A special court in Pune has summoned Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed by the grandnephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, accusing the Congress leader of making objectionable remarks against the Hindutva ideologue, reported news agency PTI. The Pune court issued the summons to Gandhi on Friday, asking him to appear before it on October 23. Last year, Savarkar's grandnephew, Satyaki Savarkar, had lodged a complaint against the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha in this connection in a Pune court. Last month, the case was transferred to the special court for MPs and MLAs from the Judicial Magistrate First Class (FMFC) court. Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, who represents Satyaki Savarkar, told PTI that the special court for MPs an MLAs, presided over by Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde, issued the summons against Gandhi stating that his attendance is necessary to answer a charge punishable under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the case, and he is required to appear in person before the Pune court on October 23, reported PTI. In his complaint, Satyaki Savarkar alleged that Gandhi, in his speech made in London in March 2023, claimed that V D Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and he (Savarkar) felt happy. Satyaki Savarkar said no such incident ever took place, and that V D Savarkar never wrote any such thing anywhere. He termed Gandhi's allegation as "fictitious, false, and malicious", reported PTI. The court had asked the police to investigate the allegations and file a report. The Vishrambaug police station had carried out the inquiry and said that there is a prima-facie truth in the complaint. Nashik court summons Rahul Gandhi in defamation case over remarks on Savarkar A court in Maharashtra's Nashik district has summoned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him for his alleged objectionable remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, reported news agency PTI. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nashik, Deepali Parimal Kaduskar, issued a process (summons/notice) to Gandhi on September 27, noting that the "statement made against a patriotic person prima-facie seems to be defamatory," reported PTI. Rahul Gandhi will have to appear either personally or through his legal representative on the next date of the defamation case, which is yet to be decided. The complainant, who is the director of an NGO, claimed he watched a press conference addressed by Gandhi in Hingoli and also a speech made by the Congress leader in November 2022, reported PTI. He alleged that Gandhi, on the two occasions, by his words and visual representations knowingly harmed the reputation of Veer Savarkar and also tried to defame the latter's image in the society. "The speech of the accused along with press statements try to ruin the reputation of the complainant's idol Swatantryaveer Savarkar and his contribution to the society along with his noble work in the pre-independence period," he said, reported PTI. According to the complainant, Gandhi said "Savarkar is BJP and RSS jin" which was defamatory in nature, reported PTI.
05 October,2024 12:06 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondentA special court in Pune has summoned Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed by the grandnephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, accusing the Congress leader of making objectionable remarks against the Hindutva ideologue, reported news agency PTI. The Pune court issued the summons to Gandhi on Friday, asking him to appear before it on October 23. Last year, Savarkar's grandnephew, Satyaki Savarkar, had lodged a complaint against the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha in this connection in a Pune court. Last month, the case was transferred to the special court for MPs and MLAs from the Judicial Magistrate First Class (FMFC) court. Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, who represents Satyaki Savarkar, told PTI that the special court for MPs an MLAs, presided over by Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde, issued the summons against Gandhi stating that his attendance is necessary to answer a charge punishable under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the case, and he is required to appear in person before the Pune court on October 23, reported PTI. In his complaint, Satyaki Savarkar alleged that Gandhi, in his speech made in London in March 2023, claimed that V D Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and he (Savarkar) felt happy. Satyaki Savarkar said no such incident ever took place, and that V D Savarkar never wrote any such thing anywhere. He termed Gandhi's allegation as "fictitious, false, and malicious", reported PTI. The court had asked the police to investigate the allegations and file a report. The Vishrambaug police station had carried out the inquiry and said that there is a prima-facie truth in the complaint. Nashik court summons Rahul Gandhi in defamation case over remarks on Savarkar A court in Maharashtra's Nashik district has summoned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him for his alleged objectionable remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, reported news agency PTI. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nashik, Deepali Parimal Kaduskar, issued a process (summons/notice) to Gandhi on September 27, noting that the "statement made against a patriotic person prima-facie seems to be defamatory," reported PTI. Rahul Gandhi will have to appear either personally or through his legal representative on the next date of the defamation case, which is yet to be decided. The complainant, who is the director of an NGO, claimed he watched a press conference addressed by Gandhi in Hingoli and also a speech made by the Congress leader in November 2022, reported PTI. He alleged that Gandhi, on the two occasions, by his words and visual representations knowingly harmed the reputation of Veer Savarkar and also tried to defame the latter's image in the society. "The speech of the accused along with press statements try to ruin the reputation of the complainant's idol Swatantryaveer Savarkar and his contribution to the society along with his noble work in the pre-independence period," he said, reported PTI. According to the complainant, Gandhi said "Savarkar is BJP and RSS jin" which was defamatory in nature, reported PTI.
