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New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
PM Modi to brief BJP House panel meet on Vice President today
NEW DELHI: With only weeks left for the Vice-President election on September 9, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has organised a major brainstorming session -- potentially the final discussion regarding their pick -- on Tuesday morning at the Parliament premises. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, designated by the NDA to have the final say on the candidate, is expected to address the MPs from both Houses – the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The nomination process for the Vice-President will close on August 21. The BJP-nominated NDA's consensus candidate is expected to file their nomination on August 21, accompanied by a majority of senior NDA leaders, including PM Modi and Chief Ministers of NDA ally-ruled states like Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and others. While addressing the meeting, the PM will touch upon the alliance's legislative agendas, the upcoming Vice-Presidential election, and the BJP's nominated NDA candidate for the coveted post. A top-ranked source hinted that the RSS's influence in the selection of the consensus candidate cannot be ruled out, given Modi's open laudation of the Sangh from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Notably, the meeting has been planned just two days after the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting, which is held on Sunday evening, for wider deliberations on both the party's top organisational elections and the Vice-Presidential poll. This BJP Parliamentary Board meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Modi with senior BJP leaders, including party chief JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in attendance at the BJP headquarters, on Sunday evening.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
PM Modi to address the NDA MPs meeting on August 19 ahead of V-P election
NEW DELHI: As the Vice Presidential election nears, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has scheduled a crucial meeting on Tuesday morning within the Parliament premises to finalize its Vice- Presidential candidate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, entrusted by the NDA to make the final decision on the Vice-President candidate is expected to address the alliance's MPs from both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha during the Parliamentary Party meeting. The gathering will also touching upon the alliance's legislative agendas and the upcoming Vice-Presidential election, with the BJP's nominated NDA candidate for the post being a key focus. The nomination process for the Vice-President begins on August 21, and the BJP-nominated NDA consensus candidate is likely to file their nomination on the same day. They are expected to be accompanied by a majority of senior NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and Chief Ministers from NDA-ruled states such as Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. A top-ranked source indicated that the RSS's influence in selecting the consensus candidate appears unavoidable, particularly in light of PM Modi's recent public praise for the Sangh from the Red Fort.
Indian Express
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maharashtra MLAs who scuffled on Assembly premises: Who are Gopichand Padalkar, Jitendra Awhad?
The Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly witnessed ugly scenes after the supporters of a BJP MLA and NCP (Shandrachandra Pawar) legislator clashed. The incident, sources said, was triggered when BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar's vehicle allegedly came to a halt where NCP(SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad was standing, leading to a heated verbal exchange between the two leaders. Videos of the incident that surfaced on social media on Friday purportedly show Awhad referring to Padalkar as a 'mangalsutra thief', in an apparent reference to a past video that showed the BJP MLA being involved in a commotion at a wedding. Though Padalkar reacted strongly to Awhad, the matter seemed to have been resolved. However, soon afterwards, the tensions continued after supporters of the two leaders exchanged blows on the Assembly premises, forcing Speaker Rahul Narwekar to intervene and temporarily suspend visitors from entering the premises. He also referred the matter to the Privileges Committee. Though the leaders expressed regret on the floor of the House, the incident put the spotlight on the long-simmering rivalry between the two who represent vastly different constituencies, ideologies, and political styles. Though both leaders hail from the OBC communities, they represent different wings of Maharashtra politics. Padalkar is the BJP's rural spearhead against the old Maratha establishment, while Awhad is the urban secularist from the Pawar school of politics. One relies on street mobilisation and caste pride, the other on ideological confrontation and community outreach. A first-time MLA from the Jat Assembly seat in Sangli district, 43-year-old Padalkar is one of the most vocal representatives of the Dhangar (shepherd) community. Born into an OBC Dhangar family with modest means, Padalkar began his political career with the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), a party with a strong influence among the Dhangar community that has been pushing for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Padalkar's political journey has been chequered. While he served as a BJP-nominated MLC from 2020 to 2024, he lost several Assembly polls before eventually emerging victorious from the Jat Assembly seat in last year's elections. Known for his rustic oratory and flair for dramatic speeches, Padalkar briefly aligned with Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) in 2019 before returning to the BJP the same year. There, he emerged as a combative OBC voice to take on the Maratha-dominated NCP and Pawar. Over the years, Padalkar has cultivated a strong rural OBC voter base and has emerged as one of the staunchest critics of NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar and in 2020, infamously referred to him as 'virus' while opposing his presence at public events related to the Dhangar community. Outside politics, Padalkar produced and starred in