New Delhi, (PTI) The National Investigation Agency on Thursday morning launched a massive nationwide search operation against groups, including PFI, and individuals allegedly supporting terrorists, officials said.  In the “largest ever investigation till date”, the searches are taking place at the premises of those allegedly involved in terror funding, organising training camps, and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations, they said.  “The raids are taking place at the homes of national, state and local leaders of PFI. The state committee office is also being raided.

“We strongly protest the fascist regime’s moves to use agencies to silence dissenting voices,” the outfit said in a statement. PTI 

New Delhi,(PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday targeted Uddhav Thackeray for “betraying” the Hindutva ideology, even as he declared himself as the true torchbearer of the ideals of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Addressing a Shiv Sena function here, Shinde alleged that it was Uddhav Thackeray who betrayed the Hindutva ideology propounded by Balasaheb Thackeray by joining hands with arch-rivals Congress and NCP.

“We are being called ‘gaddar’ (betrayers). But it is we who took Balasaheb’s ideals forward, while they shortchanged the ideals of Hindutva. Who is ‘gaddar’ and who is ‘khuddar’ (one having self-esteem), the people will decide,” Shinde said.

Shinde, who led a rebellion in the Shiv Sena ranks in June and became chief minister with the support of the BJP, was responding to the allegations made by predecessor Uddhav Thackeray at a rally in Goregaon in suburban Mumbai.

Thackeray, who had dumped the BJP to become chief minister of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government with NCP and Congress as allies, had resigned in the face of rebellion by Shinde who had the support of over 40 of the Sena’s 55 MLAs.

Responding to allegations by the Thackeray faction of accepting bribes to break the Shiv Sena, Shinde said he has a detailed account of “who paid whom” during MVA government and would reveal the details at an appropriate time in Mumbai.

Shinde had called a meeting of the Shiv Sena leaders from across the country here in a bid to revive the party organisation amid a tussle for control of the party with Thackeray.

Both Thackeray and Shinde have been claiming to be the ‘real’ Shiv Sena and have knocked the doors of the Election Commission for allocation of the ‘bow and arrow’ election symbol. The commission is expected to hear the matter on September 27.

The war of words between Shinde and Thackeray has been escalating every passing day ahead of the elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation likely to be held later this year.

“Shiv Sena is not a private limited company. We have built this party giving our sweat and blood alongside Balasaheb Thackeray. It is not your estate. If you treat the party workers as your servant, they will desert you… I understood the pain of the party workers and helped them at every step, when you turned your back on them,” Shinde said.

Referring to Thackeray’s charge of calling him an “agent” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Shinde hit back, saying at least he was not the agent of “Dawood Ibrahim and Yakub Memon, who had carried out attacks on Mumbai”.

“Shall we call you agents of Dawood and Yakub for it was during your tenure the grave of Yakub Memon was decorated,” Shinde said.

“Balasaheb Thackeray had wished for the removal of Article 370 and building of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Modi and Shah have done that. Instead of being labelled as the agent of Dawood and Yakub, I would any day like to be called an agent of Modi and Shah,” the chief minister said.

Shinde said the people had showered him with love wherever he went, within or outside Maharashtra.

Taking a dig at Thackeray’s rally in suburban Mumbai, Shinde said those who did not meet party workers for the past several years have now started interacting with the cadre.

“It is because of us that Shiv Sena workers are experiencing better days (acche din). At least he has started meeting state leaders,” Shinde said, referring to the meeting of party leaders with Thackeray held in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Shinde accused Thackeray of “backstabbing” the people’s mandate for the Shiv Sena-BJP in the 2019 assembly election for “sheer lust for power”.

“We went along, thinking that the senior leadership had taken a decision with something in mind… But I was forced to revolt when the troubles of party workers started increasing despite the party being in power. There is a limit to tolerate injustice,” the chief minister said.

Shinde said the voters had reposed faith in Shiv Sena and BJP in the recent gram panchayat elections. “We received overwhelming support from the people, while you (Thackeray faction) were relegated to the sixth position,” he said.

