India

Patna, March 16 (IANS) Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the residence of two sand traders in Bihar’s Bhojpur district on Saturday.

The sand traders have been identified as Krishna Mohan Singh of Anand Nagar and Punj Singh of Dhandiha village.

The ED investigated the documents related to movable and immovable assets the accused obtained allegedly through sand mining.

Krishna Mohan Singh and Punj Singh were directors in the Brandson company in the past and can have alleged links with ‘sand king’ and RJD leader Subhash Yadav.

On March 9, the ED conducted raids at the premises of Subhash Yadav and recovered more than Rs 2.30 crores. He was facing charges of money laundering.

--IANS

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Mumbai, March 16 (IANS) The Shiv Sena (UBT) is rattled as its senior functionary and Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas E. Danve is reportedly peeved at being ignored for a Lok Sabha nomination from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar constituency, here on Saturday.

He admitted that he had been yearning for a LS nomination since 2014, then 2019, but was allegedly denied the opportunity owing to the local strongman and five-time MP, Chandrakant Khaire.

A Member of Legislative Council Danve accused Chandrakant Khaire of constantly trying to politically browbeat him, but categorically stated he (Danve) would continue working under the leadership of SS-UBT President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray.

He also assured that he is not planning to join hands with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, while shrugging that nobody can predict what would happen in future.

Chandrakant Khaire, who lost the prestigious Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar seat to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen's Syed Imtiaz Jaleel in 2019, is likely to be renominated from there as a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate, creating heartburns for Danve and his supporters.

The statements by Ambadas Danve have created ripples in the MVA as just a couple of days back, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat set the cat among the pigeons by claiming that "a big leader from the MVA" would switch over by Monday.

The Leader of Opposition in the Upper House also urged that new faces must be given a chance for the Lok Sabha and said he had apprised the party leadership of his keen desire to contest it.

"I am a loyal Shiv Sainik and struggles are nothing new for me... But it is not possible to forecast what can happen in the coming times," said Ambadas Danve, dropping broad hints.

Meanwhile, efforts are on to mollify Ambadas Danve by Thackeray and party MP Sanjay Raut and deploy his oratorical skills for the campaign of the Lok Sabha elections, the schedule of which will be announced this afternoon.

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed the enthusiastic response to the rooftop solar scheme as the number of households opting for the plan has already surpassed the 1 crore mark within the first month of its launch.

PM Modi said on X: “In about a month since it was launched, over 1 crore households have already registered themselves for the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. Registrations have been pouring in from all parts of the nation. Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have seen over 5 lakh registrations. Those who haven’t registered yet should also do so at the earliest.

"This initiative promises substantial reductions in electricity expenses for households, along with ensuring energy production. It's poised to encourage Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) on a grand scale, contributing to a better planet," the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister launched the Rs 75,000 crore rooftop solar scheme on February 13 under which consumers will get free electricity of up to 300 units a month.

"From substantive subsidies, which will be given directly to people’s bank accounts, to heavily concessional bank loans, the Central Government will ensure that there is no cost burden on the people. All stakeholders will be integrated to a National Online Portal for further convenience," PM Modi announced.

The Union Cabinet approved the scheme on February 29 under to provide Central financial assistance of 60 per cent of system cost for 2 kW systems and 40 per cent of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3 kW capacity.

The financial assistance will be capped at 3 kW. At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1 kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher.

The households will apply for subsidy through the National Portal and will be able to select a suitable vendor for installing rooftop solar.

The National Portal will assist the households in their decision-making process by providing relevant information such as appropriate system sizes, benefits calculator, vendor rating etc.

Households will be able to access collateral-free low-interest loan products of around 7 per cent at present for installation of residential RTS systems up to 3 kW.

--IANS

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Jaipur, March 16 (IANS) With a total of more than 5.32 crore people, including 15 lakh voting for the first time, have registered across Rajasthan for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the state is all set to participate in the biggest-ever festival of democracy, a top electoral officer said.

This time the percentage of female voters' registration has been more than that of males, which indicates the growing role of women in shaping democracy, said Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta, adding, "More than 22.54 lakh female voters have been included in the voter lists since 2019. This is an increase of 9.7 per cent as compared to the 9.27 per cent increase in registration of male voters."

He also said that due to intensive efforts towards gender parity, the electoral roll gender ratio, too, has surged positively.

The gender ratio increases from 919 in 2019 to 923 in 2024, Gupta added.

Speaking on participation of youth in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state, the Chief Electoral Officer said, "More than 15 lakh youth, between the age of 18-19 years, have been added to the electoral rolls.

In 2019, total number of people between the age of 18-19 years were 12,82,118 while in 2024 they increased to 15,70,490.

The number of people belonging to the third gender has increased from 265 in 2019 to 616 in 2024.

There has been a 31.3 per cent increase in the number of differently-abled people voting since 2019, Gupta added.

A thorough house-to-house verification has been made and names of deceased, permanently shifted, and duplicate voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls. This comprehensive cleanup ensures the integrity and purity of the electoral process. It resulted in deletion of 2,65,707 voters due to death, duplicate names, shifting or absent voters during the last quarter of registrations since 2023 state Assembly elections, the Chief Electoral Officer said.

--IANS

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Kolkata, March 16 (IANS) Uncertainties over the bill proposing enhancement of salaries for the minister and MLAs in West Bengal finally got over on Saturday after Governor C.V. Ananda Bose finally gave clearance to the bill.

“Hon’ble Governor C. V. Ananda Bose has assented to the following Bills: The Bengal Legislative Assembly (Members’ Emoluments) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The West Bengal Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2023,” a statement issued by the office of Governor said.

The bill was passed in the Assembly in September last year but it could not be implemented as the Governor did not give his consent.

