Mumbai, July 3 (IANS) Amid strong demand from ruling and Opposition members in the Assembly, marketing minister Abdul Sattar on Wednesday announced that the Maharashtra government will send an official delegation to Telangana to study the difference between the subsidy provided to cotton growers there and the financial aid announced by the state government.

Abdul Sattar added that the government was open to making changes in the financial assistance to cotton growers.

He also announced that the procurement of cotton at the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) would be opened during Diwali so that the growers can sell their produce and get the prevailing price.

Sattar said that CCI has purchased 1.2 lakh quintals during this season while private procurers have purchased 3.16 lakh quintals.

The Centre has increased the cotton procurement price by Rs 500 per quintal to Rs 7,521 per quintal from Rs 7,121 per quintal for long thread cotton.

Ruling and Opposition members submitted that the cotton growers in the state have to sell cotton at the price declared by CCI which at times remains lower than what they can get from traders.

They also said that there were no cotton buying centres when the farmers need them and due to insufficient grading systems at the cotton buying centres, trains are stuck for several days.

Leader of Opposition, Vijay Wadettiwar and other members including Prakash Solunke, Harish Pimple, Narayan Kuche and others said that the growers have to sell cotton in the open market due to CCI’s oppressive conditions during procurement.

Wadettiwar said the price of cotton fell especially after the Centre imported 15 lakh bales.

“Traders took advantage of the closure of CCI procurement centres. A large quantity of cotton is lying at the homes of growers because of the low price offered by CCI. The cotton growers are at the receiving end due to the growing mismatch between the high cost of production and low procurement price. The subsidy of Rs 5,000 upto 2 hectares in the wake of fall in the procurement price should be increased to help the farmers,” he added.

Yashomati Thakur raised the issue of per acre cost of cotton. Currently, the cost per acre is Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 against the income of Rs 3,900 per quintal. She demanded that the state government provide a subsidy on the lines of the Telangana government.

–IANS

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Palghar (Maharashtra), July 3 (IANS) The Maharashtra Police has cracked a major inter-state drug racket operating in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, seizing drugs and related stuff valued at Rs 327.69 crore, and arresting 15 persons, officials said on Wednesday.

Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Commissioner of Police Madhukar Pandey told media persons that the racket, with mafia connections, also led to the seizure of four weapons and several live cartridges from one of the accused in Palghar.

The seizures include the drug mephedrone (MD), raw materials and other articles like vehicles from manufacturing dens in UP and Telangana, and cash from Gujarat.

The accused arrested comprise eight people from UP, three each from Telangana and Maharashtra, and one from Gujarat, with more arrests likely, Pandey said.

The investigations started on May 15 when the MBVV Crime Branch, Kashimira Police Unit 1 sleuths seized one kg MD valued at Rs 2 crore and nabbed two persons, both of Vasai town in Palghar, at a checkpost in Chenagaon (Thane). Their sustained interrogation led to unravelling the tentacles spread in other states where police teams were rushed to probe.

One of the teams raided a manufacturing den at Narsapur in Telangana on May 17, seized 103 gms MD valued at Rs 20.60 lakh and another 25 kg raw materials valued at Rs 25 crore, besides arresting two persons.

The questioning led the police to an associate in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb and the seizure of MD amounting to 71.10 gms valued at Rs 14.38 crore, plus the arrest of another person in Varanasi.

The combined probe continued with the dragnet then falling on a person at Padgha village in Thane, with the seizure of raw materials valued at nearly Rs 54,000. Pandey said that the probe teams have detected that one person from Mumbai – who is still absconding – had allegedly transferred funds for the manufacture of the drugs through an associate in Surat. The other person was nabbed from Surat along with Rs 10.90 lakh in cash, which was being remitted through the Indian traditional personal couriers called ‘Angadiyas’.

Accordingly, the probe shifted to a couple of Angadiyas in south Mumbai from whom the police seized Rs 680,000 that was delivered to them by the Surat accused. The probe led to the detection of an MD manufacturing unit in UP’s Jaunpur, from where the police seized 300 kg of raw materials worth Rs 300 crore and nabbed three more on June 25, followed by three more arrests from Lucknow on June 25/26.

