Rebel Sena MLAs land in Goa, Shinde to discuss next move

The Indian Express | 1 month ago | 30-06-2022 | 03:40 am

THE GROUP of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, headed by Eknath Shinde, arrived in Goa amid heavy security cover, minutes after Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as Chief Minister of Maharashtra Wednesday evening.After camping in Guwahati for days, the Shinde faction, which brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, arrived on a special Spice Jet flight at Dabolim airport in South Goa.After hopping from one BJP-ruled state to another over the past nine days, the rebel MLAs flew in closer to Mumbai ahead of a floor test that was scheduled on Thursday. However, Thackeray’s resignation meant there would be no floor test.The MLAs were expected to leave for Mumbai on Thursday morning by a chartered flight but sources said the plan may change now since there will be no floor test. The sources said Shinde will hold a meeting with the MLAs and strategise the next move.Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met the breakaway legislators at the hotel late Wednesday night, the sources said. The Shinde faction is expected to align with the BJP in the next government formation in Maharashtra.Shinde and the other rebel MLAs reached the Taj Resort and Convention Centre in Dona Paula, where they were scheduled to spend the night, around 11.15 pm amid heavy security cover. Sources said at least 80 rooms were booked for the Shinde camp.Ahead of their arrival, security measures were tightened outside the five-star hotel. Goa Director General of Police Jaspal Singh and other senior police officers reviewed the security arrangements Wednesday evening.As tourist families milled around the hotel lobby, sources said armed police officers kept vigil. Outside, there was heavy barricading.The Goa Police had also strengthened its checks at its northern state border at Patradevi. Goa shares a border with Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. Shiv Sena MLA from Sidhudurg Vaibhav Naik has stayed on with Thackeray while senior Shiv Sena leader and MLA from Sawantwadi Deepak Kesarkar is among the rebels.Hours before the rebel group arrived, Shailendra Velingkar, Goa Shiv Sena leader and chief of Parshuram Gomantak Sena, reached the hotel. He was, however, asked to leave the hotel premises by the police and hotel security.Goa Shiv Sena leader Jitesh Kamat earlier targeted the BJP government in Goa for deploying the state’s security apparatus to provide protection to the Shinde-led rebel faction. He said the BJP in Goa had protected “traitors” from Maharashtra at the cost of the taxpayer.

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Sawant: P’yats are centres of rural devpt

Times of India | 4 hours ago | 11-08-2022 | 01:22 am

Times of India

4 hours ago | 11-08-2022 | 01:22 am

Bicholim: Calling village panchayats the prime centres of rural development, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that his government’s aim is to strengthen them.Sawant was speaking to reporters after casting his vote at the Kothambi -Pale poll booth in Bicholim taluka.He said that there is also need to boost tourism in the state and hence, panchayat bodies should provide whole-hearted cooperation.Sawant said that so far, the state government has provided necessary financial assistance to panchayat bodies for development works and that the same will continue in future too. Further, he said that the government is also undertaking different initiatives to boost rural tourism, small scale business and domestic business in the state.

Govt, local institutions capable of running primary schools: CM

Times of India | 5 hours ago | 11-08-2022 | 01:08 am

Times of India

5 hours ago | 11-08-2022 | 01:08 am

Panaji: Hitting out at AAP, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that government and local institutions are capable of running the primary schools in the state. AAP should first see the condition of schools in the state where they have a government, he said. Sawant said he did not need political advice to run the schools.The chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio, said that the state government has started a survey to identify government primary schools for amalgamation and not a single school has been closed so far. He said that the government has started speaking to teachers. “The merger of schools is at the planning stage,” Sawant said.“If there are only four students and primary schools are in a 2km radius we want to merge them and provide four teachers and improve the infrastructure,” the chief minister said.He said that the state government is capable of running government primary schools and in the last 60 years it has done so. Sawant said that if the parents are ready to take responsibility to run the schools, then the government will help them with additional teachers. “There is no need for any political party to take over government primary schools to run and the government is committed to run the schools.” AAP on Tuesday requested director of education Shailesh Zingade to reverse the decision of merging government primary schools in the interest of public and students. In a memorandum, AAP offered to “adopt” these schools which are to be merged and “show how the enrolment in these schools can be increased by providing futuristic facilities in these schools”.The chief minister said that first they should see the bad condition of schools in the state which are run by their party. Sawant said that AAP only wants publicity and to print some news in Delhi. The chief minister said that out of 540 high schools, the state government runs only 10% of high schools. “Institutions and the government are capable of running the schools, there is no need for political parties to get involved. The government will not allow any political party to run the schools,” he said.

