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Mumbai, Sep 21 (IANS) The Shiv Sena has filed a plea in the Bombay High Court seeking directions to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to give permission to the party to hold its annual Dassehra rally at Shivaji Park, here on Wednesday.

The plea, filed through Sena lawyer Joel Carlos, was mentioned before a division bench of Justice R.D. Dhanuka and Justice Kamal Khata who have listed it for urgent hearing on Thursday.

In the plea, the Shiv Sena said it has been holding its traditional annual Dassehra rally at the historic Shivaji Park since 1966, barring 2020 and 2021 when it was not held owing to the Coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

As per procedure, the party applied for permission to the BMC on August 26 to hold the Dassehra rally on October 5 this year.

However, the permission has not been granted for nearly a month now, compelling the party to move the high court for suitable directions to the BMC.

The Sena -- which has also made the BMC G-Ward Assistant Municipal Commissioner and other officials as respondents -- contended that party activists and leaders from all over Maharashtra and other parts of India reach Shivaji Park without any invite or announcement.

The party said that it has always complied with various legal provisions without creating any law-and-order issues, nor has ever flouted any laws or BMC conditions at the Dassehra rally as it is always organised in a disciplined manner.

Against this backdrop, the Sena urged the high court to immediately direct the BMC to grant permission to hold its annual rally there on Dassehra day (October 5) from 5-10 p.m. within three days.

This year, an unprecedented situation has arisen with the split in the Shiv Sena party in June, with one faction led by Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and another rebel group headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, which toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on June 29.

Both are claiming to be the 'real Shiv Sena' with their matter pending before the Supreme Court, and are eyeing the Shivaji Park for a similar rally on the same date and timings.

MVA ally Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar has said that the "Dassehra rally at Shivaji Park is synonymous with the Shiv Sena", while Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar and Congress leaders have also supported the Thackeray-led Sena's claim on the venue.

Adopting an aggressive stance, Sena leader Milind Vaidya has said that the BMC and government must either give permission or decline it, and even if refused, the party will hold its calendar event at Shivaji Park as it has been doing for the past 55 years.

--IANS
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Shivamogga (Karnataka), Sep 21 (IANS) Two arrested suspected terrorists have revealed that they carried out explosion trials on the banks of Tungabhadra River in Shivamogga district of Karnataka, police sources said on Wednesday.

The team was planning to carry out bomb strikes all over the country once they got the handy explosives ready. One of the accused Syed Yasin, studied Electrical and Electronics along with another suspect Maaz, was trying to develop an improvised explosive device, police said.

The probe has indicated that Syed Yasin and Maaz jointly conducted the trial blasts at isolated locations in various places of the state and police suspect that they have joined hands with others in the state in this connection and chosen a few to train them to make explosives.

Yasin is believed to have conducted about 17 such trail blasts on the banks of Tungabhadra River in Hale Gurupura region of Shivamogga. The police have recovered materials from the spot, according to sources.

The investigations have also shown that the accused used a new app called WireApp to communicate. The police have gathered information that more than hundred persons are using this app and in touch with the accused persons.

The arrest of Jabiulla, who was shot in the leg after trying to attack policemen, was the turning point in the investigation. As soon as his arrest, the accused who are presently in police custody, had left the group.

All accused persons conspired and worked jointly to carry forward the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation's activities.

The police have slapped cases as per IPC 1860, under Sections 120B, 121, 121A, 34. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1957, Under Sections 18, 38, 39 and the Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act, 1971 Under Section 2.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 21 (IANS) The Coimbatore district head of the BJP, Balaji Uthamarasamy was arrested by the police on Wednesday for threatening DMK leader and former Union Minister, A. Raja.

The BJP leader had threatened Raja on the latter's remarks against Hinduism during a function held to felicitate Dravidar Kazhagam leader, K. Veeramani.

On Monday also Raja had come out against Sanatana Dharma and had reportedly said, "Only Upper caste Hindus speak about Sanatana Dharma. It is based on Manusmriti which calls backward classes as Shudras".

