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Mumbai, June 7 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday criticised Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his write-up in a daily in which he alleged that Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy.

CM Fadnavis in his reaction said: “Rahul Gandhi has accepted his defeat in Bihar! As long as Rahul Gandhi keeps giving himself false assurances, his party can never win. By making such baseless remarks, Rahul Gandhi has insulted the voters of Maharashtra, and for this, I strongly condemn him.”

On the other hand, Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora also targeted Rahul Gandhi. He said: “Blaming the Election Commission or EVMs months after losing reeks of sour grapes. Instead of peddling conspiracy theories, the Opposition should take a long, hard look in the mirror. After all, a bad carpenter always blames his tools.”

Earlier, Congress in-charge (Maharashtra) Ramesh Chennithala claimed that the state’s democracy was not defeated but it was butchered.

Strongly defending Rahul Gandhi’s observations in his write-up, he said that with irrefutable facts and unflinching clarity the leader of opposition has exposed a chilling truth. “The mandate of the people in Maharashtra was hijacked — not by the will of the voters, but through manipulation, deceit, and a systematic assault on democratic institutions,” he alleged.

“Rahul Gandhi’s powerful expose is not merely an article — it is a wake-up call. It exposes how Maharashtra, once a proud torchbearer of democratic values, has become a cautionary tale of how institutions can be compromised, how power can be snatched instead of earned, and how silence can become complicity. This is no longer about one state or one election. It is about the soul of our democracy,” said Chennithala.

“We urge the Election Commission to break its silence. The people of Maharashtra — and of India — deserve answers.We call upon every citizen to stay vigilant, stay informed, and stay united. For if we allow such subversion to go unchecked, we may soon lose not just elections — but the very freedoms that define us,” he added.

Further, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal said that Rahul Gandhi’s article sparked a political earthquake and asked why there is no probe into Maharashtra Assembly election fixing.

“Why are BJP leaders Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis answering questions meant for the Election Commission? Why is the Commission silent? The ‘Maharashtra Pattern’ of vote tampering is a conspiracy to be used in Bihar, Mumbai civic polls, and upcoming local body elections,” he alleged.

He announced that the Congress would hold torchlight protests across Maharashtra on June 12.

–IANS

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Kolkata, March 10 (IANS) A fresh petition at a division bench of the Calcutta High Court was filed on Monday alleging police excesses against the students of Kolkata’s iconic Jadavpur University (JU) in the March 1 ruckus case.

Two students were hospitalized after being “allegedly and deliberately” hit by the vehicle of West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on the university premises.

The fresh petition has been filed at the same single judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, which had last week, while hearing a similar case on the Jadavpur University crisis, expressed ire over the alleged “biased and one-sided” investigation by the Kolkata Police. The court had also directed the city police to register FIRs based on the complaints filed by the university students instead of just addressing the complaints filed by the Trinamool Congress-affiliated West Bengal College & University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA).

The fresh petition was filed by Uddipan Kundu, an activist of CPI(M)’s student wing, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). The matter is likely to be heard on Tuesday.

In the petition, Kundu has accused the police of “repeatedly” and “unnecessarily” summoning the university students in the name of an investigation.

He accused the police of harassing the students when the latter refused to hand over their mobile phones to the cops during the earlier interrogation of March 7. Thereafter, Kundu alleged, the same students were summoned again by the cops for interrogation.

On March 1, a ruckus broke out within the university campus when the Minister’s car was allegedly stopped after it entered the campus, and a scuffle followed. The students were demanding immediate elections for the university’s students’ council.

The agitating students alleged that while Base decided to leave the campus in the face of the protests, his vehicle deliberately hit the two agitating students, following which they were severely injured and had to be hospitalized.

Amid the protests, the Minister received minor injuries and fell sick. He was taken to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital and was discharged later.

During the hearing on another case in the same matter last week, Justice Ghosh made some observations on the intelligence failure of the Special Branch of the Kolkata Police, saying that they did not have prior information about student agitation while the Education Minister was there.