05 October,2024 12:06 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondentAs the Haryana assembly elections began, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to the voters to exercise their franchise and "set a new record of voting". In a post on X, PM Modi encouraged first-time voters to take part in the electoral process. "Voting is taking place today for the Haryana Assembly elections. I appeal to all voters to be a part of this holy festival of democracy and set a new record for voting. On this occasion, my special best wishes to all the young friends of the state who are going to vote for the first time," Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a post on X. Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini urged the people of the state to press the button of Lotus. "I, your Nayab Singh, would like to appeal to you to press the lotus button on October 5 and make BJP victorious with a huge margin. Your one valuable vote will help keep Haryana's development going non-stop and give it further momentum," Saini wrote in a post on X. Voting for all the 90 assembly constituencies in Haryana began at 7 am today. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting and 20,632 polling booths have been set up for voting. The results for the Haryana Assembly elections will be declared along with those of Jammu and Kashmir on October 8. One of the prominent faces in the elections is wrestler Vinesh Phogat. She joined the Congress party on September 6, along with Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia, following her disqualification from the women's 50 kg final at the Paris Olympics. The JJP-ASP alliance will contest all 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana, with the JJP fielding candidates in 70 seats and the ASP in 20. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 40 of the 90 seats, forming a coalition government with the JJP, which won 10 seats. The Congress secured 31 seats. However, JJP later broke out of the coalition. (With inputs from ANI)
05 October,2024 11:30 AM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentShortly after casting his vote, Union Minister and former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar attacked the Congress party accusing it of spreading lies and arguing that the party's past corruption led to unemployment, ANI reported. He also claimed that there has been an increase in employment opportunities, mainly in Haryana under the BJP rule. "I think someone advised them (Congress) 6-8 months ago to keep repeating their lies so that eventually people start believing in them. But as the elections approached, their lies were exposed... They have not even announced their CM candidate so far... People had gone through so many atrocities during the Congress government. The government was so corrupt that now all those agents and middlemen have been kept out of their jobs during the BJP rule... Unemployment in Haryana is only for the corrupt agents and middlemen of the Congress government. The common man has ample employment opportunities. With the growth of industry in the state, there is ample employment for everyone, especially in NCR and districts along the GT Road, he said to ANI. According to ANI, Khattar also said, "When their offers and freebies turned into votes, they backed off and people can see that. In Himachal Pradesh, they have started charging electricity fares, which they had earlier exempted... They kept talking about OPS and NPS but never implemented OPS anywhere. We have now moved on from NPS and introduced the UPS... We make promises and implement policies after taking due account of our budget... They must mislead voters... Congress has only worked to create a divide between castes." On speculation of Congress MP Kumari Selja joining the BJP party, the Union Minister said that when followers of a leader feel insulted, they go against the party that has insulted their leader, ANI reported. "The leaders of this party are just showing off and people have finally understood. The Congress party does not care about anyone but one family... Kumari Selja's community considers her as their leader, and when she has been insulted, people consider it their insult. When the followers of a leader feel insulted, they turn against the party that has insulted their leader. They start looking for an option," he said. Meanwhile, Selja said, "Today's fight will change the fate of Haryana. Although this is a one-sided contest, the BJP is ready to welcome me because they are already very weak. They will do anything to have strong leaders with them... We will win all 90 seats." Manohar Lal Khattar was the Chief Minister of Haryana for around 9,5 years. In March, Nayab Singh Saini took over as his successor. Under his leadership, the BJP is contesting the polls. Saini is a candidate from the constituency of Ladwa, ANI reported. (With Inputs from ANI)
05 October,2024 11:02 AM IST | Karnal | mid-day online correspondentWelcome to Mid-Day's Top News at this hour! We bring you a curated selection of the most significant and compelling news from around the globe. Stay informed with the latest developments in the nation, Mumbai, entertainment, sports, and more. Let's dive into the headlines shaping our world today. After 3-year wait, you can now zip from Kalina to BKC in 2 mins flat Seventeen hutments that had stalled the Kalina-BKC connectivity road project for nearly three years have finally agreed to relocate, clearing the way for the project’s completion. The MMRDA had completed most of the road three years ago, but progress was blocked by residents of Watchman Chawl, who refused to vacate their homes and even took the matter to court. Read more. Mumbai local train update: New suburban railway timetables aim to ease congestion and expand services The growing Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is the focus of both the new suburban railway (CR and WR) timetables that were announced earlier this week. While the Central Railway (Mumbai) timetable comes into effect from October 5, the Western Railway one comes into effect on October 12. On CR, it will be for the first time since the 2022 inauguration by the prime minister that the fast train platforms at Kalwa and Mumbra will be put to use and have fast train halts. On WR, there will be more trains to Dahanu. Read more. Thane: Major fire breaks out at warehouse in Bhiwandi; watch video A major fire broke out in a warehouse in Bhiwandi, located in Maharashtra's Thane district. Read more. IND vs NZ: Kerr's controversial non-run-out decision stirs heated debate in cricket circles There was no shortage of tough cricket at the Dubai Stadium on Friday when India took on a determined New Zealand in a Group A match of the T20 World Cup. There was an incident rarely seen on a cricket field. A batter was run out by miles while going for the second run and was walking off the ground when she was ruled not out. All hell broke loose as Indian players vehemently protested the umpire’s decision. Read more. Salman Khan to make cameo appearance as swashbuckling cop in Atlee's 'Baby John' Bring Varun Dhawan and Atlee together, and the result will be a mass entertainer. That’s exactly what the actor-producer duo has designed with their upcoming film, Baby John. Now, the actioner has got another heavyweight in Salman Khan, who has come on board for a cameo. So, what is Khan playing in Kalees’ directorial venture, which is an adaptation of the Tamil hit, Theri (2016)? mid-day has learnt that the superstar will step into the role of a senior police officer, essayed by Prabhu in the original. Read more.