The BJP leader had dared Raja to step into Coimbatore without police escort.

In the speech Balaji Uthamarasami said, "I challenge DMK to bring A. Raja anywhere, what do you know about Sanatana Dharam, senseless ..."

Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam leaders had filed a petition in the Peelamedu police station against Balaji Uthamarasami stating that he had threatened former Union Minister A. Raja as well as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and used derogatory words against these leaders as well as the ideologue of the Dravidian movement, late E.V. Ramasamy Naicker aka Thanthai Periyar.

Uthamarasami was called to the Peelamedu police station for questioning on Wednesday morning and later arrested. The BJP cadres were thronging in large numbers to the police station against the arrest of the party district leader.

The Hindu Munnani had called for a hartal in the Nilgiris Parliament constituency of A. Raja against his derogatory remarks against Hinduism. The hartal was a huge success with almost all the shops in Nilgiris, Connor shut down and fifty per cent of shops and establishments in Udhagamandalam (Ooty) also closed down. Several foreign and domestic tourists were stranded due to the shutdown call.

--IANS
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Chicago, Sep 21 (IANS) An estimated 65,611 people experienced homelessness in Chicago, the third largest city in the US, in 2020, an increase of 12.6 per cent from 2019, according to a report.

Of the total, more than 75 per cent temporarily stayed with others at one point, Xinhua news agency quoted the Chicago Tribune report as saying on Tuesday citing figures released by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

In the coalition's definition, homelessness covers children and families living doubled up or temporarily staying with others, in addition to those staying in a shelter or a place not meant for human habitation, the report said.

The report revealed that 49,585 people experienced homelessness by doubling up, making it the most common type of homelessness in Chicago.

While the number of people who experienced homelessness by living in shelters or on the streets decreased, the number of people doubling up increased by more than 20 per cent.

Chicago Public Schools reported serving 16,663 homeless students during the 2019-2020 school year.

The report further revealed that in 2020, homelessness disproportionately affected African-Americans, who made up 55.8 per cent of the total population experiencing homelessness, and 75.9 per cent of the population fitting definition of homelessness by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which excludes those living doubled up from its estimate.

The number of Hispanic or Latino people experiencing homelessness also increased significantly from 12,813 in 2019 to 18,272 in 2020, the report added.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Sep 21 (IANS) The decision of the ruling BJP in Karnataka to include teachings of the Bhagavad Gita in schools and colleges from December has triggered a debate.

Announcing it in the Assembly on Monday, Education Minister B.C. Nagesh stated that the teachings of the holy Hindu scripture would form a part of the 'Moral Education' syllabus.

"There is no proposal before the government to teach 'Bhagavad Gita' to students along with the present syllabus as a special subject," he said.

However, Professor, an activist and educational expert Niranjan Aradhya V.P, told IANS on Wednesday that the decision to make an announcement in this regard before the committee's report is "premature" and "hasty''.

"The decision of the government is incorrect. Whether it helps students or not is a different matter. In the academic quarter, bodies will prepare the syllabus for students. Principles of every religion should be inculcated in the book," he said.

Once the committee is formed and its recommendations are out, then discussion could be held. Without a committee making any decision, how can the minister announce that the Bhagavad Gita would be taught from December? Niranjan Aradhya questioned.

During the Legislative Council session, M.K. Pranesh, M Ravi Kumar, both BJP MLCs raised the question in the Legislative Council pressing for commencing the teachings of Bhagavad Gita to students.

"The government says there is no proposal to implement teachings of Bhagavad Gita to students in Karnataka in the present syllabus. There is no opposition to teaching Bhagavad Gita, Why is the government hesitant to teach Bhagavad Gita? Where has the interest shown by the government earlier while issuing statements evaporated? BJP MLC Pranesh had asked.

