Ex-CM Ashok Chavan joins BJP, says today is beginning of his new political career
Mumbai (PTI): Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Tuesday, a day after quitting the Congress.
Chavan (65) was inducted into the BJP at the party office in Mumbai in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mumbai party unit head Ashish Shelar and cabinet minister Girish Mahajan.
"Today is the beginning of my new political career," Chavan told reporters earlier in the day.
Asked if he had received any calls from senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Chavan evaded a reply.
Former Congress MLC Amarnath Rajurkar and several supporters of Chavan from his home district Nanded in Marathwada came to Mumbai and gathered at the BJP office in south Mumbai.
Ashok Chavan, the son of former CM S B Chavan, on Monday underscored that his choice to depart from the Congress was independent and refrained from attributing specific reasons for his exit.
His exit from the Congress came days after senior Maharashtra Congress leaders Baba Siddique and Milind Deora quit the party.
Ashok Chavan stepped down as the chief minister in 2010 for his alleged involvement in Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai.
He is an accused in the Adarsh housing society scam wherein a 31-storey posh building in south Mumbai was constructed allegedly on land owned by the Defence Ministry without getting the requisite permissions and clearances.
The backdrop of the Adarsh Building scam mentioned in a white paper tabled in Parliament last week has drawn attention as a potential factor in Chavan's departure, a claim though denied by him.
Chavan was the state Congress chief during 2014-19.
He represented Bhokar assembly seat and is also a former MP from Nanded Lok Sabha constituency.
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Bangladesh tribunal to hear updates from police on moves to arrest ousted premier Hasina
Dhaka (AP/PTI): A special tribunal in Bangladesh will hear updates from police on Monday about what the country's security agencies have done to arrest ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aides who face charges over hundreds of deaths in a mass uprising this summer.
Hasina has been living in exile in India since Aug 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests.
The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal on Oct 17 issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 45 others including former Cabinet ministers, advisors and military and civil officials. The country is now being run by an interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus.
At least 14 people, including a former law minister and a businessman who was Hasina's private-sector advisor, will appear before the tribunal on Monday, according to B M Sultan Mahmud, a prosecutor at the tribunal.
Another six people will appear on Wednesday, tribunal officials said. At least 20 suspects have been arrested in the case.
The tribunal will also seek updates from police on their progress in arresting the other suspects, including Hasina.
The chief prosecutor of the tribunal has already sought help from Interpol through the country's police chief to arrest Hasina. On Sunday, Yunus said in an address to the nation that his administration would seek Hasina's extradition from India.
Authorities say hundreds of people were killed during the uprising in July and August mainly by security agents seeking to quell the initial protests over government jobs. The violence intensified as the protests morphed into an anti-government movement with more bloodshed, ending Hasina's 15-year rule. Hasina had also earlier sought an investigation into the killings.
