Several unhappy MLAs from SP to join BJP today, says OP Rajbhar

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Lucknow, Oct 14 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said that several unhappy MLAs from the Samajwadi Party will join the Bharatiya Janata Party and that the formalities for their induction will be completed on Wednesday.

Speaking to IANS, Rajbhar said, “Several leaders have been with the BJP for a long time, and the formalities will be completed today. There are many SP leaders who are unhappy with their party and are joining the BJP.”

As per reports, three SP MLAs are likely to join the BJP in Amethi.

Rajbhar also took a swipe at SP president Akhilesh Yadav, alleging that he had nothing logical left to say, and also asking him to introspect instead of targeting others.

Reacting to Akhilesh Yadav’s recent remarks against the Election Commission, the minister said, “If he has betrayed Allah and Lord Ram, he should look within himself before questioning others. What does he have to say about others when he should be looking at his own actions?”

Taking another dig at the SP chief, Rajbhar said Akhilesh Yadav had nothing better to do and had run out of logical arguments.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rajbhar claimed that AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s growing public support in Uttar Pradesh had made Akhilesh Yadav anxious ahead of the Assembly elections.

Speaking to IANS, Rajbhar said Owaisi had sought an alliance with the SP to contest the elections together, but Yadav had ignored his proposal and effectively sidelined him.

“Owaisi wanted to form an alliance with the Samajwadi Party so that they could contest the elections together. However, Akhilesh Yadav was ignoring him. In a way, he had sidelined Owaisi. But when Akhilesh saw huge crowds gathering at Owaisi’s rallies, whether in Saharanpur, Bahraich, Kanpur or Azamgarh, he became worried.”

Rajbhar said the SP was conducting surveys to assess whether Muslim voters were shifting their support towards Owaisi and whether an alliance with the AIMIM would affect its support among backward communities.

The latest exchange underscores the growing political confrontation between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party as both parties prepare for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

–IANS

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Mizoram: Drugs, contraband worth Rs 14.77 crore seized; 5 Myanmar nationals among 6 held

Aizawl, Sep 10 (IANS) The Mizoram Police, in a series of operations, have seized highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, heroin and other contraband worth Rs 14.77 crore and arrested six drug peddlers, including five Myanmar nationals, officials said on Thursday.

A senior police official said that a special team of police conducted random checks at Kualmawi in the Keifang area of Saitual district and recovered and seized 12.746 kg of methamphetamine tablets, with an estimated value of approximately Rs 10.20 crore. The drugs were recovered from the possession of Chinzalian (26) and Thiankhatmuanga (27), both residents of Rangoon in Myanmar.

In another operation, a Mizoram Police team, while conducting random checking at Chalbawia Junction, Khankawn Police Checkgate, recovered and seized 994 grams of methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 79.52 lakh from the possession of a passenger travelling in a Maxi cab. The accused was identified as Hrang Thawm Hnim (39), a resident of Sathmuhzung in neighbouring Myanmar.

In the third operation, a police team in Champhai district, while on duty at Chalbawia Junction, Khankawn Police Checkgate, recovered and seized 141 grams of heroin with an approximate local market value of Rs 28.20 lakh from the possession of two male passengers travelling in a vehicle proceeding from Zokhawthar towards Aizawl. The accused were identified as Awngminnine (19) and Bawithawng (18), both residents of Myanmar.

In another operation, police in Kolasib district, while on duty at Phaisen Police Checkgate, intercepted a Mahindra Scorpio travelling from Aizawl towards Karimganj in southern Assam. Upon inspection of the vehicle, 3.910 kg of methamphetamine tablets, valued at Rs 3.2 crore, were recovered and seized. In connection with the seizure, Guljar Hussain (23), a resident of Karimganj district, was arrested.

In the fifth operation, police in Champhai district, while on duty at Chalbawia Junction, Khankawn Police Checkgate, recovered and seized 3,360 kg (42 bags) of dry areca nuts (Burmese betel nuts) worth Rs 30 lakh from a truck. No valid trade licence, transportation permit or any other documentation was available for the seized items, which are strongly suspected to have been smuggled from Myanmar. Police said that the drugs were smuggled from Myanmar, as six Mizoram districts — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip — share a 510-km-long border with the neighbouring country’s Chin State.

Police officials suspect that the methamphetamine tablets, which are banned in India, were smuggled from Myanmar, which shares a 1,643-km-long international border with four Northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km).

Substantial stretches of the international border remain unfenced, making the region vulnerable to cross-border trafficking of drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine tablets. Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the Northeast due to their long and porous international borders with Myanmar and their proximity to the Golden Triangle, one of the world’s major illicit narcotics-producing regions.

