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Hyderabad, Sep 16 (IANS) For the first time in its history, the AIMIM organised celebrations to mark Hyderabad State's integration with the Indian Union.

The party organised a massive 'Tiranga' bike rally in the old city of Hyderabad on the eve of September 17.

Led by AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, hundreds of people participated in the rally from Eidgah Mir Alam to Teegal Kunat crossroads.

Owaisi later hoisted the national flag and addressed the gathering. Party's MLAs, corporators, other leaders, and workers participated in the rally.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has called for celebrating September 17 as national integration day.

Owaisi, in his speech, hit back at the RSS and the BJP, which call his AIMIM as the party of 'razakars', or the supporters of Nizam who were opposed to Hyderabad State's accession to the Indian Union. He reiterated that 'razakars' left the country and those who were loyal to the country chose to live here. "Razakars have gone to Pakistan, wafadars (loyalists) have remained in India," he said.

"We do not need a loyalty certificate from the RSS and the BJP as both were not there in India's first freedom struggle in 1857 and at the time of Hyderabad's integration with India," he said.

Owaisi also made it clear that he was not an inheritor of Qasim Razvi, who had migrated to Pakistan after Hyderabad's accession to India.

Razvi was president of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and he wanted Hyderabad State to be merged with Pakistan. MIM was banned after Hyderabad State acceded to India following India's military action aOperation Polo'.

"This is Abdul Wahid Owaisi's party which has always had an unwavering belief in the Constitution of India," he said.

Abdul Wahid Owaisi was Asaduddin Owaisi's grandfather, who revived MIM with a new constitution.

MIM was originally founded in 1927 to promote the socio-economic and educational development of Muslims.

Owaisi said old wounds should not be re-opened. He quoted Sunderlal Commission's report which revealed that 40,000 people were killed in the 'Police Action' as Operation Polo was popularly called.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government is also celebrating September 17 this year as national unity day. The three-day celebrations began across the state on Friday with massive rallies and processions led by ministers, MPs and other leaders.

The national unity day celebrations by the TRS and the AIMIM are seen as counter to Hyderabad Liberation Day being celebrated by the BJP.

The Union Culture Ministry is organiszing a parade in Hyderabad on Saturday, which will be addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Taking exception to the use of word liberation, the AIMIM and the TRS have decided to organise the celebrations as national unity or national integration day.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea by the Karnataka government, challenging the Karnataka High Court judgment, which struck down provisions of law prohibiting betting and wagering in online games.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, A.M Singhvi, and Shyam Divan, represented the gaming companies' associations, submitted before a bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and V. Ramasubramanian that the issue was whether it was game of skill or chance or gambling.

The Karnataka government contended that cybercrime has become a major issue and cited filing of 28,000 cases in the last three years, while emphasising the need for a law against online gaming to maintain public order. It further argued that people have died by suicide and the online gaming has ruined many families, therefore it was necessary to deal with its ill effects.

The state government's plea said: "The Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021 made criminalised wagering, betting or risking money on the unknown result of an event."

On February 14 this year, the high court struck down the government's ban and the legal provision which criminalised playing games of skill, including online games, and betting.

The top court issued notice to online gaming industry body All India Gaming Federation and skill-based gaming firms. It directed to tag this matter with a similar matter, where the Tamil Nadu government has challenged the judgment by the Madras High Court.

The Karnataka High Court had said that the Act was unconstitutional and there cannot be any ban on online games of skill. The state government contended before the apex court that the high court had grossly erred in not taking into account the material produced by it in connection with cases registered by the police authorities.

--IANS
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Amaravati, Sep 16 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday alleged that the opposition and its "friendly" media is painting the state's financial management in poor light and claimed that there is no threat to the state's economy.

He told the Assembly that despite Covid-19 and other challenges, the state economy was doing well and in fact, better than many other states and even the national average.

Making a power-point presentation about the actual facts and figures regarding the state's economy and finance, he claimed that YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government has been performing better than the previous TDP government.

"A concerted effort is being made by (TDP chief) Chandrababu Naidu and his friendly media to show the state in dire straits and comparing it with Sri Lanka, while in reality the growth rate of Andhra Pradesh is very rosy and has been very encouraging," he said.

"Braving Covid, we had gone forward balancing welfare and development and state's performance was far better than the previous government and even the national average," he said giving a graphic detail of the comparative figures on GDP, loans taken, government guarantees and other indices to show the financial management is healthy.

"The Gang of Four which follows the principle of plunder, stash and devour have started a vicious campaign to defame the government. People of the state need to know the facts that when the budget of the previous and our government is almost the same and the loans we have taken are less than Chandrababu Naidu regime," he said.

"Why could Chandrababu Naidu not implement the welfare schemes we are implementing?" he asked.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the state's debts increased by 123 per cent under TDP rule (2014-19) while the hike during last three years was only 41 per cent.

