Don't agree with HC order but have called off Aug 24 Maharashtra bandh: Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai, Aug 23: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday expressed disagreement with a Bombay High Court order restraining political parties from calling a bandh, but asserted the opposition bloc MVA has withdrawn its proposed shutdown in Maharashtra on Saturday over a sexual abuse case in a school.
Addressing a press conference, Thackeray said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has called off the August 24 (Saturday) bandh after the HC order, but leaders and workers from opposition parties will protest against the Mahayuti government with black bands tied around their mouth across the state.
The former CM, whose party is a constituent of the MVA, said he will also join the protest.
"We don't agree with the High Court order on bandh," Thackeray maintained.
Earlier in the day, the HC restrained political parties or individuals from proceeding with a Maharashtra bandh over the sexual assault incident, on August 24 or any future date, saying such a protest will paralyse normal life.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said if political parties and individuals were not restrained from proceeding with the call for bandh on Saturday, huge losses, not only in terms of economy and business but also essential services and basic amenities, including health services will occur, which needs to be prevented.
The MVA alliance had called for a shutdown across the state on August 24 to protest against the alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur in Thane district.
The MVA comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
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Ajit Doval briefs Putin on Modi's Kyiv visit
New Delhi, Sep 12: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday briefed Russian President Vladmir Putin on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv amid renewed efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict.
Doval met Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg on the margins of a conclave of the (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) grouping.
"As the prime minister told you during a telephone talk that he was keen to brief you about his visit to Ukraine and his meeting with President Zelenskyy. He (PM Modi) wanted me to come and personally brief you about the talks," Doval told the Russian President.
The NSA said the Modi-Zelenskyy talks were in a very "close format".
"I have come here on the direction of Prime Minister Modi who has conveyed his highest regards to you. His visit to Moscow was greatly successful and he was highly satisfied with the visit," Doval was heard conveying to Putin in a video released by Russian media.
The Putin-Doval meeting came nearly three weeks after Modi travelled to Ukranian capital Kyiv and held talks with Zelenskyy.
Last week, the Russian President, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict.
In the meeting with Doval, Putin proposed a bilateral meeting with Modi on October 22 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan next month.
The summit of the grouping will be held in Kazan from October 22-24. Modi is set to attend the summit.
In his talks with Zelenskyy, Modi said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region.
The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Putin in Moscow.
In the last few days, there has been calls for India's potential role in pushing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine as New Delhi has good relations with both the nations.
India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
On Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni following her talks with Zelenskyy said India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict.
A Kremlin readout of Putin-Doval meeting said the Russian president "noted the successful development of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia and stressed the importance of security issues in bilateral relations, thanking the Indian side for maintaining dialogue in this area."
It said the Russian president proposed the bilateral meeting with Modi to "summarise the outcomes of joint work" on the implementation of the agreements reached during the Indian leader's visit to Moscow and to outline prospects for the near future.
"We are waiting for our good friend Modi and best regards to him," the Russian media quoted Putin as saying in the meeting with Doval.
On Wednesday, the NSA held wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu focusing on important issues of "mutual interests".
"Both sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest," the Indian embassy in Russia said on the talks between Doval and Shoigu.
