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ED accuses Trinamool leader Saket Gokhale of using crowdfunded money for personal expenses

The Special court has directed and given Gokhale’s custody to Enforcement Directorate till January 31, suggest reports.

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The Enforcement Directorate has accused Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale for allegedly using the crowd funding money, amounting to 1.07 crore Rs for personal expenses. According to reports, the 1.07 crore Rs also include 23 lakh Rs in cash from Rahul Gandhi’s aid.

The ED, which is probing into the misuse of funds, alleged Activist-turned-politician of misusing the money in a Gujarat court on Wednesday. Gokhale was reportedly arrested by the authorities from Sabarmati Jail. The Trinamool spokesperson was taken into custody twice in December in a case related to inconsistency in crowdfunding accounts.

The Special court has directed and given Gokhale’s custody to Enforcement Directorate till January 31, suggest reports.

Reports suggest that the agency has called Rahul Gandhi’s aide Alankar Sawai to investigate their links. Saket Gokhale had allegedly confessed to being paid 23.54 lakh in cash by Alankar Sawai for the job of Handling social media, according to reports.

The Trinamool Congress leader was questioned about the reason Alankar Sawai gave the money in cash, to which Gokhale replied and said that it can only be answered by Sawai himself, suggest reports.

However, upon being summoned, Alankar Sawai sought more time to be presented in front of the ED owing to the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. Alankar Sawai is a former banker and reportedly a close aide of the former Congress Chief and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

It was reported that from the year between 2019 to 2022, Saket Gokhale had received crowdfunding of Rs 1.07 crore. The ED had told the court that Gokhale allegedly made a deceptive electronic document in the name of OurDemocracy.in through which he used to collect funds from the complainant and other persons via a private company named GiantTreeTech Private Limited.

The ED had also claimed that Gokhale used to misuse the money on speculative share trading, winning and dining and other personal expenses, which the probing agency termed as extravagant in nature.

Gokhale had denied the claims made by the probing agency and said that he invested the funds in share market in a bid to not raise additional funds. The ED had alleged Gokhale of non cooperation and told the court the same.

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Jharkhand Election Phase 1: 64.86% voter turnout till 5pm

Former Chief Minister and  BJP candidate Champai Soren is contesting against JMM rival Ganesh Mahali in the Seraikela seat

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Jharkhand Election Phase 1: 64.86% voter turnout till 5pm

As the first phase of the Jharkhand Assembly election for 43 seats concluded on Wednesday, the voter turnout stood at 64.86 per cent till 5 pm. The BJP-led NDA is looking to oust the JMM-led coalition in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that infiltration remains the biggest issue in Jharkhand.

The 43 seats where election is being held, are primarily located in the tribal-dominated South Chotanagpur, northern Palamu and Kolhan regions. Among the seats voting today, 20 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and six for Scheduled Castes (SCs). Furthermore, Two of the seats, namely,  Chatra and Simaria are located in the state’s most backward district, also called Chatra. 

The BJP has offered 25 promises as part of its Sankalp Patra, addressing a range of issues such as infiltration, Uniform Civil Code, and the INDIA bloc has underlined seven guarantees in the fields of education, domicile policy, social justice, food, Maiyya Samman Yojna, jobs, and farmers welfare, replicating its model in Karnataka and Telangana.

While the BJP assured that the tribal identity will be fully preserved even though the party plans to implement the UCC in the state, the INDIA bloc has relied on the social justice plank, promising 28% reservation for tribals; 12% for Dalits and 27% for OBCs, alongside protection of the interests of the minorities in the state.

Meanwhile, in one of the major contests, former chief minister and  BJP candidate Champai Soren is contesting against JMM rival Ganesh Mahali in the Seraikela seat. Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren has been fielded by the saffron party in Ghatsila, against JMM candidate and Jharkhand Cabinet minister Ram Das Soren. Former Congress CM Madhu Koda’s wife, former MP Geeta Koda, will be contesting on a BJP ticket against sitting Congress MLA Sona Ram Sinku in Jaganathpur. Former BJP CM and ex-Union minister Arjun Munda’s wife Meera Munda is in the fray against sitting MLA Sanjib Sardar in Potka.

The second phase of the Jharkhand Assembly Election will take place on November 20. The results for the election will be declared on November 23.

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Delhi Pollution: BJP demands closure of schools in national capital, says AAP government utterly failed

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that both private and government schools should be shut down for the safety of children, given the alarming level of air pollution in the national capital and its adjoining regions.

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Delhi Pollution: BJP demands closure of schools in national capital, says AAP government utterly failed

As Delhi continues to choke with hazardous air pollution, the BJP on Wednesday demanded the AAP government to urgently close all schools up to Class 5. They also slammed the Delhi government for allowing the city to devolve into a gas chamber.

In a press conference, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that both private and government schools should be shut down for the safety of children, given the alarming level of air pollution in the national capital and its adjoining regions.

He added that children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution. He also pointed out the lack of government clinics providing essential treatments to mitigate these dangers.

The Delhi BJP President emphasised that the AAP government has utterly failed to manage pollution levels in the national capital, mentioning that PM 2.5 concentrations have soared beyond 400 and PM 10 levels exceeded 1,000. Virendra Sachdeva said that Delhi is now a gas chamber where people are choking and suffering from respiratory issues.

Delhi saw its first dense fog of the season on Wednesday, with air quality recorded as very poor. As per the real-time data from the Central Pollution Board (CPCB), the air quality index has surged to 366. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that the pollution had reduced visibility to 100 metres (328 feet) in some places by around 8 a.m. It said the city’s temperature dropped to 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday morning from 17.9 C on Tuesday and may fall further as sunlight remains cut off due to the smog.

Notably, the second stage of Graded Response Action Plan remains in force in the national capital, which entails mechanical sweeping and water sprinkling on identified roads, and implementation of dust control measures at construction and demolition sites.

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Election Commission officials check CM Eknath Shinde’s bag amid Uddhav Thackeray’s allegation

The Chief Minister’s bags were checked after his helicopter landed at the Palghar Police ground helipad.

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Election Commission officials check CM Eknath Shinde’s bag amid Uddhav Thackeray’s allegation

The Election Commission on Wednesday checked Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s bag amid Uddhav Thackeray’s allegation.

The Chief Minister’s bags were checked after his helicopter landed at the Palghar Police ground helipad. The action followed after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray questioned the election panel after his bags were checked by officials. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said his bags had been inspected by the election authorities after he arrived in Latur and Yavatmal districts over the last two days.

He asked the Election Commission officials if the same action will be taken against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Addressing a public meeting in Wani, Uddhav Thackeray said that he is not angry with the ECI officials as they were doing their duty, and questioned whether they check the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis.

Reacting to the allegations, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that Uddhav Thackeray was trying to divert the attention by needlessly protesting against the checking of his bags by poll officials and was seeking votes by whining.

The Deputy Chief Minister questioned what is wrong in checking bags, adding that their bags were also checked during campaigning, and that there was no need for this level of frustration. He mentioned that the Election Commission officials followed the same procedure with his campaign team too.

Earlier in the day, bags of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar were also checked by EC officials in Baramati. The Maharashtra BJP had also posted a video on X showing officials checking Devendra Fadnavis’ bags.

The Maharashtra Assembly Election will be held on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 13.  

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