Mumbai, July 30 (IANS) Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to resolve the Maratha-OBC caste quotas imbroglio that has created upheavals in Maharashtra.

Addressing media persons, Thackeray said that the power to change the reservation limit is not within the jurisdiction of the state government but vests only with the Parliament.

“The state government cannot solve the quotas issue and this must be tackled by the PM. Whatever decision the PM takes on this matter, we shall fully back it,” assured Thackeray.

He pointed out that earlier, the Bihar government had tried to give reservations exceeding the quotas ceiling but it did not stand in the courts, as that can be only done by the Centre.

“There’s no point in fighting for reservations in the state. I urge the leaders of various communities like Maraths, OBCs, Dhangars, or others to go to the PM and request him to look into the matter and whatever is the decision, we shall support it,” Thackeray declared.

Slamming the ruling MahaYuti leaders for demanding the stance of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Thackeray retorted by asking, “Why they could not give the reservations after over two years in power.”

He reiterated that rather than blaming the Opposition which had supported the government in the Special Session of the Legislature last year on the issue, the government should invite the caste leaders for discussions.

“Instead of seeking the views of the political leaders, the government must hold serious discussions with the leaders of the different castes, work out a consensus and find a solution acceptable to all. We shall back it,” said Thackeray.

The former Chief Minister’s remarks came after some Maratha groups staged a demonstration outside his home seeking to know the SS (UBT)’s stand on the caste quotas row and later Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve met and spoke with them.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 30 (IANS) With an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections, the MahaYuti government in Maharashtra has decided to expand the scope of the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana by including the eligible beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana who can now refill three gas cylinders free of cost annually in addition to receiving a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500.

The Food and Civil Supply Department headed by NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday released the government resolution in this regard, saying the poor families will benefit greatly from this scheme.

As per the resolution, the government will provide free refill of three gas cylinders per year to about 52.16 lakh beneficiaries of the Central government’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and also to the families of the eligible beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.

The government expects to cross 2.5 crore registrations by women in the age group of 21 to 60 years by the end of August under the Ladki Bahin Yojana. So far, more than 1.25 crore have been enrolled and the number is increasing by the day.

The Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana is targeted at the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Maitri Ujjwala Yojana which provides a subsidy of Rs 300 per cylinder. The state government proposes to provide a subsidy of Rs 530 per cylinder to cover its entire cost.

For the beneficiaries under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, the state will have to pay the entire sum of Rs 830 to cover the cost of the cylinder since they are not entitled to get a subsidy under the Pradhan Maitri Ujjwala Yojana.

‘’To avail the benefits of the scheme, the gas connection must be in the name of the woman. At present, around 52.16 lakh beneficiaries who are eligible under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in the state are going to be eligible for the said scheme.

Also, the families of the beneficiaries who are eligible for the Ladki Bahin Yojana will be eligible to refill three gas cylinders annually for free. Only one beneficiary in a family (as per ration card) will be eligible to get the benefit and it will be permissible only to those having a gas connection,’’ read the government resolution.

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched in 2016 by the Central government to enable the women of the country to live in a smoke-free environment, providing clean fuel for cooking to poor families and improving the health of women.

A Food and Civil Supply Department official said under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the work for providing gas connection to eligible families in Maharashtra is going on with the cooperation of the oil companies.

“At present, some beneficiaries who have gas connections other than under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana are not able to recharge the connections at the market rate. Also, it was brought to the notice of the government that after one cylinder is exhausted, many households use wood for cooking which harms the environment,’’ the official said.

(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at Sanjay.j@ians.in)

–IANS

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Jaipur July 30 (IANS) Following the death of three students due to water logging in the basement of an IAS coaching centre in Delhi, Jaipur Municipal Corporation Greater on Tuesday sealed two coaching centres in Jaipur due to lack of safety equipment in their premises.

Municipal Corporation Greater’s Mayor Saumya Gurjar made a surprise inspection at the coaching centre located in Gopalpura and directed the sealing of the Gurukripa Coaching Centre and Kalam Coaching Centre due to the non-availability of fire NOC.

“Today, we have sealed the Gurukripa Coaching Centre and Kalam Coaching Centre. The sealing action has been taken on Gurukripa Centre due to the non-availability of fire NOC and non-payment of UD tax,” said Mansarovar Zone Deputy Commissioner of Municipal Corporation Greater, Sita Verma.