Earlier, Industries Minister G. Amarnath said that the opposition is trying to spoil the brand image of the state and have been writing letters to stall the industrial growth in the state.

K. Parthasarathi, Abbaya Choudhary and other MLAs of the ruling party listed out the failure of Chandrababu Naidu government and the initiatives and incentives being given by the YSRCP government to promote industries.

--IANS
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Berlin, Sep 16 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday sought support of the German Agribusiness Alliance for sustainable development of the agri-food sector to benefit farmers in the state.

German Agribusiness Alliance (GAA) is a business initiative of leading associations and companies in the agri-food sector.

Mann said that the expertise of alliance and its member companies include BASF, Bayer, BayWA, CLAAS, John Deere, VDMA, Covestro, GIZ, ECOCERT Group and EKOSEM-AGRAR could be very useful for the food growers in the state.

During deliberations, the Chief Minister envisaged opportunities for mutual collaboration in business and solutions. He said that the alliance could provide on-field handholding to Punjab farmers in best practices of crop management.

Inviting Germany Agribusinesses to the state, Mann said that the Green Revolution led by Punjab has not only made India self-sufficient in agri production but also a world leader in various commodities.

The Chief Minister added that the state is a leader in cereal production and one of the largest milk producers in India and has state-of-the-art export facilities. He said that the strong infrastructure of the state has made it the preferred investment destination for leading MNCs like Nestle, Danone, Pepsico, Coca Cola, Unilever and Godrej.

The Chief Minister has also asked leading German company Verbio group to explore future collaboration opportunities with the state in the renewable energy sector.

The Chief Minister further said that the Verbio Group has strong association with state as its Indian subsidiary, Verbio India Private Ltd. has recently commissioned one of the largest biofuel (biomethane/bio-CNG) production units in India with 33 TPD (tons per day) of capacity in Sangrur.

He said that the plant will produce biogas by anaerobic digestion process and is a great way to solve the problem of stubble burning.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, Sep 16 (IANS) Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislator K. Kavitha on Friday denied receiving any notice from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi's liquor policy scam.

Kavitha, who is daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, clarified that she has not received any notice.

She tweeted that the media is being misled by the "malicious propaganda of people sitting in Delhi". "I request all the media houses to rather utilize your time in showing the truth. To save some precious time of the TV viewers, I would like to clarify that I have not received any notice," she wrote.

Reports of the ED issuing notice to Kavitha were doing rounds on the day when the ED conducted searches at several places in different parts of the country. Some premises in Hyderabad were also reportedly searched by the ED officials.

Kavitha has already denied allegations of her involvement in the scam. Last month, she filed defamation suit against BJP MP Parvesh Varma and former MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

The city civil court, in an interim order, directed the BJP leadersAnot to make any defamatory statements against Kavitha either on print, electronic and social media or any other medium.

The BJP leaders had alleged that she played a crucial role in a liquor policy scam involving Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

--IANS
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Panaji, Sep 16 (IANS) A CBI team arrived in Goa on Friday to conduct a probe into the death of TikTok star and BJP leader Sonali Phogat.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had ordered a CBI probe into the death of Phogat.

The move came after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recommended a CBI probe into the case as per demand of Phogat's daughter and people of Haryana.

"I have faith in the Goa police. They are doing investigations in a good way and also have got good clues. But considering the demand of people and her daughter (for a CBI probe), I am recommending for the same," Sawant had said.

Senior police officer told IANS that the CBI team will visit the hotel in Anjuna, where Phogat was staying.

Phogat had come to Goa on August 22 and was staying at the said hotel. Phogat, who felt uneasy that night, was taken to the St. Anthony hospital next morning where she was declared brought dead.

Police on August 26, had arrested Sudhir Sangwan (Phogat's PA) along with Sukwinder Singh in connection with her murder.

Police said that methamphetamine drugs were allegedly given to Phogat, while she was partying in Curlies restaurant in Anjuna. The restaurant co-owner Edwin Nunes and two drug peddlers were also arrested in this case.

Opposition parties in Goa had also demanded a CBI probe into the case.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, Sep 16 (IANS) Telangana Unity Day celebrations began across the state on Friday on the eve of September 17, which marks accession of erstwhile Hyderabad State to the Indian Union.

Rallies were taken out in all Assembly constituencies in the state, kicking off the year-long official celebrations announced by the state government to mark the golden jubilee celebrations.

Ministers, MPs, state legislators and other public representatives addressed the rallies, emphasising the need for unity.

Holding national flags, thousands of students, youth and women participated in the rallies at constituency headquarters. This marked the beginning of three-day celebrations. Various programmes will be organised during the three days.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will unfurl the national flag at the main ceremony to be held on Saturday in Hyderabad. Ministers will hoist the national flag at district headquarters.

It was on September 17, 1948 that then princely State of Hyderabad acceded to Indian Union, 13 months after India gained independence.

The accession followed Operation Polo launched by the Indian Army after then Nizam of Hyderabad had refused to join the Indian Union.

