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Maharashtra

‘We don’t laugh at the same joke again and again’: Fadnavis takes dig at Rahul Gandhi

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Nagpur, Feb 7: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday hit back at Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, after he raised concerns over the rise in voter numbers during the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Taking a swipe at Gandhi, Fadnavis said, “Rahul Gandhi is firing cannonballs in anticipation of his party’s defeat in the Delhi elections. After the Delhi results, Congress will be wiped out. He is simply practicing how to spin a new narrative. But we don’t laugh at the same joke over and over again.”

Dismissing Gandhi’s concerns over voter numbers, Fadnavis added, “The Election Commission has already provided all answers regarding voter lists — where names were added, where they were deleted — so there’s no need for further clarification. Rahul Gandhi knows the Delhi results will be a disaster for Congress, so he’s preparing his script in advance.”

He further criticised the Congress leader, saying, “As long as Rahul Gandhi keeps avoiding real introspection and instead focuses on misleading statements, there is no possibility of a Congress revival.”

Fadnavis’ remarks came after Rahul Gandhi, joined by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, at a press conference in Delhi on Friday questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) on how 9.7 crore votes were cast when Maharashtra’s adult population stands at 9.4 crore. Gandhi clarified that the opposition was not making accusations but was merely demanding transparency in the voters’ list.

However, his comments drew sharp criticism from the ruling BJP and its allies.

Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party chief Shrikant Shinde demanded a public apology from Rahul Gandhi, stating, “He must apologize not just to Maharashtra but to the entire nation for his reckless remarks. He should accept the will of the voters with humility instead of habitually trying to discredit India’s electoral integrity for short-term political gains.”

Shinde further asserted, “Maharashtra witnessed its highest voter turnout in 30 years, a testament to the strength of our democracy. Full credit goes to the Election Commission and Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer for ensuring a free and fair election.”

Mumbai BJP chief and state IT Minister Ashish Shelar accused Rahul Gandhi of indulging in “public melodrama” instead of reflecting on Congress’ defeat. “Rahul Gandhi and the Congress are still reeling from Maharashtra’s rejection,” he said.

Maharashtra BJP president and state Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule expressed similar sentiments, stating, “The Congress and its allies have not recovered from the shock of their crushing defeat. Instead of accepting the people’s verdict, they are casting doubt on voter turnout. The Election Commission has repeatedly clarified the increase in voters, yet they continue to make misleading allegations, undermining democracy.”

Bawankule also linked Gandhi’s remarks to the upcoming Delhi Assembly election results, saying, “As the inevitable defeat looms, he is trying to shift focus to Maharashtra’s election process. This is nothing but desperation.”

Taking a further jab, he remarked, “Supriya Sule, who sat next to him at the press conference, had previously said, ‘I won on this EVM.’ But Rahul Gandhi, who thrives on political stunts, refuses to acknowledge the truth. Rahulji, believe in democracy — stop defaming it with baseless allegations. The people have already seen through your lies.”

NCP chief spokesperson Anand Paranjape also dismissed Gandhi’s claims, attributing them to Congress’ fear of an impending defeat in Delhi.

“Since the Census has not been conducted yet, some discrepancies between the population and voter lists are expected. Moreover, the increase in voter numbers between Lok Sabha and Assembly elections is natural, as all parties push for new voter registrations. The Election Commission has also increased the number of polling stations, which further explains the rise in voter turnout,” he explained.

Maharashtra

FIR Filed Against Imtiyaz Esmail Patni & Mohammed Hanif Nakhande For Forgery By Charity Trust

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Mumbai: Mr. Yusuf Ebrahim Gadree, a trustee of the Yusuf Ebrahim Gardee Charity Trust, has filed an FIR against Mr. Imtiyaz Esmail Patni and Mr. Mohammed Hanif Nakhande at the Phydonie Police Station.

According to the complaint, Mr. Gadree had appointed Mr. Patni as the trust’s manager and granted him Power of Attorney; however, he never authorized either Mr. Patni or Mr. Nakhande to be appointed as trustees. Despite this, both individuals allegedly forged Mr. Gadree’s signature on a change report and submitted it to the Maharashtra Waqf Board to declare themselves as trustees.

Mr. Gadree became aware of this fraud after returning to India in 2021. He claims that Mr. Patni and Mr. Nakhande misled him into signing a legitimate change report for their family’s trusteeship inclusion, while they created a fraudulent report to include their names and submitted it.

The Pydhonie Police have registered an FIR under IPC Sections 408, 420, 465, 467, 468, and 471 r/w 34, which pertain to breach of trust, forgery, and fraud-related offenses.

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Maharashtra

Hold discussion on voters list in Parliament, demands Rahul Gandhi

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New Delhi, March 10: The Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Monday demanded a detailed discussion in the Parliament on the contentious issue of voters list, citing alleged discrepancies in the electoral rolls and duplication of Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.