She said that Kalam Coaching Centre neither had fire NOC nor fire equipment found in proper condition.

The Mayor first reached Gurukripa Coaching Centre located at Gopalpura Bypass and in the absence of fire NOC on the spot, she instructed Mansarovar Zone Deputy Commissioner and Fire Deputy Commissioner to take action and Gurukripa Coaching was sealed.

The Mayor also visited the classroom of the coaching centre where she interacted with children. The Mayor told students that they should first check whether the coaching centre in which they take admission has a fire fighting system installed or not.

Mayor Saumya Gurjar also checked the Kalam Coaching Center located in Gopalpura. This centre neither had fire NOC nor the fire equipment was found in proper condition.

“We have formed a committee to survey and inspect the security system, fire NOC, and fire fighting system of all the coaching centres operating in the Greater Area of the city. The committee will soon survey the city, prepare a report and issue a notice to coaching institutes,” the Mayor said.

On Saturday, the basement of a coaching centre in Delhi was flooded after heavy rain due to which three IAS aspirant lost their lives.

–IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, July 30 (IANS) As the Wayanad landslide toll reached 84, Kerala Chief Secretary, Dr V Venu, in a statement said that taking into account the grave tragedy, the state will observe two days’ official mourning on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On both these days the National Flag will fly at half mast and all official engagements of the Kerala government have been postponed.

The state government expressed deep sadness over the landslide that occurred at Churalmala in the wee hours of Tuesday leaving 84 dead, many injured and missing and causing huge destruction of public and private property.

The worst affected areas are Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu and the locals from these areas who managed to escape are shattered as hundreds of homes have been totally buried or destroyed.

Rescue operations under the aegis of the NDRF, Navy, Army, police and the fire department along with the local people, are continuing.

A special ropeway has now been put up at Churalmala and the rescue teams have managed to reach the marooned area. They hope to rescue the people trapped in the area shortly.

Meanwhile, rescue teams are now arriving with more men and material to erect a Bailey Bridge at Churalmala where a bridge was swept away during the landslide.

A 50-member Naval team from Kochi with expertise in crossing swollen water bodies have started their work.

Meanwhile, food packets and medicines have also started to arrive and are being given to people who have been badly affected by nature’s fury.

The Centre is closely monitoring the operations and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deputed Union Minister of State for Fisheries, George Kurian, to Wayanad to coordinate the rescue and relief operations.

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 30 (IANS) The Trinamool Congress will move a special motion to condemn the alleged ongoing “conspiracies to divide West Bengal” on the floor of the Assembly on August 5, which will be the last day of the Monsoon Session.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, said the decision to move the motion was taken at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee in the Assembly on Tuesday.

“The BJP seems confused and divided on this issue. While one group is for the division of Bengal, the other group is against it. So we are bringing this motion so that the BJP legislators can participate in the debate on it and express their views,” Chattopadhyay said.

The decision to move the motion on this issue comes a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her address in the House on Monday said that the Trinamool Congress will resist all attempts to divide West Bengal.

Her comments came in the wake of a recent observation made by a BJP Lok Sabha member from Jharkhand, Nishikant Dubey demanding formation of a new Union Territory through the bifurcation of certain districts of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, which was seconded by BJP legislator from Murshidabad Assembly constituency Gouri Sankar Ghosh.

It is learnt that the Chief Minister will be present in the Assembly on August 5 when the motion is moved and discussions sought.

Party insiders said that with the Chief Minister being present in the House on that day, it is natural that she will be the principal speaker on behalf of the Treasury Benches.

Although the BJP’s Chief Whip in West Bengal Assembly, Shankar Ghosh, described the proposed motion as a move to create political controversy over the issue, the party’s legislators will still participate in the debate so that their views can be highlighted and recorded.

Meanwhile, speaking on the decision by the BJP to move a No Confidence Motion against the Speaker on Monday, Chattopadhyay said that anyone has the right to do that.

“However, there is a procedure for submitting that motion,” Chattopadhyay said, referring to the development that instead of moving it on the floor of the House, the BJP MLAs submitted the proposal on the No Confidence Motion to the office of Assembly Secretary Sukumar Roy.

–IANS

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