Clarifying the question, the Minister had said he stated in the written answer that there is no proposal to teach Bhagavad Gita with the present syllabus this year. But, Bhagavad Gita would be included with the Moral Science subject. For the same purpose a committee has been formed and as per the recommendations of the committee from December, Bhagavad Gita will be included there as per everyone's demand, Minister Nagesh stated.

He also said that many mistakes in the school syllabus have been rectified so far regarding historical facts and the exercise would continue in future.

However, the issue is likely to stir a controversy with various minority groups and individuals opposing it when the announcement was made earlier.

Minister Nagesh had earlier stated that as per the National Education Policy (NEP), on the lines of Gujarat state, Bhagavad Gita will be introduced in the state after consulting educational experts.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had tated that it is the government's stand to include Bhagavad Gita, the holy scripture of Hindus, into the syllabus as a part of moral science subject.

Asked whether Bhagavad Gita would teach moral lessons, CM Bommai had angrily asked that if not for Bhagavad Gita, which other scripture can teach morals to children? In this competitive age, children need moral education, said CM Bommai and asked not to create unnecessary confusion in this regard. If Bhagavad Gita is made part of the syllabus, it will help children with Intelligence, he maintained.

In this country, all tall leaders, elders who have thought about the nation have talked highly about Bhagavad Gita, Minister Nagesh had stated.

Minister for Large and Medium Industries Murugesh Nirani had stated that Bhagavad Gita has human values and children need to learn about those values. The government of Gujarat has taken a decision to add Bhagavad Gita in the syllabus and a decision should be taken in Karnataka also to introduce Bhagavad Gita to children, he had said.

Senior Congress leader and former minister from Mysuru, Tanveer Sait had stirred up a controversy by stating that introducing Bhagavad Gita in the syllabus of school children is dangerous. "It is more dangerous than Covid pandemic," he stated.

Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy asked the ruling BJP whether teachings of Bhagavad Gita will fill empty stomachs. The state is facing thousands of problems and the teachings of Bhagavad Gita won't provide food for people, he reiterated.

Emotional matters are gaining importance in the country. The innocents are being misled. "There is an end to this trend and we will wait until then," he said.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah stated, "We believe in Hindu religion and give equal respect to other religions. We do not have any objection to teaching Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Quran to children. But, children should be given quality education," he said.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Sep 20 (IANS) A 68-year-old environmentalist allegedly committed suicide over "corruption" in Public Distribution Shops (PDS) in Davanagere district of Karnataka on Tuesday.

Felicitated by the state government with Rajyotsava Award, Veerachari had pledged that if justice is not delivered on the said issue, he will commit suicide by hanging himself.

Agitated over the incident, nature lovers and local residents staged a protest and blocked the road. They demanded that the district commissioner should come to the spot and conduct a probe.

Harihara Rural police have rushed to the spot and are controlling the situation.

According to local residents, Veerachari has hung to the very tree which he planted and nursed over decades.

Earlier, Veerachari had claimed that food items in PDS shops were not being distributed to marginalised sections of society.

He had been protesting against the local ration shops since a long time and said that he would end his life if justice is not delivered. An audio about it has also gone viral.

He used to grace all programmes in the regions with four tree saplings and create awareness about increasing green cover.

He had planted and grown thousands of trees for four decades.

Veerachari hailed from Middlakatte village. He used to run a goods auto for livelihood and in that vehicle, he carried tree saplings.

He used to plant and distribute saplings wherever he went.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 20 (IANS) In a jolt to Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane, the Bombay High Court ordered the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation to demolish illegal portions in a bungalow belonging to his family's company within two weeks, here on Tuesday.

A division bench of Justice R.D. Dhanuka and Justice Kamal Khata also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the company while dismissing a plea seeking directions to the BMC to consider a second application for regularisation of the unauthorised constructions.

The court also declined the petitioner company -- Kaalkaa Real Estates Pvt. Ltd's plea for a 6-week stay on the demolition order on its Juhu bungalow to enable them to approach the Supreme Court.