They tipped the police about another associate operating from Nala Sopara in Palghar from whom the police teams recovered a revolver, 3 pistols and 33 bullets, Pandey said, adding that further probe is on.

The accused arrested in the entire scam over the past couple of months include Shoaib H. Memon and Nicholas L. Tritus (both from Vasai in Palghar), Dayanand M. Mudanar alias Daya and Nasir J. Shaikh alias Baba (both from Telangana), Ghanshyam R. Saroj (Varanasi), Mohamed S. Moin (Mumbai), Bharat S. Jadhav alias Babu (Thane), and Murtuza M. Kothari alias Zulfikar (Surat, Gujarat).

–IANS

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Srinagar, July 3 (IANS) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headed by former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti claimed on Wednesday that many leaders, who had left the party after 2019, were eager to return.

In a statement issued here, the party said, “PDP has formed a committee led by Sartaj Madni. This committee will create a report and provide consultation on the rejoining of former ministers and legislators. The report will be submitted to the party’s political affairs committee, which includes party head Mehbooba Mufti.”

“Following this consultation, decisions will be made about which ex-ministers and legislators will be welcomed back into the party. Abdul Haq Khan has been confirmed as having rejoined both the party and the committee. Several others, who have approached the party, including Imran Ansari, Ashraf Mir, Choudhary Zulfiqar, Abdul Majeed Padder, Nizam-ud-din Bhat, Khursheed Alam, Yasir Reshi, Pir Mansoor, Raja Manzoor, Rahim Rather, Noor Mohammad, Qamar Ali and more,” said the PDP.

“The rejoining process is expected to occur within the next two to three days after the committee submits its report. In addition to Sartaj Madni, other members of the committee include Dr Mehboob Beigh, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Abdul Rehman Veeri and other senior leaders,” mentioned the statement.

Among the leaders mentioned by the PDP, who according to the statement, have expressed a desire to rejoin the party, includes senior Shia leader Imran Raza Ansari. The Shia leader is presently in the Sajad Lone-led People’s Conference (PC).

Former minister, Zulfiqar Choudhary and Ashraf Mir are in the Apni Party led by Altaf Ahmad Bukhari while Khurshid Alam, Yasir Rishi and Pir Mansoor are in the PC.

Nizam-ud-Bhat recently left the PC.

Altaf Ahmad Bukhari was also a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government. He left PDP and formed his own, J&K Apni Party after leaving the PDP.

Mehbooba Mufti lost the Lok Sabha election from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency while fighting the candidates of the National Conference, J&K Apni Party and People’s Conference.

–IANS

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Lucknow, July 3 (IANS) The noose has started tightening around self-styled godman Bhole Baba, a.k.a Narayan Saakar Hari during whose religious event the stampede took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Fulrai Village in Hathras District on Tuesday.

As many as 121 lives were lost in the tragedy that also left over 25 people injured.

Though Bhole Baba’s name does not figure in the initial FIR filed in connection with the incident in which mostly women were killed, the police have cordoned off his ashram in Mainpuri, following reports that the godman could be hiding in his palatial abode.

“We have found the location of his mobile phone to be near his ashram and we are keeping a close watch,” said a senior police officer.

Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath who visited Hathras on Wednesday has announced a judicial probe into the stampede.

Yogi Adityanath interacted with injured people in hospital and took first hand information about the circumstances leading to the tragedy.

“I talked to several eyewitnesses and they informed me that the incident took place after the ‘satsang’ ended and the preacher was coming down from the stage. Suddenly several women started going towards him to touch his feet and the ‘sevadars’ stopped them, due to which the mishap took place. The administration was not allowed by the ‘sevadars’ to enter the area,” Chief Minister Adityanath said at a press conference.

A video clip has also gone viral on social media which shows the godman leaving the venue in his car and hundreds of devotees running behind his car to gather the dust as a token of blessing.