05 October,2024 10:40 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentPolling for all the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana began on Saturday morning amid tight security arrangements, officials said, reported news agency PTI. The fate of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Vinesh Phogat, besides the JJP's Dushyant Chautala and 1,027 other candidates, will be decided in the Haryana assembly elections in which more than two crore people are eligible to vote. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing a hat-trick of Haryana assembly elections wins in the state, while the Congress is hoping to return to power after 10 years. The counting of votes will be taken up on October 8. The voting is being held from 7 am 6 pm. Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pankaj Agarwal had earlier said 2,03,54,350 voters, including 8,821 centurions, are eligible to exercise their franchise, reported PTI. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting the election, including 101 women and 464 Independent nominees. A total of 20,632 polling booths have been set up, Agarwal had said. Besides the BJP and the Congress, the key contesting parties are the Aam Aadmi PArty (AAP) and the INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party alliances. In the last Haryana assembly elections in 2019, the BJP had won 40 seats, the Congress 31 and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) 10. The Congress has left the Bhiwani seat for its INDIA bloc partner CPI(M), while the BJP is not contesting the Sirsa seat, from where Haryana Lokhit Party chief Gopal Kanda is seeking re-election. Most seats are likely to see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress. Prominent among those in the fray are Chief Minister Saini (from Ladwa), Leader of Opposition B S Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), Indian National Lok Dal's (INLD) Abhay Singh Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantonment), "Captain" Abhimanyu (Narnaund) and O P Dhankar (Badli), AAP's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat) and Congress's Phogat, a former wrestler, from Julana, reported PTI. From Tosham, former MP Shruti Choudhry of the BJP and Anirudh Chaudhary, both cousins, are contesting. From Dabwali, Devi Lal's grandson Aditya Devi Lal, an INLD candidate, is taking on the JJP's Digvijay Singh Chautala, the great grandson of the former deputy prime minister. The BJP has fielded former chief minister late Bhajan Lal's grandson Bhavya Bishnoi from Adampur in Hisar while its nominee from Ateli in Mahendragarh is Arti Rao, whose father Rao Inderjit Singh is a Union minister, reported PTI. Among the independent candidates are Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania) and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantonment). Taking on Dushyant Chautala from Uchana is the Congress's Brijendra Singh, son of former Union minister Birender Singh. A few rebels from both the Congress and the BJP are also in the fray. Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapur on Friday said the Haryana Police is fully prepared to ensure a free, fair and peaceful conduct of the election, reported PTI. Nearly 30,000 police personnel and 225 paramilitary companies have been deployed. An adequate number of home guard personnel have also been deployed, reported PTI. Adequate police presence will be maintained at the polling booths and other locations. More than 3,616 polling booths have been classified as sensitive and 145 deemed vulnerable, necessitating additional security measures, reported PTI. To maintain law and order and ensure compliance with the Model Code of Conduct, the state has also formed 516 flying squads, 469 static-surveillance teams and 32 quick-response teams. Additionally, 1,156 patrolling parties are actively monitoring the situation, the DGP said, reported PTI. Agarwal said of the total voters, 1,07,75,957 are men, 95,77,926 are women and 467 belong to the third gender, reported PTI. There are 5,24,514 voters aged between 18 and 19 years and 1,49,142 differently-abled voters, of whom 93,545 are male, 55,591 are female and six belong to the third gender, reported PTI. A total of 2,31,093 voters are aged above 85 years, comprising 89,940 males and 1,41,153 females, reported PTI. There are 8,821 voters aged over 100 years, including 3,283 males and 5,538 females. The total number of service voters is 1,09,217 -- 1,04,426 males and 4,791 females, reported PTI. The voter turnout recorded in the 2019 Assembly polls was around 68 per cent. A total of 144 polling stations have been designated as model ones. Besides, 115 polling stations will be entirely managed by women staff, 114 by young government employees and 87 by differently-abled employees. Webcasting will be conducted at all the polling stations on election day, Agarwal had said earlier. The CEO had said including reserved units, a total of 27,866 electronic voting machines (ballot units) will be used in this election. In 2019, the BJP formed the government with the support of the JJP while most of the Independent MLAs had also extended support to the saffron party. However, the JJP's post-poll tie-up with the BJP ended after the latter replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Saini as the chief minister in March. (With inputs from PTI)