In March this year, when the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi was in power, the BMC had served a notice to KREPL ordering it to remove the alleged illegal works of around 300 per cent on its premises within 15 days or face demolition and recovery of charges.

The KREPL had challenged the notice and after the MVA government was toppled, filed a fresh application to the BMC for regularisation on various grounds, which has been rejected.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 20 (IANS) Senior DMK leader and former Union Minister Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan has quit the party.

She was deputy general secretary of the DMK. Jagadeesan submitted her resignation to DMK president and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.K. Stalin on August 29.

In a statement on Tuesday, the former Union minister said that she had quit the party as it was her long-term wish to quit active politics.

Jagadeesan in the statement said that after her tenure as MP in 2009, she had conveyed to the then party president, M. Karunanidhi that she was interested in party work and was working for the development of the party at the grassroots.

She said that after the passing away of Karunanidhi, her solo objective in party work was to make the party president M.K. Stalin the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The former Union minister said that the DMK registered a massive victory in the 2021 assembly elections and Stalin was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state. She said that Stalin becoming the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has given her tremendous satisfaction.

--IANS
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Kanwal Sibal
New Delhi, Sep 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samarkand has to be seen in the context of the several geopolitical dimensions of this organisation which also have a bearing on India's strategic interests. These include stability in Central Asia, combating terrorism and religious extremism, China's role in the region, promoting multipolarity.



This summit took place when Russia is involved in the Ukraine conflict and China has committed aggression against India in Ladakh. In fact, its forces are still massed there, and it continues to expand its military infrastructure across the length of our border.

Relations between the US and both Russia and China have deteriorated sharply, while our relations with the US have greatly improved. The US and Europe are also unhappy with us on our unwillingness to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine.

At the summit, therefore, PM Modi had to engage in carefully balanced diplomacy that would preserve our equities with all sides. His remarks at the summit were therefore carefully crafted. He confined them to India's achievements in specific sectors, with an eye on the prospects this creates for beneficial cooperation primarily with the Central Asian states.

He noted that India will grow 7.5 per cent this year - the highest amongst the world's largest economies (more than China with President Xi listening). He mentioned the strides made by India in innovation with more than 70,000 Start-ups and more than 100 unicorns.

He offered to set up a new Special Working Group on Start-ups and Innovation in the SCO. In the area of food security, he emphasised the promotion and cultivation of millets and proposed a Millet Food Festival under the SCO. Capitalising on the setting up of a WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Gujarat (China lost out) he announced an Indian initiative to establish a new SCO Working Group on Traditional Medicine.

Prime Minister Modi eschewed any reference to terrorism or security issues in general, which would have been normal, if made, given our concerns that we share with Central Asia. He steered clear of all that could be construed as having an anti-West connotation. He mentioned the Ukraine crisis (to avoid any criticism that he was ignoring the issue), but in the context of disruption of global supply chains resulting in the whole world facing an unprecedented energy and food crisis.

He bracketed it with the pandemic and stressed the need to develop reliable, resilient and diversified supply chains in our region (a dig at China), which would need better connectivity, and in stating that "we all give each other full right to transit), he implicitly drew attention to Pakistan's failure in this regard, with the Pakistan PM listening in.

There was some speculation, fueled by the agreement on disengagement on PP15 in Ladakh just before the SCO summit, that PM Modi and President Xi may meet on the margins of the SCO summit. This was however unlikely without adequate preparations in advance to ensure positive results from the meeting.

A meeting at this point with President Xi would not have been a normal meeting between heads of friendly countries to exchange views on bilateral and multilateral issues, review progress in ties and discuss possibilities of expanding them further.

With China, the issue of disengagement and de-escalation on the border would have been central to the agenda of the meeting, and unless there were signals that the Chinese side was willing to make a major move to de-escalate, a meeting at the top political level would have frozen the stalemate in ties for the foreseeable future.