Drawing a reference to the recent students’ movement in Bangladesh, Justice Ghosh also observed that if such intelligence failures continue, the situation in the state might become serious in the future, like that in the neighboring country.

–IANS

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New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) Political leaders from Maharashtra have strongly reacted to the controversial remarks made by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President, Raj Thackeray, regarding the Ganga water during the recent Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj.

Raj Thackeray mocked the devotees who bathed in the Ganga during the religious event, claiming the river remains polluted despite various efforts to clean it.

Raj Thackeray said, “I have been hearing that the Ganga will be cleaned since the time of the late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The truth is that the Ganga has still not been cleaned. We call it Ganga Ma, but not a single river in the country is clean.”

He further stated that he refused to touch the Ganga water brought by one of his close aides, suggesting that the river was still polluted.

In response to Raj Thackeray’s remarks, Shiv Sena leader and MLA Sanjay Gaikwad dismissed them as baseless.

He said, “Ganga’s water is so pure, and when so many people went there and took a dip, they felt happy doing so. He is making baseless statements. I don’t follow him on this.”

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC, Amol Mitkari, also responded to the issue, emphasising that attending the Maha Kumbh was a personal choice.

Mitkari commented, “Going to the Maha Kumbh is a matter of personal opinion. After going to the Maha Kumbh, many people faced unfortunate incidents that cost them their lives. Some people didn’t feel it was appropriate to go. I personally didn’t feel the need to go.”

Meanwhile, Maharashtra NCP (SP) leader and MLA, Rohit Pawar, who participated in the Maha Kumbh and took a holy dip in the Ganga, acknowledged the concerns raised by Raj Thackeray about the river’s pollution but urged caution when discussing sensitive issues.

Pawar remarked, “I went to take a holy dip in the Ganga during Maha Kumbh. It is part of our faith. However, there are some pollutants visible in the water. Raj Thackeray was also talking about pollution in Ganga water, but one should be very careful when speaking about such a sentimental issue as it might hurt people’s sentiments.”

Raj Thackeray’s statements have sparked a political debate, with leaders from various parties defending the religious importance of the Maha Kumbh and the Ganga while acknowledging concerns about the river’s cleanliness.

–IANS

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New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) The cost of preparing both vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis at home declined by 5 per cent in February compared to the corresponding figure for January this year, according to a Crisil report released on Monday.

For the vegetarian thali, the decline was driven by lower vegetable prices, particularly of onions, tomatoes and potatoes, while for a non-vegetarian thali, the cost eased with a decrease in broiler (chicken) prices, the report said.

Going ahead, the arrival of fresh rabi crops is expected to keep vegetable prices subdued, offering continued relief for vegetarian thali costs.

However, temperature conditions in March that have been above normal can impact the shelf life and quality of onions, which need to be stored for the next six months, as well as the quantity and quality of wheat — the most significant crop of the rabi season, the report states.

The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India. The monthly change reflects the impact on the common man’s expenditure. The data also reveals the ingredients (cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil and cooking gas) driving the change in the cost of the thali.

The ICRA report is in line with official figures that India’s retail inflation is on a downward trajectory. Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index fell to a 5-month low of 4.31 per cent in January as prices of vegetables and pulses eased during the month, bringing respite to household budgets, according to figures released by the Ministry of Statistics.

The easing of inflation reflects a steadily declining trend after having touched a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent in October. CPI inflation had declined to 5.48 per cent in November and 5.22 per cent in December.

The food inflation at 6.02 per cent in January 2025 is the lowest after August 2024.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced a 25 basis cut in the policy rate from 6.5 per cent to 6.25 per cent in the monetary policy review to accelerate growth amid global uncertainties.

He said that inflation has declined and is expected to moderate further and gradually align with the RBI’s target.

Now, with the retail inflation continuing with its downward trend, the RBI will have more headroom to follow a soft money policy to make more credit available to businesses and consumers, which will propel economic growth.

–IANS

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