Shiv Sena leaders from the state, who also spoke before Shinde, accused Thackeray of “ignoring the interest of the party workers” and “compromising the ideals of Hindutva” by joining hands with the Congress and NCP. PTI 

 New Delhi, (PTI) The Congress alleged on Wednesday that the government has “failed” on multiple fronts, from national security to food security, and is attempting to divert attention from its “inefficiency” through raids by the Enforcement Directorate.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi accused the BJP-led Centre of keeping the citizens in the dark for almost two-and-a-half years on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

The Congress as well as media reports have been highlighting that China “had occupied our land”, however, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire government kept denying this, Singhvi told a press conference at the AICC headquarters here.

“In an equally telling development, the village head of one of the last settlements along the LAC in Ladakh’s Chushul said today that in the past year, at least three large grazing areas near the village have been turned into a no man’s land or buffer zones after the Indian troops pulled back from the patrolling points in the Kugrang Valley, including patrolling points (PP) 15, 16 and 17,” he said.

“Will the prime minister and the defence minister apologise for keeping the nation in the dark?” the Congress leader asked.

From national security to food security, the government has holistically failed to protect and secure the country on every front, he alleged.

Similar to its failure as regards national security, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has miserably failed on the economic front as well, Singhvi said.

“Food prices in the current week have risen by 40 to 50 per cent. Let me give you an example of India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh. The tomato prices that hovered between Rs 30-40 per kg a week ago in Uttar Pradesh have now risen to Rs 80 per kg,” he said.

The Indian economy is recovering from a double whammy as retail inflation accelerated to 7 per cent in August, driven by high food and fuel costs, while factory output plunged to a four-month low of 2.4 per cent, Singhvi said.

The foreign exchange reserves of the country fell by USD 2.23 billion to USD 550.87 billion for the week ending September 9, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday.

Singhvi also alleged that incidents of crime against women are continuously rising under the Modi government.

He said after failing to govern the country, the Centre now seems to be attacking the opposition parties to “kill two birds with one stone — to divert the attention of people from the BJP’s inefficiency as well as to sabotage the opposition to ensure that no voice is raised against the government”.

​According to a news report published on Wednesday, since 2014, there has been a four-fold jump in the number of ED cases against politicians, 95 per cent of whom belong to opposition parties, the Congress leader said. PTI 

 Chandigarh, Sep 21 (PTI) Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday withdrew his order summoning a special Assembly session on September 22 for the AAP govt to move a confidence motion.

The Raj Bhavan cited absence of specific rules on summoning the Assembly for considering only a confidence motion.

The decision came after Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma approached the governor, arguing that there was no legal provision to convene a special session of the Assembly to just move a ‘confidence motion’ in favour of the state government.

The AAP government in Punjab had sought the special session to bring a confidence motion, days after it accused the BJP of trying to topple its government. PTI 

 NEW DELHI: The commerce ministry is likely to release the new five-year foreign trade policy (FTP) on September 29, with a view to promoting the country's outbound shipments, an official said.

The current foreign trade policy (2015-20) is in force till September 30.

On March 31, 2020, the government extended this policy for one year till March 31, 2021, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was again extended till the end of September this year.

In the policy, the government announces support measures for both goods and services exporters.

''The new FTP will be released on September 29,'' the official said. Districts as an Export Hubs scheme are expected to be part of that document.

Under the scheme, the aim is to initially focus on a certain number of districts which have products that are scalable and hold huge export potential.

The country's exports rose by 17.68 per cent to USD 193.51 billion, while imports grew by 45.74 per cent to USD 318 billion during the April-August period this fiscal.

The trade deficit has widened to USD 124.52 billion from USD 53.78 billion in April-August 2021.

 New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) Insurgent group NSCN-IM and government representatives will resume their peace talks here on Wednesday to find a permanent solution to the Naga issue.

