Centre has brought down level of politics, says Ashok Chavan

First India Bureau

Aurangabad: Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Ashok Chavan said by disqualifying party leader Rahul Gandhi as a Lok Sabha member, the BJP-led Central government has brought down the level of politics. Chavan alleged the Centre had taken such an action because it does not want people to raise their voices and speak against it.

Gandhi has been disqualified as a Lok Sabha member after a court in Gujarat’s Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case and sentenced him to two years imprisonment.

The court has granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

“By disqualifying Rahul Gandhi as a member of Parliament, the central government has brought down the level of politics,” the former chief minister tweeted.

Whole situation is frustrating, he said, adding that he condemns move that has strangled democracy. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve in a tweet said the action against Gandhi makes the Central government’s intentions clear.

Asha Bhosale gets Maha Bhushan award

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Legendary singer Asha Bhosale on Friday was conferred the prestigious Maharashtra Bhushan award for her contribution to the field of art and culture. The award, for the year 2021, was presented to her at a function at the Gateway of India. She was also presented with a cash prize of Rs25 lakh, a citation, and a memento.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hailed Bhosale as the pride of Maharashtra and said her illustrious musical journey was an inspiration for each and every citizen.

The Maharashtra Bhushan award was instituted when the Shivsena- BJP alliance came to power in 1995. It was initially awarded to personalities in the fields of Literature, Sports, and Science, before being expanded to include those from Social Work, Journalism, Public Administration, and Health Services.

BJP workers stage protest against RaGa

‘Power of Adani’s friends cannot stop Rahul Gandhi’

Rahul Gandhi disqualified: Congress stages protests, shout slogans in Nagpur

First India Bureau

Nagpur: The Congress protested in Nagpur on the disqualification of its leader Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP on Friday. Congress workers shouted slogans against the “dictatorship” of the Union government and burnt an effigy of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Medical Square here.

Gandhi, representing Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala, was on Friday disqualified from the Lok Sabha a day after his conviction in a defamation case by a court in Surat in Gujarat.

Gandhi was on

Thursday sentenced to two years in jail in a criminal defamation over his “Modi surname” remarks at a 2019 poll rally in Karnataka. However, the Surat court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

First India Bureau Nagpur: Former Maharashtra minister Yashomati Thakur on Friday said the “power of Adani’s friends” cannot stop Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. She was reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Lok Sabha member following his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The Narendra Modi government got Gandhi’s parliamentary term “cancelled” using the force of dictatorship, Thakur, a Congress leader, said in a release here. Rahul Gandhi was the voice of the people and asking questions to the Modi government, she said. “Even the power of Adani’s friends will not be able to stop Rahul Gandhi now, Rahul is the voice of the people,” Thakur added. “Friends of Adani have been in a panic ever since Hindenburg Research released its report,” she said.

PMC announces ` 9,515-crore budget

First India Bureau Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra announced a Rs9,515-crore budget for the financial year 2023 24, with no hike in property taxes and allocating bigger chunks for water and road infrastructure. The budget was an- nounced by PMC Commissioner Vikram Kumar, who has been appointed the administrator as the tenure of the corporators ended last year and fresh elections are due since then.

Compared to last year’s budget, Rs923 crore has been added to the overall outlay this

Man Stabs 3 To Death

First India Bureau Mumbai: A 54-year-old man allegedly stabbed three neighbours to death at a residential building in south Mumbai on Friday, police said. Two others were injured in the attack and the condition of one of them was serious, they said. Earlier, a senior police official had put the death toll at four.

The grisly incident took place around 3.30 pm at Parvati Mansion on Grant Road, an official said, adding that the accused, identified as Chetan Gala, was soon arrested.

His wife and children had left him two months ago, and he suspected that his neighbours had instigated them, the official said. He had been mentally disturbed ever since, and on Friday, upon spotting his neighbours, he went to his house, picked up a knife and allegedly attacked five persons from neighbouring families. time, PMC said in a statement. As per this year’s budget, Rs1,321 crore has been allocated to improve the water supply in Pune, which had a population of about 35 lakh as per the 2011 Census, while Rs992 crore has been earmarked for roads. The budget has also proposed eight new flyovers. Sewage treatment, waste management and health infrastructure are other focus areas of the budget, said the statement. New projects like hawkers’ parks for street vendors, e-vehicle charging infrastructure have been announced.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital in Girgaum and civic-run Nair hospital where Jayendra Mistry (77), his wife Ilaben Mistry (70) and Jenil Brahmbhatt (18) died during treatment, the official said.