The Modi-Putin meeting was, of course, expected. Its tenor would have been of interest to the West, keeping in mind its unhappiness about our unwillingness to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine and instead of subscribing to energy sanctions actually stepping up oil purchases from Russia. Interestingly, PM Modi, in his opening remarks at his meeting with President Vladimir Putin expressed concern about the problems of food security, fuel security and fertilisers for developing countries in particular as a result of the Ukraine crisis, which he intended to discuss in his meeting with the President.

He appealed to the Russian President to also contribute to finding some way out, putting thus some of the onus also on President Putin to resolve the crisis, consistent with India's call for diplomacy and dialogue to end it, but more pointedly than what we have said in public so far. (It is interesting that the Chinese side have some questions and concerns about Ukraine that Putin himself referred to in his opening remarks during his meeting with President Xi). Modi was also even handed in thanking both Putin and Ukraine for their help in evacuating our students from Ukraine. By saying that he believed that "today's era is not of war" and that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue are "such things that touch the world", Modi was batting for peace, as befits a responsible leader. He added that he awaited the chance to discuss further with President Putin how "we can move forward on the path of peace in the coming days".

The West will construe Modi's remarks as a publicly expressed implicit disapproval of Putin's decision to launch a military operation, which is manifestly wrong. But this gives our side a talking point against western charges that India is not criticising Russia. Modi, however, balanced these opening remarks on his concerns about Ukraine by lauding the strength of India-Russia ties, even calling them unbreakable.

Putin was cordial in his remarks, referring to Modi's birthday, the special and privileged partnership between the two countries (which Modi did not), the active cooperation of both sides on all international platforms. He candidly said that he knew Modi's "position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express", and that he wanted to end the conflict too, but put the blame on Ukraine's leadership to refuse negotiations and settle the issue on the battlefield, while promising to keep India informed of developments.

This public admission by President Putin about PM Modi having conveyed his concerns over Ukraine to him "constantly", puts the latter's opening remarks in perspective and that it was by no means a "rebuke".

The Russian leader appreciated Modi's video message to the participants of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, fondly remembered his visit to New Delhi in December last year and the fruitful negotiations with PM Modi and invited him to visit Russia.

He noted that Russian supplies of fertilisers to India had grown eight times, large-scale joint projects in the oil and gas sector and nuclear power industry were consistently being implemented, noting also that for Russians, India's rich history and ancient culture are traditionally of great interest. In this regard, he proposed to intensify the negotiation process on an agreement on visa-free tourist trips. The positive tenor of his remarks is notable.

After their closed-door meeting PM Modi in his tweet has described his meeting with Putin as "wonderful", with a discussion on furthering bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, defence and other areas. Altogether it was a successful summit from India's point of view.

( is India's former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to Russia. Views expressed are personal and exclusive to India Narrative)

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative

San Francisco, Sep 19 (IANS) Rockstar Games on Monday confirmed that it 'suffered a network intrusion' that resulted in the massive leak of 90 videos of Grand Theft Auto game 6, showcasing its engine, gameplay and more from an early development build.

The leak provided a glimpse into GTA 6 development, confirming prior reports of the series' first female protagonist and a Vice City setting.

"We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorised third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto," Rockstar Games said in a statement.

At this time, "we do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services no any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects".

The company said it was "extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way".

"Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations," said the gaming company.

The title, informally known as GTA 6, will mark the first mainline game since 2013's GTA V, having racked up a record-breaking 170 million sales to date.

The company said it will update everyone again soon and will properly introduce them to the next game when it is ready.

The alleged GTA 6 footage comes via GTA Forums user "tepotuberhacker," posting various snippets of its open world in action from what appears to be an early development build.

The over 90 videos also provide an extended look at robberies, NPC interactions, vehicles, and more from its sprawling sandbox.

The footage appears to be from builds at least a couple of years old, suggesting development has been underway in tandem with recent years of GTA V content updates.

--IANS
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