State Home Minister Mahmood Ali, Animal Husbandry Minister T. Srinivas Yadav, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other officials participated in the rally held at People's Plaza on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad to mark Telangana Unity Day celebrations

Industry and Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao addressed the gathering at Sircilla.

Targeting the BJP, Rama Rao said attempts were being made to incite communal hatred in the peaceful Telangana. He said that an atmosphere of communal hatred is being created by digging up the past and by spewing venom.

The TRS working president was referring to Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations being organised by the BJP.

KTR cautioned people against the designs to create communal divide. He said if people do not remain alert, there was danger of Telangana going back by decades.

He said that struggle was not new to Telangana as the state was achieved after a long fight. He suggested that Union Ministers and BJP leaders visiting Telangana bring funds to the state.

"We have to see if Union Home Minister Amit Shah who is coming to Hyderabad will speak about funds which the Centre owes to the state or instigate people in the name of religion," KTR said.

Amit Shah will be participating in Telangana Liberation Day celebrations being organised by the Union Culture Ministry in Hyderabad on September 17.

--IANS
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Panaji, Sep 16 (IANS) Claiming that Congress had invited curses by splitting Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), a regional party, many a time in past, Goa Power Minister and MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar on Friday said that the grand-old party is now paying for its 'karma'.

His reaction comes two days after eight MLAs of the Congress joined the BJP.

Dhavalikar claimed that one has to pay for 'karma' within 50 years.

He was minister in erstwhile governments of Congress.

Dhavalikar was dropped from cabinet in the last term of the BJP government after his two MLAs split from the regional party and joined the saffron party then.

However, he was inducted in the cabinet in this present term of the BJP government, despite the saffron party having 20 MLAs, support of three independent MLAs and opposition from BJP MLAs to induct him.

"I had told BJP that defection in MGP should not take place again. Many people don't like defections. BJP has assured me that they will not split the MGP, they have obeyed it till today. I have got this assurance from the central leadership of BJP," Dhavalikar said.

BJP state President Sadanand Tanavade on Thursday had said that if the group of eight Congress MLAs would have approached him, then he would have said "no" to their induction into the saffron party fold.

At present, the MGP has two MLAs in Goa assembly, including Dhavalikar.

"From day one Congress was ought to get split. Congress is paying for its previous acts. The grand-old party had split MGP even after getting 21 seats. One who does such (karma) has to pay for it. Congress is paying for their previous acts," Dhavalikar said.

Dhavalikar said that he trust senior leaders of the BJP who have "assured" him that he will not be dropped from cabinet.

"They have assured me of working together for five years," Dhavalikar said.

"MGP will definitely support BJP in Lok Sabha election," he said.

Commenting on Congress MLAs, who had taken oath before god that they will not leave the party, but now joined BJP, Dhavalikar, without taking anyone's name, said: "Oath is taken everywhere in courts and assembly too. Everyone should observe it. Those who observe the oath will go forward and those who don't will see downfall."

--IANS
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Panaji, Sep 16 (IANS) Goa Police have arrested one octogenarian US citizen for allegedly possessing 12 grams of LSD liquid and 45 grams of MDMA drugs worth Rs 12 lakh.

The arrest was made on Thursday night, police said.

Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch)Nidhin Valsan told IANS that the accused person has been identified as Giovanni Robert Caso, 83, from America.

He said that the accused person was found in possession of 12 grams of LSD liquid and 45 grams of MDMA at St Michael Wado, Anjuna in North Goa.

Police are further investigating the case.

Since the death of TikTok star and BJP leader Sonali Phogat, who was allegedly given methamphetamine drugs while she was partying in Curlies restaurant in Anjuna-Goa, police have started to crack down on drug trade.

In the first week of September, the Goa Police had arrested five persons for allegedly possessing drugs from Anjuna. Ganja, Charas LSD and Cocaine were seized from them.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 16 (IANS) Ousted interim general secretary of the AIADMK, V.K. Sasikala said that she was on a comeback path and will lead the party at an appropriate time. She also said that she and O. Panneerselvam were together and that she would soon visit the party headquarters in Chennai.

Sasikala in a statement on Friday said that the AIADMK would win all the Lok Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu in the 2024 general elections. The estranged leader said that the majority of the party cadres are with her and O. Panneerselvam and that she would soon be at the helm of affairs in the party.

The former aide of late Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa who was one of the most powerful figures in the AIADMK, said that the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin does not have any time for governance and was busy in photo shoots.

The former interim general secretary of the AIADMK said that the party cadres are for a change in the AIADMK and said that several leaders and cadres have approached her.

The powerful Thevar community, which has been a traditional support base for the AIADMK in South India, has been trying to bridge the gap between Sasikala and O. Panneerselvam who both are from the community. With O. Panneerselvam being targeted in the AIADMK, the Thevar community has been taking initiatives for an alliance between the two powerful Thevar leaders.

--IANS
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