJP national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka alleged that party workers were assaulted in the village on Friday and that their clothes were torn. He demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible.

Ranka further alleged that people from outside the village were brought in for the attack and claimed that some of those involved were later seen with local BJP MLA Kailash Verma. He described the incident as a “pre-planned attack” and alleged that stones were used with the intention of causing serious harm.

According to Ranka, police personnel were not present at the spot despite repeated attempts to contact them. He said the CJP has made videos of the incident public and demanded an impartial investigation by the Rajasthan Police.

Ranka also alleged that Pratap Nagar police were intimidating him and putting pressure on him. He claimed police personnel were questioning CJP workers about him and his family.

In their complaint to the police, villagers alleged that the CJP had disturbed the atmosphere in Rampura.

They claimed that the arrival of a large number of people, allegedly carrying weapons, created fear in the village and that children were now frightened to attend school.

The villagers have denied the allegations made by CJP workers and sought action over what they described as intimidation and disorder.

Villagers said they want the government to reconstruct the school building at the earliest so that classes can resume properly within the village.

Reacting to the developments, Ranka said the CJP would not be intimidated and would continue its ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign over the condition of government schools.

He alleged that Education Minister Madan Dilawar would face embarrassment over the condition of Rajasthan’s schools and said he would personally visit schools again.

Ranka also said the CJP’s demand could now extend beyond school-related issues to seeking Dilawar’s resignation.

Meanwhile, Dilawar posted on social media that continuous efforts were being made to strengthen government schools in Rajasthan, including infrastructure development, construction and repairs, smart classrooms, laboratories and other essential facilities.

The allegations made by both sides have yet to be independently established.

The police investigation and the FIRs filed by the two parties are expected to determine the sequence of events and responsibility for Friday’s clash.

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