05 October,2024 09:07 AM IST | Chandigarh | mid-day online correspondentCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday spoke on the phone to the man whose son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters were shot dead by an unknown assailant in nearby Amethi. Ram Gopal, aged about 60, arrived in Sudamapuri village in the Unchahar area of Rae Bareli with the bodies of his family members, who were killed in their rented home Thursday evening. Amethi MP Kishori Lal, who came to Rae Bareli at Gandhi’s behest, arranged the phone call, which lasted about three minutes according to visuals. Sunil Kumar, 35, a government school teacher, his 32-year-old wife Poonam, and the couple’s two daughters, Drishti and Suni, were shot dead in the Ahorwa Bhawani area of Amethi. The brazen wipeout of the Dalit family has drawn widespread denunciation of the state government. “The way my son has gone, they (killers) should go the same way,” Ram Gopal said. FriDay Gandhi spoke to the man This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 08:39 AM IST | Rae Bareli | AgenciesThe Supreme Court on Friday directed Assam State Legal Services Authority to conduct surprise visits at Matia transit camp for foreigners to check the facility’s hygiene and food quality etc. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih asked the secretary of State Legal Services Authority to nominate appropriate officers to make visits to the camp without prior notice to the authorities for the purpose of verifying cleanliness. The top court directed the state legal services authority to file a report after inspection within one month from today. The matter has been posted for hearing on November 4. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 08:37 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe Supreme Court questioned the “tearing hurry” on the part of the lieutenant governor’s office to exercise executive powers for holding the election for the sixth member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s Standing Committee. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and R Mahadevan asked the LG’s office to not hold elections for the post of chairman of the Standing Committee till it hears the plea of Mayor Shelly Oberoi against the September 27 Standing Committee polls. “We will view it seriously if you hold an election for the MCD Standing Committee chairman,” the bench told senior advocate Sanjay Jain, appearing for the LG’s office. It said that initially it was not inclined to entertain this petition but had to issue notice because of Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s decision to exercise his powers under Section 487 of the Delhi Municipal Act. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 08:36 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesChief of Air Staff (CAS) Air chief marshal Amar Preet Singh on Friday said that China is rapidly building infrastructure along the LAC, especially in the Ladakh sector, the chief of air staff also said that India too was upgrading infrastructure in the area rapidly. At a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day, the IAF chief also said that the Air Force is looking at having the entire inventory produced in India by 2047. Delving into geopolitical tensions and conflicts in various geographies, the IAF chief said it is important to have indigenous weapons systems to deal with any future security challenges. IAF chief said three units of S-400 missile systems were delivered by Russia and it promised to deliver the remaining two units by next year. On Tuesday, EAM S Jaishankar had said in response to a question at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think-tank. “In terms of our own relationship with China, I think it’s a long story. But the short version is that we had agreements on how to keep the border peaceful and tranquil. Those agreements were violated by China.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 08:34 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesFormer cricketer Salil Ankola's mother was found dead in her Pune flat on Friday with her throat slit, a police official said, adding the injuries prima facie look "self inflicted". The body of Mala Ashok Ankola, 77, was found in her flat on Prabhat Road in Deccan Gymkhana area in the afternoon, the official said. "The incident came to light after her maid came to the flat and then alerted relatives after no one answered the door," he stated. "When the door was opened, the woman was found dead with her throat slit. Prima facie, it looks like the injuries are self-inflicted. However, we are probing the case from all angles," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Sandip Singh Gill. She was suffering from some mental ailment, Gill added. Salil Ankola played one Test and 20 ODIs between 1989 and 1997. The fast-medium bowler later acted in films and TV serials. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
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