A day before resuming dialogue with the government, NSCN-IM said the outfit stands by its demand for unification of Naga inhabited areas and a separate flag, and these are “non-negotiable”.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Nagalim Voice’, the NSCN-IM also said it is “ironic” to point out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “who loves to advertise” his achievements, is expected to take the Naga issue to a logical conclusion as the stalled Indo-Naga talks pick up the threads with a focus on the Framework Agreement (FA) and formulated papers.

The editorial said seven years ago, when Modi took the initiative to supervise the “high-profile” FA signing ceremony on August 3, 2015 at his residence, it generated much hype and hope going by the tone of his highly enchanting speech.

The prime minister took pride in announcing to all political leaders who mattered that he has solved the longest surviving insurgency in Southeast Asia. Going beyond that, the ceremony was telecast live all over the world to put on record his achievement in solving the Naga issue, it said.

“Modi cannot simply shy away from the Naga issue but have a relook through the prism of the Framework Agreement at his own political brainchild. The credit he has taken in bringing about the FA should be unerringly interpreted to take forward in solving the Naga issue,” the editorial said.

The stand of the NSCN-IM on the FA has been distinctly stated time and again. The May 31, 2022 decision of the (Naga) “National Assembly” and the solemn declaration (resolution) adopted on August 26, 2022 by the Naga National Workers of NSCN from Nagaland reaffirming “one people, one nation” and to stand by the FA is on record, it said.

“The unifying principle of ‘one people, one nation’ symbolised by god-given Naga Nation Flag is non-negotiable in the name of Naga political solution,” it said.

Nagaland’s neighbouring states — Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh — have been vehemently opposed to the idea of unification of Naga inhabited areas under their jurisdictions.

The government of India had signed the FA with major Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM on August 3, 2015 in the presence of Modi to find a permanent solution to the vexed issue.

The agreement came after more than 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years, with the first breakthrough made in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland which started soon after India’s independence in 1947.

However, the talks with the NSCN-IM are currently going nowhere as the group has been insisting on a separate Naga flag and constitution, a demand rejected by the central government.

Separately, the government is also holding peace parleys with splinter groups of the NSCN after entering into ceasefire agreements. The groups that have entered into ceasefire agreements .

 Mumbai,(PTI) The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court seeking permission to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park in central Mumbai.

The petition was filed by the Shiv Sena and its secretary Anil Desai.

The plea said the party was constrained to approach the HC as the Mumbai civic body was yet to take a decision on their applications submitted in August seeking permission for the rally.

The petition sought directions to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to forthwith grant permission for the Sena's Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park.

The petition was mentioned before a division bench headed by Justice R D Dhanuka on Wednesday, seeking urgent hearing.

The bench posted it for hearing on Thursday.

The Sena in its plea, filed through advocate Joel Carlos, said the party was holding the Dussehra rally every year at the Shivaji Park since 1966 and the civic body had always permitted it.

The Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which comprised the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, collapsed in June this year after a revolt led by Eknath Shinde against the Sena leadership.

Shinde was later sworn in as the chief minister with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy. PTI

 New Delhi, Sep 20 (PTI) Maintaining a “higher level of operational preparedness at all time” and improving infrastructure, especially along the northern borders, were some of the key lessons from the eastern Ladakh border standoff, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said on Tuesday.

He said this in response to a question during an interaction held at India Defence Conclave here.

When asked by the host what was the next step after the recent disengagement of Indian and Chinese militaries from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh, he said, “We have made progress in terms of disengagement from friction points. We still have two friction points where we need to move forward.

“We are hopeful as we move forward, talking through both military and diplomatic levels. And, I am sure we will be able to find resolution towards these friction points. That is our immediate aim to disengage from these friction points, before we look at to next step, of perhaps, de-escalation, which will involve pull back of troops.” Asked about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army chief said, “The situation in J&K is well under control.” Also, the abrogation of Article 370 and the kind of “whole of nation approach” adopted have resulted in a “number of positives”, he said.

