Former Union Minister Suryakanta Patil resigns from BJP
Mumbai: Former Union Minister Suryakanta Patil has resigned from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).“I have learned a lot in the last 10 years, I am thankful to the party,’’ she said after quitting.
Patil, who joined the BJP in 2014 after leaving the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, made the announcement shortly after the party's disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
Patil, a four-time MP from the Hingoli-Nanded constituency and once an MLA, had sought BJP's nomination for the Lok Sabha elections in Marathwada's Hingoli constituency but did not receive the ticket. Expressing dissatisfaction on social media following the decision, she had been allocated the role of poll chief for the Hadgaon Himayatnagar assembly constituency during the general elections.
The seat-sharing arrangement saw the Hingoli seat being allocated to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, a decision that likely contributed to Patil's departure from the BJP.
The Shiv Sena had lost the Hingoli seat to the Uddhav Thackeray led faction.
Patil has represented the Hingoli-Nanded constituency four times as MP and once as MLA. She was the minister of state for rural development and parliamentary affairs during the UPA government.
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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.
