BJP MLA Bamb alleges Rs 4.7-cr irregularities in ZP works in Gangapur
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: BJP MLA Prashant Bamb, who represents the Gangapur assembly constituency, on Friday accused officials from the Zilla Parishad's construction and finance departments of being involved in financial irregularities worth Rs 4.7 crore in govt-funded development works.
The MLA alleged that bills were raised for road and school building works that were either incomplete or never started on the ground. He demanded registration of FIRs against all govt officials involved in the alleged siphoning of development funds.
Bamb, in the morning, reached out to ZP CEO Ankit and made a representation, while expressing serious displeasure over turning a blind eye to his complaint against the alleged irregularities.
Later, he addressed the press and alleged that records showed completion of eight road projects and several school buildings across the Gangapur-Khultabad constituency. "On site, many of these works haven't even begun. In some cases, bills for entire work amounts were cleared without executing a single rupee worth of work," he alleged.
The MLA shared documents, GPS-tagged site photos and other material to substantiate his claims and said said important documents like GPS photos, site measurements, vouchers and asphalt invoices were not verified before approving payments.
Bamb said certain officers were now attempting to dispose of properties in a bid to destroy evidence. "This matter involves senior ZP officials. I will pursue this in court," he said, adding that bills for school compound walls were passed using old photographs.
"I repeatedly complained to the then ZP CEO about these issues, but no action was taken," Bamb alleged.
In response, ZP executive engineer (construction) Sukhadev Kakad said, "An inquiry is already under way into the complaints. A report will be submitted within eight days. Our department randomly checks 5% of the works. If any errors occurred inadvertently, we accept that."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
Life sentence is rule, death exception, says Cal HC, spares convict the noose
Kolkata: Life sentence was the rule and death an exception, the Calcutta High Court observed on Thursday as it commuted the death sentence awarded to a 33-year-old man convicted of murdering a woman in a hotel room in Bakkhali in 2018 to life term. The division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi also said that the case did not fall in the 'rarest of rare' category and sentenced Samar Patra to life imprisonment saying even though his involvement in the murder had been established beyond doubt, he could still be reformed. Patra had been booked under section 302 IPC dealing with murder that attracts death sentence or life imprisonment along with a fine. A lower court had on March 22, 2023 convicted him of the murder and awarded a death sentence along with a fine of Rs 5,000. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata "It has been laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court time and again that life imprisonment is a rule and death penalty is an exception in awarding sentences in cases where death and life imprisonment are the prescribed punishments," the HC held. The victim and Patra had checked into the hotel together on April 11, 2018. When they did not respond to repeated calls the next day, the hotel manager informed police and the woman was found dead on the bed. The ventilation window in the attached washroom was found broken and Patra was missing. An autopsy revealed the victim had died due to strangulation by ligature, which was ante mortem and homicidal in nature. After his arrest, Patra claimed he found the woman hanging from the ceiling fan when he woke up at night, brought down the body but fled as he was terrified. "As a man of ordinary prudence, it was expected that the appellant should have called upon officials of the hotel and reported the matter to police," the HC observed while upholding his conviction. "The appellant is aged about 33 years. Nothing of unfavourable behaviour has been reported against the appellant, which does not rule out the possibility of reform. The evidence on record does not suggest that the murder of the victim was pre-planned or committed with premeditation and extreme brutality. Rather, the evidence on record shows that the appellant and the victim had visited and stayed together in the hotel on previous occasions as well. Such circumstances belie the existence of any previous enmity between them," the bench held.
Economic Times
43 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Assault on Constitution's soul: Opposition slams RSS' view on Preamble
RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale Several opposition parties on Friday denounced RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's call to review the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble, terming it a "deliberate assault" on the soul of the Constitution. The attack came a day after the RSS proposed reviewing the two words, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar. While the Congress saw it as a "deliberate assault" on the soul of the Constitution and claimed the RSS-BJP had never accepted Ambedkar's Constitution, the CPI(M) said the demand exposes the RSS' long-standing objective of subverting leader Rahul Gandhi said the mask of the RSS has come off again as they want 'Manusmriti'. "The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism, and justice," he said in a post in Hindi on X."The RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution; they want 'Manusmriti'. They aim to strip the marginalized and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda," he alleged. "The RSS should stop dreaming... we will never let them succeed. Every patriotic Indian will defend the Constitution until their last breath," the former Congress chief leader and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Hosabale's call is a "brazen attempt to dismantle the core ideals of our Republic"."Invoking the Emergency to discredit these principles is a deceitful move, especially when the RSS colluded with the Indira Gandhi government during that time for its own survival. To use that period now to undermine the Constitution reflects sheer hypocrisy and political opportunism."Secularism and socialism are not additions; they define India. Every citizen who believes in democracy must raise their voice against this communal agenda," Vijayan said on Left parties and RJD alleged that Hosabale's proposal was part of a conspiracy to change the general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the BJP/RSS attacked Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in the framing of the Constitution from November 30, 1949, onwards. "In the RSS' own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti," he said in a post on X."The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr (Narendra) Modi's campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem," Ramesh said. Sharing the Supreme Court's November 25, 2024, judgment on the issue, he said, "Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?" In a post on X from its official handle, the Congress alleged the RSS-BJP's ideology stands in direct opposition to the Indian Constitution."RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has openly called for the removal of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble. This is not just a suggestion -- it is a deliberate assault on the soul of our Constitution," it said."It is part of a long-standing conspiracy to dismantle Babasaheb Ambedkar's vision for a just, inclusive and democratic