Dissolve Election Commission: Thackeray

THACKERAY FACTION MOVES SC CHALLENGING EC DECISION ON SHIV SENA NAME, SYMBOL

MUMBAI, FEB 20 (PTI/ IANS): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Monday demanded that the Election Commission of India, which ruled that the Eknath Shinde-led faction is the real Shiv Sena, should be dissolved.

“The name (Shiv Sena) and symbol (bow and arrow) of our party have been stolen, but the name ‘Thackeray’ cannot be stolen,” he told reporters at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar here. Thackeray’s media briefing came after the Supreme Court, earlier in the day, refused to entertain an oral mentioning made by his faction to urgently list its plea challenging the EC decision.

“The Election Commission’s order is wrong. Supreme Court is the last ray of hope,” Thackeray said.

“There is not a single instance where the party name and symbol were directly given to one faction,” Thackeray said.

“What was the need for the EC to give this deci- sion in a hurry?” the former Maharashtra chief minister said. “Even if the other faction took our name and symbol, they can’t take our Thackeray name. I was lucky to be born to the family of Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said.

Accusing the BJP of destroying democracy with the help of democratic institutions, Thackeray said, “What the BJP did with us today, they can do it with anyone. If this continues, after 2024, there won’t be any democracy or election in the country,” he said. He said he had received calls in support from Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar and many other leaders. Thackeray said he had never left Hindutva, though he was accused of doing so when he ended his decades-old alliance with the BJP in 2019.

Thackeray said that during the Assembly bypoll in Andheri, his party candidate had used the name given by the Election Commission. The other faction didn’t even have the courage of fighting that bypoll, he added.

Asked about reports of his camp transferring funds from Shiv Sena’s official bank accounts, Thackeray said, “The EC has no right to speak on what happens to the party funds and it cannot act like a sultan. Its role is limited only to holding fair elections and ensuring internal democracy within a political party.” The poll panel will attract a criminal case, if it dabbles in party funds distribution, he said.

A comment by Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeting bete-noire, the Shiv Sena (UBT) President, Uddhav Thackeray has kicked up an unholy fracas, plummeting political discourse to another depth in Maharashtra, on Monday.

Speaking at a function to mark the 393rd birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Pune on Sunday, Shah slammed Thackeray for the umpteenth time on the alleged backstabbing after the 2019 Assembly elections.

“First, he fought the elections with (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s

Kushwaha quits JD(U) again, floats yet another party

nahin banenge’ (I cannot barter my conscience for perks)”. He alleged that Kumar, his political benefactor, had “pawned his political capital (‘rajneetik sampatti ko girwi rakh diya’) by having hinted that Tejashwi Yadav shall be the future leader of the coalition”, which JD(U) had joined nearly six months ago.

Case against Raut for derogatory remarks against Maha CM

NASHIK, FEB 20 (PTI): photos on posters and banners, and jointly with Devendra Fadnavis. After the elections, in the greed for power, he licked the soles of people with opposing ideology...,” thundered Shah, without naming Congress-Nationalist Congress Party.

Referring to the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s decision declaring the group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the ‘real’ Shiv Sena, Shah said that “now they (Thackeray group) have been shown their true place”.

Smarting under Shah’s ‘sucker-kick’ remark, Sena (UBT) Chief Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut hit back: “What is Shinde doing now... Who is he sucking up to now...? They are traitors and thieves. Deals worth over Rs 2,000 crore have taken place for grabbing the ‘Shiv Sena’ name and ‘Bow-and-Arrow’ symbol...”

Nashik Police have registered a case against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, an official said on Monday.

Shinde faction officer-bearer Yogesh Beldar lodged a complaint at Panchavati police station here late Sunday night, alleging that during an interaction with a TV channel, Raut used derogatory words against CM Shinde and maligned his image, he said.

Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against Raut under Indian Penal Code Section 500 (defamation), the official said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his visit to Pune on Saturday, said those who chose to “lick the soles” of people with opposite ideologies have found which side truth was on after the Election Commission declared the faction headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena and gave it the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol.

When asked about Shah’s remark, Rajya Sabha member Raut on Sunday said, “What is the present chief minister licking? Maharashtra doesn’t give importance to what Shah says.” Raut in a tweet on Sunday also claimed that a “deal of Rs 2000 crore” has taken place so far to “purchase” the Shiv Sena party name and its ‘bow and arrow’ symbol, a charge dismissed by the Shinde faction and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

PATNA, FEB 20 (PTI): Disgruntled JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday resigned from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), less than two years after returning to the party, and announced formation of the ‘Rashtriya Loktantrik Janata Dal’.

JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias “Lalan”, however, berated the former parliamentary board chairman as an over-ambitious party- hopper, whose return was “opposed by all, but materialised only at the insistence of the CM” whom Kushwaha had assured “I will now live and die here”. Kushwaha, who has been venting spleen against Kumar for some time, also announced that he will be seeking an appointment with chairman of the legislative council to resign from his membership of the House, adding with rhetorical flourish “‘zameer bechkar amir

No one in India votes on the basis of candidates’ edu qualifications: SC

clared null and void as he had indulged in corrupt practices by not disclosing his correct educational qualifications.