All encroached govt land will be taken back: Sawant

Times of India | 5 hours ago | 11-08-2022 | 01:06 am

Times of India

5 hours ago | 11-08-2022 | 01:06 am

Panaji: All government land that has been encroached on will be reverted to its original position, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday. “I will not allow anyone to grab government land,” Sawant said.A special investigation team (SIT) has registered a first information report against an unknown person for allegedly illegally selling 73 properties belonging to the state government in Sanguem taluka. The Goa legislative assembly passed the Registration (Goa Amendment) Bill, 2022, to empower the authorities investigating land grab cases to file a case before the appropriate court or tribunal to determine the veracity of documents.“The investigating authority shall file a case before such a court or tribunal only after ascertaining on exhaustive investigation that the document registered with the registering officer is fraudulent,” the bill states. “The court or tribunal may, upon such enquiry as it deems fit, order cancellation of a document which is found to be fraudulently registered, and it may also order restoration of property in the name of the original owner on cancellation of such document.”The officer must revert the land to its original owner within two days of the court order declaring a document forged, the Bill states. The chief minister had also said that not a single person has approached the SIT to claim ownership of the land being investigated by them. “Anonymous properties, whose owners are in foreign countries or whose owners do not exist, such properties have been sold or illegally grabbed. This will not be permitted. Such properties will belong to the state government,” the chief minister had said.Elaborating, the CM said that in case there are illegally grabbed properties of Goans who have surrendered Indian citizenship and moved abroad, then the government may also think of taking over these properties. Sawant said that the state government will sign a memorandum of understanding with Isha Outreach for the Save Soil Movement started by Sadguru. He said that under this program there will be exchange of expertise, training and empowerment of stakeholders and public awareness. “It will help us in achieving sustainable goals in Goa,” he said. Sawant said that Isha Outreach will share its soil policy with the state.

Goa: Court junks former Congress president’s plea for FIR against 10 ex-MLAs

Times of India | 23 hours ago | 10-08-2022 | 06:24 am

Times of India

23 hours ago | 10-08-2022 | 06:24 am

PANAJI: A Mapusa court has dismissed the application of former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar who was seeking directions for an FIR to be registered for cheating and forgery against 10 of its former MLAs who merged with BJP in 2019. Chodankar had alleged that they forged documents for the purpose of producing it in a disqualification petition which was then pending before the speaker of the legislative assembly. The court relied on the order passed by the high court in a writ petition between the same parties in which the order of the speaker was maintained by the high court. “Thus, there is no element of forgery for which no direction can be given to the respondent to register the FIR,” stated Shilpa S Pandit, JMFC, A-Court, Mapusa. “Merely because the letter head and the seal of the said committee is used for preparing the resolution, it cannot be said that the persons named therein have committed any forgery in creating the said resolution. That being so, no cognisable offence is made out in the complaint of the applicant. Hence, no FIR can be registered for any such offence alleged in the application,” the court added. The court observed that on July 10, 2019, when the resolution was passed to merge with BJP, all the persons who allegedly committed forgery were members of the GPCC and that being so had access to the letter head and seal of the committee. Public prosecutor R Barreto contended that none of them have alleged that their signatures on the resolution are forged. “That being so, it is an admitted position that said letter is signed by them all. Hence, there is no question of any forgery for which the complaint can be registered,” the court held. Chodankar had lodged a police complaint on April 20 last year alleging that the 10 MLAs conspired and fraudulently created a false document claiming to be a resolution of the GPCC and purportedly passed in the meeting of the GPCC held on July 10, 2019 to merge GPCC with BJP. He alleged the resolution was falsely created using counterfeit letter head and counterfeit seal of GPCC. Despite Chodankar’s complaint no FIR was registered, his counsel S Vaingankar submitted to the court.

Arvind Kejriwal: AAP will be a national party if one more state recognises

The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 10-08-2022 | 03:40 am

The Indian Express

1 day ago | 10-08-2022 | 03:40 am

After receiving state party status in Goa, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday that the “Broom” party will soon become a “national ” party. The Election Commission of India (ECI) declared AAP a state party in Goa, after reviewing its performance in the February Assembly polls.Congratulating party workers, Kejriwal posted a communication the party received from the Election Commission and said, “After Delhi and Punjab, AAP is now a state recognised party in Goa too. If we get recognised in one more state, we will officially be declared a national party.”He further added, “I congratulate each and every volunteer for their hard work. I thank the people for reposing faith in AAP.”

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