India -- something the RSS-BJP has always been plotting. Let us not forget: when the Constitution was adopted, the RSS rejected it. They didn't just oppose it, they burnt it." The Congress said the people saw through their agenda and gave them a resounding answer."Now, they have returned to their old playbook. But let it be known: The Congress will stand as an unbreakable wall against any attempt to undermine the Constitution. Jai Samvidhan," it General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal mounted a scathing attack on the RSS and the BJP, saying, "The RSS' single-minded focus to destroy the Constitution is never hidden for too long. Beyond the BJP's lip service to the Constitution, their hidden agenda has always been to distort and destroy our Constitution -- because it stands against the core fascist beliefs of the RSS-BJP." "A senior RSS member surely knows that the Supreme Court declared socialism and secularism to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Yet, to take this stand is a clear insult to the Constitution, a rejection of its values, and a direct attack on the Supreme Court of India as well," he said on X. The MP from Kerala's Alappuzha added that the people of India were very much aware of the "devious means deployed by the RSS to spread poison and divide this country". "We will never let them succeed in this mission, and will defend the Constitution to the hilt," he stressed. Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said, "Once again, the truth slipped out. The hidden agenda of the BJP and RSS is now out in the open. They want to remove the core values of secularism and socialism from the Constitution." The BJP hit back at the Congress, accusing it of being behind all the violations of India's Constitution since Independence and asked the party to apologise for its Emergency-era atrocities on people instead of resorting to issue before the country is the violation of people's fundamental rights by the Congress government during the Emergency, said BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu other opposition parties, RJD president Lalu Prasad, who claimed that social justice and communal harmony are his guiding principles, voiced his anguish on X by terming the RSS a "casteist" RJD supremo also said, "They do not have the guts to cast an evil eye on the Constitution and reservations provided therein. Why are people with an unjust character so full of hatred for democracy and Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution?" Party MP Manoj Kumar Jha said, "Perhaps he (Hosabale) hasn't read it; I would advise him to seriously read the Constituent Assembly debates. Socialism and secularism were integral parts of our Constitution." In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said the inclusion of 'socialism' and 'secularism' in the Preamble is not an arbitrary addition and reflects the core values for which freedom fighters sacrificed their lives. "The Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly denounces the proposal made by the RSS general secretary to remove the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. This proposal exposes the RSS's long-standing objective of subverting the Constitution and its intent to transform India into a Hindu Rashtra, in pursuit of its Hindutva project." "It is the height of hypocrisy for the RSS, which played no role in the freedom movement, to now advocate for the removal of these foundational principles. That it cannot tolerate the values cherished by our martyrs betrays its reactionary, anti-people, and divisive ideology," the Left party "firmly" opposed "any attempt to alter the core values enshrined in our Constitution. We appeal to the people to remain vigilant and resolutely resist all such efforts by the RSS and its protege BJP." CPI General Secretary D Raja said everyone knows what RSS wants. "Everyone knows it is opposed to constitution/why they spoke of '400-paar' and that is why defending constitution became the central issue for opposition parties." Hosabale, while addressing an event on the Emergency, said on Thursday that "the preamble of the Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar made never had these words." "During the Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not work, and judiciary became lame, then these words were added." The RSS leader said discussions were held on this issue later but no effort was made to remove them from the Preamble. "So whether they should remain in the Preamble should be considered," he had added. Union Minister Jitendra Singh, however, sought to defend Hosabale's call, saying any right-thinking citizen would endorse it because everybody knows that these words were not part of the original Constitution written by Ambedkar. PTI
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Shivraj seconds Hosabale's call for review of insertion of secularism, socialism in Preamble
'Secularism is not the core of our culture. That is why there should indeed be a discussion about it. The word 'secularism' was added during the Emergency—there should be deliberation on removing it,' Chouhan said to a question on whether these terms should be removed from the Preamble. These words, according to the senior BJP leader, were not part of India's civilisational ethos and had been inserted during the 1975 Emergency. New Delhi: After Dattatreya Hosabale of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan joined the bandwagon demanding a rethink on the relevance of the words secularism and socialism in the Constitution. In Varanasi, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare also described India as 'an ancient and great nation' founded on the principle of Sarva Dharma Sambhav—equal respect for all faiths. He emphasised that India, as a civilisation, has long upheld religious harmony and mutual respect across traditions. 'This is the India that, not today but thousands of years ago, said 'Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti'—Truth is one, the wise call it by many names,' he said, quoting ancient scripture to underline India's pluralistic tradition. 'This is the India that says 'Munde munde matir bhinna'—every mind is different. It respects differing thoughts and forms of worship.' Citing Swami Vivekananda's historic speech in Chicago, Chouhan added, 'No matter which path you follow, ultimately all lead to the same supreme truth.' A day earlier, Hosabale had forcefully argued for reviewing the inclusion of secularism and socialism in the Constitution. The RSS general secretary said the two terms were inserted into the Preamble during the Emergency—bypassing public debate—and were not part of the Constitution originally drafted by Chouhan also questioned the relevance of socialism in contemporary India, asserting that Indian philosophy already embodies egalitarian values through its ancient teachings. 'Atmavat sarvabhuteshu—to see oneself in all beings—is India's fundamental thought. The entire world is one family—this is India's spirit. Live and let live, let there be goodwill among living beings, let the world be well,' he said. 'Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, sarve santu niramayah—may all be happy, may all be free of illness—this is India's true sentiment. That's why we don't need socialism,' Chouhan said. 'We've been saying it for years—Sia Ram may sab jag jani—see everyone as one and the same. There is no need for imposed socialism.' The nation, the Union Minister said, must seriously reflect on this (removal of secularism and socialism from the Constitution. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: 'Mask comes off' as RSS wants 'Manusmriti', says Rahul on call to drop 'secular' from Constitution
