Shiv Sena leader Sawant quits Union Cabinet

Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant announced his resignation from the Union Cabinet on November 11, saying “there is no trust left and it would not be proper to continue as minister when a new government is being formed in Maharashtra”. Sawant accused the BJP of reneging on its promise to the Sena for equal division of seats and power and forcing the Uddhav Thackeray-led party to snap ties. He alleged that the BJP was resorting to “lies” by denying the agreement reached between the leaders of the two allies before the assembly elections. “They have also hurt my party by lying. Since there is no trust left, I have decided to resign,” Sawant said. “I have resigned as Union minister. I have sent my resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the Sena leader said and displayed his letter resigning as heavy industries minister.

‘Ayodhya verdict review decision on Nov 17’

A lead counsel for Muslim parties in the Ayodhya land dispute case has said the decision on seeking a review of the verdict would likely be taken in a meeting of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on November 17. In a historic and unanimous verdict, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. “The decision whether to seek review of the verdict will be taken on November 17 in the meeting of the AIMPLB,” said senior advocate Zafaryab Jilani. He had represented the Muslim parties, including the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, in the case in trial court, Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court.

Govt to import onions to check price rise

The government has said it will import 1 lakh tonnes of onion to control prices that have risen sharply to around Rs 100 / kg at some places, including New Delhi. While state-owned trading firm MMTC will import onions, cooperative Nafed will supply the key kitchen staple in the domestic market. The MMTC has been asked to import onions and make it available for distribution in the domestic market between November 15 and December 15. Last week, the government had said it will import “substantial” quantity of the key kitchen staple from UAE and other countries to augment the domestic availability. The government is also trying to facilitate the import of onions through private traders from Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan for which phytosanitary and fumigation norms have been liberalised till November 30.

‘Monitor use of plastic in election campaigns’

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Election Commission to monitor the compliance of advisories against the use of plastic, especially banners and hoardings, during elections. The NGT’s decision came after it was informed that the environment ministry has asked the chief secretaries and chief electoral officers to use alternative options during election campaigns. The ministry said that it has written letters to them asking to use material such as compostable plastic, natural fabrics, recycled paper and other eco-friendly material. The NGT passed the directions on a petition seeking a direction to the ministry and states to prohibit the use of short-life polyvinyl chloride (PVC), synthetic plastic polymer and chlorinated plastic, which includes banners and hoardings, for promotion and advertising during the poll campaigns.

Newsmaker

Seamer Deepak Chahar took a hat-trick and posted the best bowling figures (six wickets for seven runs) in Twenty20 internationals to guide India to a series clinching 30-run win against Bangladesh in the third and final match in Nagpur on November 10.

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