Former Uttarakhand MLA Dhan Singh Negi Steps Down from Congress

Posted on by Vividh Bharthi

Dehradun: Amidst a series of departures from the Congress party in Uttarakhand, former Tehri MLA Dhan Singh Negi announced his resignation on Sunday, adding to the growing exodus ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Negi conveyed his decision in a resignation letter addressed to state Congress chief Karan Mahara, citing personal reasons for his departure.

His resignation marks a significant shift as Negi had previously switched allegiance from the BJP to the Congress, motivated by dissatisfaction over not securing a ticket in the 2022 Assembly elections.

In the past week alone, several other notable figures, including Manish Khanduri, Laxmi Rana, Vijaypal Sajwan, Malchand, and Anukriti Gosain, have also parted ways with the Congress.

With the Lok Sabha elections in Uttarakhand scheduled for April 19 and vote counting slated for June 4, these departures indicate a period of political flux in the region.

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Rahul Gandhi attends funeral of Raiyan Banaji, son of top Mumbai ophthalmologist

Satara (Maharashtra), Dec 16 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, travelled to Maharashtra to attend the funeral of Raiyan B. Banaji, son of leading Mumbai ophthalmologist Dr Burjor P. Banaji, official sources said here.

A sports enthusiast and an online trader, Raiyan Banaji, 35, passed away a few days ago when he had gone to play a ruby tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

During a game in Portugal early this month, Raiyan suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away, and his body reached the family’s native town of Mahabaleshwar on Monday.

Rahul Gandhi flew down from New Delhi to Pune on Sunday night, and from there drove down to the Mahabaleshwar hill station in adjoining Satara district for the last rites, held as per Parsi customs.

First, the Congress leader visited the home of Banajis and solemnly offered condolences to the shattered parents, Dr Burjor and wife Jinal, Raiyan’s widow Roshni Dadachanji, plus other members of the bereaved family, said the sources.

Later, he participated in the funeral procession and the cremation rites that were performed as per the Parsi religious customs.

The Gandhi family and Rahul Gandhi have close familial bonds with the Banajis from the lineage of his grandfather the late Feroze Gandhi — the husband of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Last year, ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting in Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi had gone to Dr Banaji’s clinic to check up his eyes, said a party source.

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Working President Supriya Sule and other bigwigs from different fields like politics, corporate and entertainment industry are on Dr Banaji’s client list.

The Parsi Zoroastrians Worldwide (PZW) paid glowing tributes to Raiyan Banaji in a condolence message describing him as “our sweet handsome Cathedral (school, in Mumbai) alumnus”.

The Rugby Association of Maharashtra (RAM), of which the deceased was a member, said in a condolence message: “A tribute to a true gentleman, Raiyan Banaji. Your legacy will live on to inspire. That contagious smile and infectious laugh – always in our minds, forever in our hearts”.

–IANS

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SC grants bail to ex-Rajasthan Minister’s close aide in Jal Jeevan Mission scam case

New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sanjay Badaya, a close aide of former Rajasthan Water Supply Minister Mahesh Joshi, in the alleged Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam.

In July this year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Badaya after it found incriminating evidence and documents indicating his active role in a money laundering case linked to the JJM case.

A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan allowed Badaya’s bail plea, taking note of the fact that the charges are yet to be framed and as such, the possibility of the trial being concluded expeditiously is also remote.

Earlier, the Rajasthan High Court had denied bail to Badaya, referring to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which provides that an accused can be released on bail only when the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of the offences alleged and is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.

A bench of Justice Praveer Bhatnagar of the Rajasthan HC had said that there was “enough material on the record to indicate that the accused received money from the other co-accused in his father’s account and also ‘siphoned off’ the amount in purchasing the land”.

In the course of its investigation, the ED found that Badaya was in touch with private contractors and middlemen and was taking bribes on behalf of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) officials. He was allegedly playing the role of a bridge between the officials and the contractors.

The probe revealed that Badaya was the right-hand man of former PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi and had interference in the office and its files. The ED had also arrested Piyush Jain and his father Padam Chand Jain and Mahesh Mittal in this case. In September this year, the top court had granted bail to Piyush Jain taking note of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.

–IANS

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