NEW DELHI, FEB 20

(PTI): No one in India votes on the basis of the candidates’ educational qualifications, the Supreme Court observed on Monday while dismissing a plea against the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s

(BJP) Harsh Vardhan Bajpayee to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2017.

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said most voters do not look at a candidate’s educational background before exercising their franchise.

“No one votes on the basis of educational qualifications in our country anyway,” the bench observed orally.

The remarks came while the bench was hearing a plea moved by Congress leader Anugrah Narayan Singh, seeking that Bajpayee’s election be de-

The Allahabad High Court rejected Singh’s plea in September 2022 on the ground of being infructuous as Bajpayee’s term had already ended in 2022.

“Though allegations of corrupt practice were levelled against the respondent but the same are not supported by material facts and unimpeachable documents, apart from the fact that the said allegations do not amount to corrupt practice,” the high court had said.

Lalan, however, pointed out that Kushwaha, who then headed the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), had aligned with the RJD after quitting the NDA in 2018, “and he appeared to be fine with Tejashwi Yadav back then”. The JD(U) chief also rubbished Kushwaha’s allegation that Kumar, the party’s de facto leader, no more exercised his own judgement, but acted on the advice of a coterie with vested interests.

“Had it been so, Kush- waha could have never returned to the JD(U) in 2021. Not a single person was in favour of his return, since all knew about his vaulting ambition that causes him to go astray. But, the CM put his foot down since he trusted Kushwaha’s declamation –‘jeena marna ab sab yaheen hai’,” Lalan said. “The problem is Kushwaha cannot think of anything less than the chief minister’s chair for himself. This had led him to quit the NDA and fancy his chances with the RJD-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’. “He could not stay there as well and ahead of 2020 assembly polls, he formed a hurried coalition with Mayawati’s BSP and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM just because these parties agreed to announce him the chief ministerial candidate,” the JD(U) chief said.

Cong, oppn must adopt giveand-take, humility for unity: PC

to be the pole around which opposition unity in the Lok Sabha elections can be built.

WB govt employees on 48 hrs bandh for DA regularisation

NEW DELHI, FEB 20 (PTI): All parties, including the Congress, must approach the task of forging opposition unity for the 2024 general elections with a spirit of give-and-take and humility, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Monday, urging everyone to discard their state-level lens and wear an all-India one for the polls. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Chidambaram said an objective analysis of the political situation will lead to the conclusion that the Congress has

Asked if the Congress has to be the fulcrum of any Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 elections, he said there is a growing realisation that opposition parties must forge a united front in order to take on the BJP.

“Each party has its own strength and brings to the table a certain value. There is also an acknowledgement that barring the Congress all other opposition parties are single-state parties,” the former Union minister said. “I think an objective analysis of the political situation will lead to the conclusion that the Congress has to be the pole around which opposition unity in the LS election can be built.” he asserted.

Sisodia to appear before CBI in liquor policy case

NEW DELHI, FEB 20 (AGENCIES): Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has been asked to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday for questioning in the nowwithdrawn liquor policy of Delhi, which the Central agency is investigating, reports NDTV news desk.

Sisodia was expected to be questioned yesterday, but he sought more time, citing the Delhi budget due in March on which he is working. Sisodia handles the finance portfolio in the Arvind Kejriwal government. Agreeing to his request, the agency had said that it would announce a fresh date. Sisodia said the summons for questioning was the BJP’s way of getting even after it failed in its attempt to get nominated members to vote in Delhi’s civic body and thereby control the Mayor elections.

On Friday, the Supreme Court had said the aldermen appointed by the Lieutenant Governor cannot vote in the election to choose a mayor, ending the month-long tussle between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP on the issue.

“The BJP can get me request,” Sisodia had told NDTV. arrested as revenge if they want to, but not by stopping the budget of Delhi’s people... The BJP may have its own politics, but I have full hope that the CBI officers will listen to my

“I will answer every question, am not running away... I am just saying that the work of the budget will be derailed... That’s why I have requested the CBI for time till the end of February,” he had added.

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KOLKATA, FEB 20 (PTI): West Bengal government employees of different departments stuck to their decision to hold a 48-hour strike from Monday for DA parity with the central government, ignoring government warning of action against them. They are also demanding corruption free appointment. State government employees organisations, like the ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’ (United Struggle Platform), joined the cease work in different departments in the Writers’ Buildings, New Secretariat, in courts, schools and other educational institutions in the city as well as in Siuri, Birbhum, Medinipur, Nadia, Malda, Murshidabad, Howrah, Hooghly and other districts.

“We are sticking to our decision on the ceasework for regularisation of dearness allowance and corruption free appointments. We are shocked with the state government’s decision of a three per cent hike in the DA. We will continue with our agitation,” said a protestor at the food and supplies department here.

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