Prakash Waghmare (53), a house help, and Snehal Brahmbhatt (44) were undergoing treatment. The condition of Snehal Brahmbhatt was said to be critical.

Pune (PTI): Workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged questionable remarks and asserted that the party will not tolerate any ill words about the country and prime minister.

Jagdish Mulik, the BJP’s Pune city unit president, and other party leaders and workers staged the protest at Goodluck Chowk.

“Rahul Gandhi talks ill about Veer Savarkar and uses inappropriate words for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and when he travels out of the country, he talks ill about country. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour on anyone’s part,” Mulik said.

The BJP leader further demanded that Gandhi must apologise, as he had not only insulted Prime Minister Modi but also the people of the country

Threat calls: Cops seize mobile phones, sim cards

Nagpur (PTI): The Nagpur police have recovered two mobile phones and as many sim cards from a jail in Karnataka’s Belagavi, days after a person made threat calls to Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s office here identifying himself as a jail inmate, an official said on Friday.

On March 21, three calls were made to the BJP leader’s public relations office in Nagpur.

The caller, who identified himself as one Jayesh Pujari, alias Jayesh Kantha, demanded Rs 10 crore and threatened to harm the minister if the money was not paid.

As part of their investigation, the local police with the help of their Belagavi counterparts searched the premises of Hindalga Central Jail in the Kar- nataka city where a man named Jayesh Pujari is serving a life sentence, said Nagpur police chief Amitesh Kumar.

During the search, two mobile phones and two sim cards were recovered from the jail premises, he said.

The official said they will seek Pujari’s remand for his custodial interrogation as his name had also been used to make similar calls to the minister’s office demanding Rs 100 crore in January.

Crime more rampant than development, says Ajit Pawar

First India Bureau Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Friday attacked the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra and said crime was more rampant in its rule than development.

Initiating a debate in the Assembly on the Opposition sponsored lastweek resolution on the state’s law and order, Pawar, who is the Leader of Opposition, said the “double engine” government was making compromises to stay in power.

The Bharatiya Janata Party refers to governments of the party or its allies in the states as “double engine” dispensations, meaning development was being carried out through efforts of the respective state as well as the Centre.

Pawar said farmers were distressed due to natural calamities and lack of minimum support price for crops, while unemployment and crime, especially against women, were on the rise, but the government was busy pressuring and harassing political rivals.

On pretext of “love jihad”, there is an attempt to vitiate the law and order situation in the state,

NCP leader alleged. “Love jihad” is a term used by right-wing outfits to allege Muslim men were converting Hindu women by luring them into marriages.

Independent MLA

Ravi Rana said the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government had made a mockery of law and order, while the current Home department under Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was working efficiently.

HIGH-RISE FLAT OWNERS WILL SOON GET REAL-TIME FIRE SAFETY ALERTS

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The state government on Thursday amended the Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act to prevent fire related incidents in high-rises with an IoTbased system. This new system will alert flat owners on their mobile devices if fire safety guidelines fail. Fire safety parameters include water tankers, sprinklers, pumps, fire extinguish- ers, alarms, manual call-points etc. The system has to be installed compulsorily to ensure real time monitoring and quick actions to keep building fire-proof all the time, which are critical in preventing blazes in high-rise buildings. The IoT-based sensors will be designed to maintain building fire resistance and ensure real-time monitoring and speedy repairs in high-rises, (apartments that are 22-storey and above).

Moreover, for buildings taller than 22 floors in the city, the measure mandates the presence of a fire safety officer and a supervisor.

With the amendment in Fire Safety Act, the buildings will have to regularly conduct audits for structures with more than 10-storey every two years. If any violations of the Act’s requirements are found, offenders could face fines of up to Rs1 lakh. The bill also includes changes in the height limitation for

Mumbai. Parking facilities can now be erected up to 32-storey high, an increase from the current limit of 14-storey. Educational institutions can raise their building height to a maximum of 14 storeys, an increase from the previous 9. Whereas the height limit for warehouses is suggested to be raised to seven-storey from four.

Additionally, to prevent incidents in public complexes, hotels, hospitals, and other places too similar IoT-based fire safety systems should be installed. The amendment was put forth by Uday Samant, the Industries Minister and has support from both the ruling and opposition parties.

The magnificent Fashion Connect presented by First India and Bharat24- Vision of New India held at Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel Dubai on March 19. City First highlights the mind-boggling and astounding collection of the renowned designer Aishwarya showcased at the extravagant show!