“Besides, violence level has come down significantly. In the hinterland, protests or incidents of stone pelting have reduced,” he said, adding that infiltration at LoC has come down.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Indian and Chinese militaries on September 12 had moved back their frontline troops to the rear locations from the face-off site of Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh and dismantled temporary infrastructure there as part of a five-day disengagement process.

People familiar with the development had said the two sides disengaged as per the plan which also entailed a joint verification of the entire process.

Though the two sides disengaged from Patrolling Point 15, there has been no progress yet on resolving the standoff in Demchok and Depsang regions.

Asked what were the key lessons from the standoff, Gen Pande said, one was to “maintain a higher level of operational preparedness at all time”.

“Also, importance of infrastructure development, especially along our northern borders, and I am also referring to areas opposite Arunachal Pradesh or the Eastern Sector, besides Ladakh,” he added.

“We also realised that there is adequate scope for infusion of new technology, and that is something we need to leverage, to enhance our abilities to address challenges in the future,” the Army chief said.

He said “we need to have a strategy to effectively operate in the grey zone as well, and build our capabilities”.

Since May 2020, a significant amount of enhancement in Army’s infrastructure, especially in the context of eastern Ladakh, has taken place, Gen Pande said.

The Army is also focussing on “creating infrastructure, road connectivity right up to the border, and have inter-valley connection”, he said, in response to another question during the interaction.

He praised the “tremendous support” the Army received from the IAF in eastern Ladakh, saying, “in a very short time we were able to induct additional troops and heavy equipment, which I feel was very remarkable”.

On other projects, he said the Army is using AI to enhance its capabilities. “In context of what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir, we have used AI for detecting suspicions vehicles. We have hooked on to databases of regional transport (authorities), so that any alien or foreign vehicle can be tracked. These are some of the projects that have made a very good headway,” he added.

Also, the startup ecosystem has been “stepped up in a major way”, Gen Pande said. PTI 

New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) Celebrated comedian-actor Raju Srivastava died on Wednesday after over 40 days of hospitalisation here, said his brother Dipoo Srivastava. He was 58.

Raju Srivastava suffered a heart attack on August 10 while working out at a hotel here. He was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and underwent angioplasty. Since then, he was on the ventilator and never gained consciousness.

“I got a call from the family about half-an-hour ago saying he is no more. It is really unfortunate news. He was fighting in the hospital for over 40 days,” Dipoo Srivastava told PTI.

Raju Srivastava was declared dead at 10.20 am, according to hospital sources.

A familiar face in the entertainment industry since the 1980s, the comedian tasted unparalleled success after participating in the first season of the reality stand-up comedy show “The Great Indian Laughter Challenge” (2005).

aju Srivastava had also featured in Hindi films such as “Maine Pyar Kiya”, “Baazigar”, the remake of “Bombay to Goa” and “Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya”.

He was the chairperson of the Film Development Council Uttar Pradesh. PTI

 New Delhi, (PTI) From production of ships and submarines to spare parts and weapons, the Indian Navy will be “completely” self-reliant by 2047, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar asserted on Tuesday.

At a defence conclave, he said there was much to learn from the Russia-Ukraine conflict which witnessed the use of new technologies, cyber space and all sorts of precision ammunition.

The conflict between the two countries has underscored the necessity of ‘Atmanirbharta’ (being self-reliant) to defend one’s country, he said.

“By 2047, we will have a complete indigenous Navy, whether it be ships, or submarines, aircraft, unmanned systems, weapons, the entire complex.

“We will be completely ‘Atmanirbhar’ Navy. That is what we are targeting,” Admiral Kumar said replying to questions at the India Defence Conclave 2022.

Asked if the supply chain of the Indian Navy was affected due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said, “As of now, we are not hard pressed. We have adequate stock of spares. There has been no let up in our deployment of ships or aircraft today. We have taken steps to get help from our own industry.

Indian Navy had embarked on its “indianisation drive’ in 1961 when INS Ajay, the first small patrol boat, was indigenously made in india, he said.

“Since then, we have progressed a lot,” he added. PTI