The report submitted by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate states that the behaviour of the godman’s ‘sevadars’ was responsible for the tragedy. The ‘sevadars’ tried to push back the devotees which led to the stampede.

The report also says that the number of devotees who arrived at the discourse was three times more than the number for which permission had been sought.

In a related development, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking a CBI enquiry into the Hathras stampede.

The PIL moved by Advocate Gaurav Dwivedi, states that the district authorities were “totally responsible” for the “negligence” due to which the tragedy occurred and that this poor law and order situation in the state would lead to people losing faith in the UP government.

The PIL further states that the district authorities have mechanisms in place to prevent and control any unwarranted situations, and the state government is investing substantial public funds in new techniques, for better administration. Despite this, the incident occurred.

Further, the petitioner has submitted that he is very concerned about the safety of devotees who would be attending the Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest religious gathering, which is scheduled to take place in Prayagraj in 2025.

–IANS

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Patna, July 3 (IANS) While Congress leaders claimed that the Constitution is under threat under the Narendra Modi government, JD (U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha highlighted how the Congress ‘respected’ the Constitution when it was in power at the Centre.

In his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address on Wednesday, Jha detailed how the Congress leadership twisted the Constitution in 2005.

He stated, “The President of India discussed the emergency period in her speech, and Bihar was the biggest battleground of it. Under the leadership of Jai Prakash Narayan, the total revolution movement was started. The emergency was imposed in the country in 1975, but I want to point out two things on the floor of the House. In 2005, there was a UPA government at the Centre, and the assembly election was held in Bihar in February. At that time, a hung assembly emerged. After two months, Nitish Kumar managed to achieve a majority in the Bihar assembly and was about to form the government. At that time, Buta Singh was the governor of Bihar. He called for a cabinet meeting. The then President (APJ Abdul Kalam) was in Moscow. The paper was sent to the Bihar governor by fax, and President’s Rule was imposed in Bihar. This is the reality of the Congress’s expression of love towards the Constitution,” Jha said.

He pointed out two incidents of that time. While quoting the Union law minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj, he said: “Bhardwaj, in his statement, pointed out that he was under tremendous pressure from the Manmohan Singh government to get a favorable order from the Supreme Court to impose President’s Rule in Bihar in 2005 to prevent the JD (U) and BJP combined government from coming to power. Bhardwaj said that he met Chief Justice YK Sabbarwal who headed the constitution bench which deals with the case to get a favorable judgment.”

“The five-judge bench held that the imposition of President’s Rule was a misuse of article 356 and was clearly politically motivated based on the report of Governor Buta Singh,” Jha said.

While quoting Hans Raj Bhardwaj again, Jha said: “The former law minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj in his statement said Justice Sabbarwal was his family friend but was a tough judge and he could not muster the courage to ask him any favour on this issue when we met him for a cup of coffee.”

“Then BJP leader Arun Jaitley objected to President’s Rule in Bihar,” Jha said.

Sanjay Jha also referred to some content from a book called “The Turning Point” written by the then President APJ Abdul Kalam.

“As soon as the verdict was known (on President’s Rule in Bihar), I wrote a letter of resignation and was about to send it to the then Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who was a seasoned politician and a lawyer. He was away from the country at that time. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wanted to see me for some other discussion. We met in my office in the afternoon. After finishing the discussion, I said that I had decided to resign from the post of the President and showed him the letter. The Prime Minister was disturbed as soon as he saw the letter. The scene was touching and I do not want to describe it. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pleaded that I should not do it in this difficult time. He said that the result of it may create such a circumstance that even the government might fall. Hence, I did not give the resignation,” Jha said while quoting from the book of the then President APJ Abdul Kalam.

“Now, they are roaming with the Constitution book while the law minister of the UPA government went to the President’s House and took the signature for President’s Rule in Bihar at night. Everyone knew who was running the government at that time. Who was the superpower and imposed President’s Rule in Bihar,” Jha said.

–IANS

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