Rahul Gandhi, speaking in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour, said that the entire Opposition wanted a discussion on the voters list and appealed to Speaker Om Birla to facilitate the same.

Congress MP’s demand for a discussion on the electoral rolls comes in the wake of the raging controversy over EPIC numbers. Days ago, Congress and TMC trained guns on the Election Commission demanding that it must come clean on the ‘duplicacy’ in the electoral rolls, failing which it will carry out an ‘expose’ on the poll panel.

Last month, Congress also questioned the alleged anomalies in Maharashtra Assembly elections claiming that more voters were added to the list in the past five months, as compared to the past five years.

Raising the pitch on the alleged discrepancies, Rahul Gandhi said in Lok Sabha, “The voter lists are being questioned across the country. Questions have been raised by the opposition in every state, including Maharashtra. It is pertinent that the House holds a debate on the issue.

While demanding a dedicated discussion, he also hurled a direct charge at the Speaker, drawing an instant rebuttal from the latter.

“We accept your remarks that the government does not make voter lists. But we demand a discussion on the issue,” the Congress leader said in concluding remarks.

Meanwhile, a delegation of 10 TMC MPs is set to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to lodge complaints over alleged duplicacy in the EPIC numbers.

The poll panel has however ruled out any discrepancy, stating that duplication of alphanumeric series doesn’t necessarily mean a fake voters list.

The controversy broke out after some reports said that multiple people shared the same EPIC number. As the photos surfaced on social media, this gave strength to claims that duplicate IDs were nothing but amounted to fake voters.

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Business

Maharashtra presents deficit budget, new tax burden on citizens

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Mumbai: Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar presented the state budget in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today. The public has expressed confidence in us in the assembly elections, so Mahayuti is committed to maintaining their trust. In this budget, special concessions and facilities have been given to the middle class. An attempt has been made to solve the problems of the people. With this resolve, Ajit Pawar has presented the budget for 2025-26, which is the first annual budget presented by the Mahayuti government.

Presenting the budget in the Assembly, Ajit Pawar said in his speech that Maharashtra will not stop, development will not be delayed, he also claimed that large-scale projects will be completed in the state, which will increase employment opportunities and boost the economy.

The state has set a target of an economy of one lakh trillion. Work on the Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is underway. Along with better industrial facilities in the state, employment opportunities and a technical center in the state and establishment of Maharashtra Technical Textile Mission for development work have also been implemented. It has also been assured in the budget that electricity rates will be reduced in the state. Electricity rates in the state will be lower than the rates of other provinces.

Ajit Pawar has also promised to complete many facilities and projects in the state budget. The work of Navi Mumbai airport is 85 percent complete, while work has started on Nagpur airport. Establishment of markets for agriculture has been ensured. Rs 3610 crore has been allocated for the transport department, out of which work has started on a 41 km long metro route in Mumbai.

A special project has been included in the budget for Mumbai, in which Rs 64,783 crore has been allocated for Versova to Madha, Versova to Bhayander Coastal Road, Malind to Goregaon, Thane to Borivali and Orange Gate to Marine Drive underground road to eliminate traffic problems in suburban areas. Thane to Navi Mumbai International Airport will be connected to the international airports of Thane, Dombivali, Kalyan and other important cities.

The work of the missing link at Khapoli-Khandala Ghat on Mumbai-Pune Highway will be completed by August 2025. Mumbai, Navi Mumbai Global Market will be established as well as Taluka Market Committee will be established across the state. Housing Scheme: Financial assistance of Rs 50,000 will be given for the house. Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana will be ensured in the state. Under this scheme, assistance of Rs 50,000 will be provided to each person. Under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Yojana, Rs 1.30 lakh has been allocated for domestic electricity and Rs 1,000 crore for power generation of more than 500 MW.

The state government has so far spent Rs 33,232 crore on Ladli Behan in the budget, while the Finance Ministry has allocated Rs 36,000 crore for it. A Hope Mall will be started in every district to establish savings banks and 10 malls will be set up in the first phase.

A 200-bed hospital will be built in Thane of Ratnagiri district, which will provide medical facilities to the citizens. The second phase of construction of metro route will be implemented in Pune. In the second phase, Rs 9894 crore has been allocated for two metro routes. Both the metro projects have been sent for approval from the Central Government. A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be installed in Sangameshwar. Apart from this, Maratha Shaurya Smarak will be built in Panipat. A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be built in Agra.

In this budget of the state government, a new tax has been imposed on the citizens. In this, a lump sum tax of 7% has been ensured on the purchase of cars. This tax has been imposed on electric cars and other things. This tax has been imposed on the purchase of cars worth more than 30 lakhs so that the common citizens do not face any problem. The state government has presented a budget of 7 lakh thousand crores. In this deficit budget, the burden of tax has been imposed on the citizens.

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