Feuding ally Shiv Sena hopes BJP-led NDA comes back to power
New Delhi: BJP's feuding ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday voiced hope that the ruling NDA will retain power at the Centre, saying that it has done a lot of work in the country's interest.
Treasury benches welcomed the words of Sena MP Anandrao Adsul, who was speaking during the last sitting of the 16th Lok Sabha, as the regional party has often been critical of the Modi government and the BJP, never losing an opportunity to fire barbs at its major partner.
"We expect that the NDA will come back to power with a majority," Adsul said.
The House also witnessed warm vibes between the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which is in power in Telangana and is seen as a prospective ally by the BJP, and the saffron party.
Jithender Reddy of the TRS said people from Telangana are "friends" but the government had little idea "who is its friend and who is enemy", an apparent reference to TDP, an ally-turned-rival of the BJP.
K C Venugopal of the Congress said his party played the role of the opposition in conveying people's concerns to the government and also cooperated with it when needed.
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan said he is often called "weatherman", a reference to his being part of alliances which come to power, and added that he is sure that Modi will be prime minister again.
His government has taken several historic steps, Paswan said.
Union minister and Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal praised the government for its measures benefitting the Sikh community.
Leaders cutting across party lines praised Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for the way she conducted the proceedings of the House, with BJD's B Mahtab describing her as "compassionate yet resolute"
TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay also praised Mahajan.
Among those who spoke were Union Minister Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal), Kaushalendra Kumar (JDU), N K Premachandran (RSP) and Dushyant Chautala (INLD).
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
