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Trinamool Govt Had to Take Loans to
Repay State’s Debt, Says Mamata
Kolkata: CMMamata Banerjee said that her government
had to take loan to repay huge debts taken by Left Front
government. She made the statement in the Assembly
in reply to a comment by CPM’s Tanmay Bhattacharya
that TMC government had taken .̀1.33 lakh crore of
loans. The CPM member said government should in-
crease old age pension and allowances for widows
before considering a hike in allowances of MLAs.—PTI
LEADS HUNGER STRIKE
OPS Seeks
Judicial
Probe into
Jaya’s Death
Indo-Asian News Service
Chennai:Tamil Nadu's former
Chief Minister O. Panneersel-
vam and his followers began
their one day fast on Wednes-
day demanding a judicial in-
quiry into the death of former
Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
The hunger protest is being
held at all the district head-
quarters in Tamil Nadu, Pudu-
cherry and Karaikal.
AIADMK Members of Parlia-
ment and legislators belonging
to Panneerselvam group are al-
UNITED FORCE
AIADMK members of
Parliament and legis-
lators belonging to
Panneerselvam group
are also part of the
protest
so participating in the protest.
Jayalalithaa died on Decem-
ber 5 last year after being in the
Apollo Hospitals here for
around 75 days. Members of
Panneerselvam group have
raised doubts about the cir-
cumstances surrounding Jaya-
lalithaa's death. As a caretaker,
Panneerselvam had an-
nounced judicial inquiry into
the death of Jayalalithaa.
HC DISMISSES PETITION
The high court on Wednesday
dismissed as abated an elec-
tion petition filed against
Jayalalithaa in view of her
demise. Justice M Duraiswa-
my dismissed the petition fil-
ed by independent candidate
G Pravina.
ON A VISIT TO GUJARAT Modi says the poor actually never managed to reach doors of banks or could open accounts in all these years
Indira’s Nationalised Banks Didn’t Help Poor: PM
DP.Bhattacharya
@timesgroup.com
Gandhinagar: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Wednesday took
a dig at former Prime Minister In-
dira Gandhi, saying that though
she had nationalised banks and
had said that banks should serve
the poor, the poor actually never
managed to reach the doors of
banks or could open accounts in all
these years.
This is perhaps the first time that
Modi took a dig at the late Congress
leader. The PM attended a meeting
of Somnath Trust on the second
day of his two-day visit to his home
state. Modi further said that his go-
vernment decided that banks must
open their doors to the poor, and un-
der the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana, crores of accounts had be-
en opened. “Banks were compelled
to establish the rights of the poor
people,” Modi said. The PM also sa-
id that the coastal region of Gujarat
would receive Rs 45,000 crore from
HC Asks ACB to File FIR Against Khadse in Land Case
Investigation in the MIDC plot deal will be supervised by officer not below rank of additional director general of ACB
Our Political Bureau
Mumbai: The Bombay High
Court has directed the Anti
Corruption Bureau (ACB) to
register a first information
report against former Mah-
arashtra minister Eknath
Khadse for alleged illegal pur-
chase of land that belonged to the
Maharashtra Industrial Devel-
opment Corporation in Bhosri.
This spells a setback to the BJP
leader from Jalgaon who is al-
ready facing an inquiry by a
retired Bombay High Court
judge Dinkar Zoting into the
purchase of the three-acre plot.
Khadse was forced to resign last
year after the allegations against
SCIENCE TALKS : HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at
National Convention of Student Volunteers at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI
PMJDY ACCOUNTS
PM says under Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yoja-
na, crores of accounts
had been opened
the Sagarmala Yojana scheme. He
also reiterated his announcement
of converting eight state highways
of Gujarat into national highways,
detailing how the move would lar-
gely benefit Saurashtra.
Gujarat is scheduled for assembly
elections later this year. This was
Modi’s tenth visit to Gujarat as PM
ET PHOTO
Shiv Sena's Mahadeshwar Elected as Mayor
of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation
since he left the state in May 2014,
and his seventh since last August.
During his absence, his hand-
picked successor Anandi Patel,
who succeeded him as chief mini-
ster, saw her innings cut short due
to the Patidar agitation and the
lynching of Dalits in Una. Her suc-
cessor and anot-
her of Modi’s trus-
This was ted men, Vijay Ru-
Modi’s tenth pani, is yet to as-
sert his
visit to
Gujarat as PM independence.
Modi thus rema-
since he left
the state in ins the sole anchor
May 2014, of his party that
and his has been winning
seventh since elections in the
state since 1995.
last August
While his three
successive wins in the assembly
elections since 2002 has propelled
PM to contest at the national level
in 2014, his exit from the state has
also opened the floodgates to the la-
tent anti-incumbency and agita-
tions, apart from factionalism wit-
hin the state unit of the BJP.
him cropped up.
A bench of Justice Ranjit More
and Revati Mohite-Dere on
Wednesday asked the state gov-
ernment to conduct the probe
“independently” and “expedi-
tiously”. It said that the investi-
gation again Khadse will be
supervised by an officer not
below the rank of the additional
director general of the ACB.
The court gave the order while
hearing a public interest litiga-
tion filed by Hemant Gavande.
The former revenue minister
and BJP leader has been under
the radar since he bought the
land that was already acquired
by the MIDC. While the value of
the land is said to be .`40 crore,
the minister’s family bought it
Pure Politics  3
Mumbai Senior Shiv Sena leader and former college principal
Vishwanath P Mahadeshwar was on Wednesday elected the 76th
Mayor of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, the country's
biggest and the richest civic body. He defeated his lone opponent,
Congress’ Vithhal Lokare, by bagging 171votes against his rival's
31in the 227-member BMC house. A former principal of Raje
Sambhaji Vidyalaya and Junior College in Santacruz East, Maha-
deshwar, 56, is a three-time municipal corporator.—IANS
Woman Dragged out of Venue
what could be most significant
Our Political Bureau
of all protests in the state that
is scheduled to go to polls later
Gandhinagar: Prime Minister this year is that eggs were
Narendra Modi’s two-day thrown at the cavalcade of
visit to his home state did see BJP’s national president Amit
its share of protests as well.
Shah at Keshod in Saurashtra
While a woman was dragged
on Tuesday
out by the police in Mahatma night. Shah was
Mandir on Wednesday while on his way to
trying to disrupt the pro- Somnath
gramme where six thousand Temple with
women Sarpanchs from all
his wife. Shah
over the country were invited
was targeted by the activists
on the occasion of interna- form the Patidar community
tional women’s day, several that has been on war path
protestors were detained in
South Gujarat ahead of Modi’s
since last couple of years
demanding reservation under
visit to ensure a peaceful visit
of the prime minister. But
the OBC quota and had target-
ed him earlier in Surat as well.
‘Compensation
Scheme Insulting’
Mumbai: The
for .`3.75 crore. Bombay High
Senior advocate Niteen Prad- Court on Thurs-
han, who was arguing on behalf
of the state, day asked the
said that the Maharashtra government
ACB will in- to take fresh look at a
vestigate the scheme for giving com-
case and that pensation to sexual assault
the ACB should
be given the
and acid attack victims,
While the
value of the liberty to de- saying it lack empathy and
land is said to cide whether an is “insulting and shameful”.
be .̀ 40 crore, FIR is needed in “We are not happy with
the minister’s the case. this Manodhairya scheme.
family The state
bought it for It is insulting, inhuman and
government
.̀ 3.75 crore had earlier shameful. There has been
declared that it will wait for the no application of mind
findings of the Zoting committee while formulating this
before deciding on the next scheme.–PTI
course of action.