a Marathi film, Dhumas (2019), which seemingly added to his popular image in rural Maharashtra. A four-time MLA from the Mumbra-Kalwa seat in Thane, 61-year-old Awhad began his political career as a student activist in the 1980s and was a prominent voice in the anti-fee hike agitations. He steadily rose through the ranks of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the Congress's student body, and served as an MLC between 2002 and 2008. Awhad made his successful electoral debut in 2009 from the Mumbra-Kalwa Assembly seat and has retained the seat since then. He was a minister in the Congress-undivided NCP as well as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) governments, where he held key portfolios like Housing, Medical Education, Minority Development and Aukaf. A PhD in socio-religious movements, Awhad is from the OBC Vanjari community and is known for his articulate, ideological approach and staunch opposition to right-wing politics. In 2018, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) uncovered an alleged plot by extremists to target him, a claim he used to shore up his political positioning. Awhad's combative personality has often landed him in soup. In 2020, he was booked for assaulting a civil engineer in Thane over a morphed meme. Two years later, a complaint was registered against the MLA after he protested against the Marathi film Har Har Mahadev and assaulted a man at a multiplex in Thane, alleging it distorted Maratha history. In the Assembly, Awhad is known for his sharp interventions and sarcastic wit, which he often uses to target BJP leaders. Last week, Awhad landed in a row after he was seen assaulting a TV journalist inside the Assembly premises. 'Video footage of this incident clearly shows Awhad physically assaulted the reporter, who was recording his interaction with Shiv Sena (UBT) Leader Ambadas Danve. Such behaviour by an elected representative is absolutely unacceptable and raises serious concerns about the safety and security of journalists covering the Assembly session,' the Mumbai Press Club said in a statement following the incident. Despite the controversies, he continues to remain a trusted lieutenant of Pawar and one of the party's most visible urban leaders. He was recently appointed as spokesperson of the NCP (SP) and has also served as the party's floor leader in the Assembly.
Indian Express
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Dharmasthala ‘secret burials': Karnataka govt awaits preliminary police report before setting up SIT
The Karnataka Government will await a preliminary investigation report by the state police into a former sanitation worker's claims of carrying out secret burials of several dead bodies in the Dharmasthala region, before deciding on constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a detailed probe, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has stated. The statement comes amid increasing pressure to set up an SIT to carry out the investigation in Dharmasthala, a religious town where the much-revered Sree Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara temple is located. The temple is managed by Jain dharmadhikari and BJP-nominated Rajya Sabha MP Veerendra Heggade. 'We are not going to bow to pressure, we will take action as per the law, irrespective of the demands made by people, including retired judges… If an SIT is required, it will be constituted,' Siddaramaiah said Friday. Adding that a decision has not yet been taken on constituting an SIT, the chief minister said, 'The police department will submit a report and a decision will be taken based on the report. This person (who claims to have conducted the secret burials) who had disappeared for 10 years, has given a voluntary statement in court under section 164 (of the Criminal Procedure Code)… He has said that he will point out the locations of the burials.' Siddaramaiah's statement came a day after a delegation of lawyers met him seeking a comprehensive probe into the alleged secret burials. Retired Supreme Court judge V Gopala Gowda also sought an SIT probe in a press conference this week. The lawyers' delegation told the chief minister that it has been three weeks since a police complaint was registered following the revelations but the police are yet to make headway in the investigation. 'An inference can be drawn on the extent of influence exerted over the probe,' Gowda said. As per the former sanitation worker, he buried dozens of unidentified bodies in Dakshina Kannada district's Dharmasthala between 1998 and 2014. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Dharmasthala police station on July 4 under section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which put the onus on the complainant to furnish all details regarding the allegations. He appeared before a magistrate's court in Belthangady on July 11 to provide a statement to substantiate the allegations in the FIR. As per a statement by the Dakshina Kannada police, the complainant said he had 'disposed of several bodies, and is currently suffering from guilty consciousness', and agreed to locate the burial spots if protection is provided to him and his family.' The complainant said he witnessed some murders committed in a 'cruel manner' and was forced to dispose of the bodies. As per the current complaint, the man fled to a neighbouring state after 2014, fearing threats to himself and his family. He has requested police protection, exhumation of the bodies, and an investigation into the alleged deaths, claiming that 'powerful people' were behind it. He also alleged that a girl in his family was sexually harassed at a local school in Dharmasthala by a Physical Education teacher, and his entire family was forced to flee the area. After the former sanitation worker recorded his statement before the court, a 60-year-old woman has come forward to lodge a complaint stating that her daughter, a medical student, had gone missing in 2003 in Dharmasthala, and sought to locate her remains. 'The investigating officers have submitted a report to the court requesting permission to conduct brain mapping, lie detector, and narco analysis tests, if the witness (whistleblower) agrees,' the Dakshina Kannada police stated this week. 'At whatever stage of the investigation, the investigating officer determines that exhumation is appropriate, the exhumation process will be conducted following the appropriate legal process,' it added.