–IANS

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SC’s crucial suo motu hearing on Aravalli definition tomorrow

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) The Supreme Court’s crucial suo motu hearing on issues relating to the definition of the Aravalli Hills on Monday is likely to address concerns over the protection of the ecologically fragile range in the light of the government’s commitment.

As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih will hear the suo motu writ petition titled “In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues” on December 29.

The Supreme Court has taken up the issue on its own motion amid growing concerns over the protection of the ecologically fragile Aravalli range and the government’s repeated assurance to protect it.

In a decisive move to curb illegal mining and strengthen ecological protection, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has directed state governments to impose a “complete ban” on granting any new mining leases in the Aravallis.

The Ministry said the prohibition will apply uniformly across the Aravalli landscape, covering the mountain range from Delhi to Gujarat. It underscored that the objective is to “preserve the integrity of the range as a continuous geological ridge” and to put an end to unregulated mining activities.

Further tightening the conservation framework, the MoEFCC has instructed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to identify additional areas and zones across the entire Aravalli range where mining must be prohibited, over and above the areas already restricted by the Centre.

In a related development, Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday wrote to Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, raising serious concerns over the recent redefinition of the Aravalli Hills.

He claimed that the new definition restricts their classification to landforms with an elevation of 100 metres or more.

Sharing the letter on the social media platform X on Sunday, Ramesh said, “Here is my most recent letter to the Union Minister of Environment, Forests & Climate Change asking four-pointed questions on the disastrous redefinition of the Aravallis.”

In the letter dated December 28, the Congress leader flagged what he described as widespread concerns over the new definition and sought clarity from the minister by posing four specific questions. Addressing Minister Yadav, he wrote: “There are understandably widespread concerns with the re-definition of the Aravalli Hills that restrict them to landforms having an elevation of 100 meters or more. In this connection, please permit me to raise four specific questions for your consideration.”

–IANS

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ED seizes assets worth Rs 10.99 lakh in bank fraud case linked to Surat-based firm

Surat, July 2 (IANS) Enforcement Directorate (ED), Surat Sub Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable assets worth Rs 10.99 lakh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The action is part of an investigation against M/s Mobi Tech and others in a bank fraud and corruption case. The ED initiated the probe based on a CBI FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in Gandhinagar, naming Milind Patel, proprietor of M/s Mobi Tech, and others for alleged corruption, criminal conspiracy, and related offences.

Investigations revealed that Mobi Tech secured a loan of Rs 5 crore from the erstwhile State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (now merged with State Bank of India) and subsequently misappropriated the funds by diverting them to multiple entities. This fraudulent diversion caused a loss of Rs 3.12 crore to the bank. Among the beneficiaries of the diverted funds was M/s Celution Corporation, a partnership firm linked to Rishit Bharatkumar Shah.

The federal agency found that the firm received part of the proceeds of crime (PoC). Consequently, a bank account in Shah’s name holding Rs 10.99 lakh has been provisionally attached. This is not the first attachment in the case — the ED had earlier issued a Provisional Attachment Order for approximately Rs 11 lakh.

Authorities said further investigation is underway. In 2025, Gujarat has seen a series of high-profile Enforcement Directorate (ED) actions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), spanning politicians, businessmen, media figures, and bureaucrats.

One of the most significant cases involved the Rs 2,700 crore Nexa Evergreen real estate scam, where the ED raided 24 locations across Gujarat and Rajasthan, including Ahmedabad. The firm is accused of duping over 62,000 investors by promising land parcels in Dholera Smart City. Cash worth Rs 2.03 crore was seized, and 10 bank accounts were frozen during the operation.

In another major crackdown, the ED froze Rs 2 crore in bank accounts and seized Rs 30 lakh in cash and cryptocurrency during raids in a Waqf Board land scam in Ahmedabad. The case revolves around illegal leasing of trust land and misappropriation of rent by a syndicate allegedly led by Salim Khan Jumma Khan Pathan.

Meanwhile, the ED also took action against Avon Cold Storage Pvt Ltd, filing a prosecution complaint for bank fraud and siphoning of funds using forged documents.

The media too came under scrutiny when the ED arrested Bahubali Shah, 73, director of Gujarat Samachar Ltd and Lok Prakashan, in a money laundering case linked to a CBI-ACB FIR. He was granted interim medical bail.

Similarly, journalist Mahesh Langa was charge-sheeted under PMLA for alleged extortion and use of media influence to obtain benefits. The court also approved the attachment of his office premises.

–IANS

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