The BJP raised strong objections to the proposal, calling the hike unethical considering that the state government is unable to pay enhanced dearness allowances to the state government employees at par with their counterparts in the Central government.

The government is expecting to officially execute the enhanced pay with effect from April 1, 2024.

The legislators will now be entitled to a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 a month, as against the existing amount of Rs 10,000. The monthly salaries of the ministers of the state have been increased from Rs 10,900 to Rs 50,900. For the cabinet ministers, the amount has been increased from Rs 11,000 to Rs 51,000.

The other additional perks and allowances that cabinet ministers, ministers of state and MLAs are entitled to in addition to monthly salaries will remain the same.

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Navneet Kumar Sehgal, a retired senior bureaucrat has been appointed as the Chairman of the Prasar Bharati Board, an official order said on Saturday.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 read with sub-section (4) of Section 4 and sub-section (1) of Section 6 of that Act, the President, on the recommendation of the Selection Committee, is pleased to appoint Navneet Kumar Sehgal, IAS (retd.) as the Chairman of the Prasar Bharati Board with effect from the date of his assuming charge of the post for a term of three years or until he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier,” read the order by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

“The terms and conditions of his appointment shall be governed by the provisions of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 and the rules made thereunder,” it added.

Senior bureaucrat Sehgal retired from service in July 2023 and he would Chair the country's public broadcaster for a period of three-year or till the age of 70.

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Security was stepped up at the Enforcement Directorate office on Saturday morning, a day after Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K. Kavitha was arrested and brought to Delhi in connection with the excise policy case.

"We have deployed additional police personnel to maintain law and order situation in the area," said a senior police official.

At the Rouse Avenue court, the probe agency will be seeking her remand for custodial interrogation.

It is anticipated that the BRS leader may be confronted with senior members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), such as Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia, who are currently under judicial custody in this matter.

Additionally, Amit Arora, a witness who purportedly confessed to the ED regarding the alleged bribery scheme related to the liquor policy, might also be brought into direct confrontation with K. Kavitha, according to sources.

K. Kavitha, the daughter of party President and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, was arrested on Friday in a money-laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy case after searches at her residence in Hyderabad.

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, BJP has launched a new campaign: a song on the theme 'Main Modi ka Parivar Hun'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shared this song on his X account and has captioned it: "Mera Bharat, Mera Parivaar."

This comes the very day the Election Commission will announce the dates for the upcoming general elections.

The three minutes 13 seconds long video features Prime Minister Modi interacting with several people who appear to be beneficiaries of various welfare schemes announced by the Central government. The song also shows people from all sections of society connecting with the Prime Minister through these schemes and how the nation has progressed under his leadership over the past decade.

The lyrics of the song go: "He lives in the house of my heart, always cares about me…He understands my pain and suffering, remains involved in my happiness…He is not standing alone here, I am his world…I am Modi's family."

The campaign song depicts the faith people have in Prime Minister Modi and BJP's poll mantra 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas'.

The slogan 'Mera Bharat, Mera Parivaar' was coined by the Prime Minister in response to a personal remark made by an opposition leader.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, March 15 (IANS) Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, K.S. Eshwarappa, announced on Friday that he will contest as an Independent candidate from Shivamogga in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Eshwarappa announced this after a meeting with his supporters in Shivamogga on Friday.

B.Y. Raghavendra, the son of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, is the BJP candidate from Shivamogga, while the Congress has fielded Geetha Shivarajkumar as its candidate from the seat.

Geetha Shivarajkumar is the daughter of late former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa, and the sister of state Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa. She is married to Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar.

Meanwhile, Eshwarappa said on Friday that he will contest the polls as an Independent nominee to highlight how the state BJP is under the clutches of Yediyurappa's family.

"The Hindutva activists are pained over family politics in the state," he said.

Reacting to the development, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that he never 'cheated' Eshwarappa, adding that he had even told the party high command to give ticket to Eshwarappa's son K.E. Kantesh based on social justice.

Talking to reporters in Haveri, from where he is contesting, Bommai said he was not aware of the meeting convened by Eshwarappa.

"I had requested to consider Kantesh for Gadag-Haveri based on social justice. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President J.P. Nadda asked me to contest from the seat. That is why I am contesting from Haveri," Bommai said.

The senior BJP leader also said that Eshwarappa has built the party in the state of which he is a loyal soldier.

Bommai also said that he along with Union Minister Pralhad Joshi will speak to Eshwarappa.

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the guidelines set out by the Calcutta High Court in connection with the dissemination of information regarding the raids and search operations conducted by the probe agency in the alleged scams in West Bengal.

At the very outset, a Bench headed by Justice Hrishikesh Roy told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the ED, that it would not pass any interim order staying the guidelines issued by the High Court.

“Mr Raju, if you want to withdraw the plea, you withdraw it. Otherwise, we will dismiss it,” added the Bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra.

Sensing the disclination of the apex court to entertain the petition, ASG Raju chose to withdraw it.

“Accordingly, without entering into the merits of the impugned order, the SLP stands dismisses as not pressed,” ordered the apex court.

Before the Calcutta High Court, Rujira Narula Banerjee, wife of Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, had contended that the ED officials leak information relating to the investigation to assassinate her character and malign her family.

In its order, a bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya of the Calcutta High Court said: “The investigating agencies in general and the ED in particular should not involve or be accompanied by media persons during their raids/interrogations/search and seizure procedure, since such act on the part of the investigating agency compromises fair trial as well as privacy of the concerned individual, raising presumptions of guilt/involvement before being established in due process of law before the competent court.”

The High Court had also asked the media to not publish the photographs of the accused before the final charge sheet in the matter is filed.

--IANS

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