CM Devendra Fadnavis counters Sharad Pawar with fact-sheet on Gadchiroli

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis decided to call out NCP president Sharad Pawar over the latter’s barbed comments on the CM’s visits to Naxal-infested Gadchiroli district.
A day after 15 police personnel were killed in a naxal attack in a village near Gadchiroli recently, Pawar had criticized the CM, saying ever since he took over the reins in October 2014, he had visited Gadchiroli only once and that, too, to lay wreaths on the bodies of slain police personnel.Pawar had further said while his late colleague, NCP leader R R Patil, who was home minister, belonged to Sangli, he had opted to take over as the guardian minister of Gadchiroli.
Slamming Pawar for not doing his homework, Fadnavis released details of his visits to Gadchiroli with statistics. Says an IPS official, during Pawar’s tenure, 38 police personnel and 85 civilians were killed in Naxal attacks, while 36 Naxalites were killed in police action.
As per data compiled by the CM-led home department, since 1980, 3,018 incidents of Naxal attack were recorded, in which 224 police personnel, 571 civilians and 246 Naxalites were killed. After 2000, 2018 was the only peaceful year, when there were no police or civilian casualties, while 50 Naxalites were killed in a police encounter. In the five years after Fadnavis took over, 98 Naxalites were killed in police action, and 19 police personnel were killed.
Fadnavis says a month after he took oath as CM, his first visit was to Kurkheda in Gadchiroli. He claimed he has personally ensured decisions taken by the government were implemented.
Adieu, Justice Oka Mumbai will miss Justice Abhay Oka who has been appointed chief justice of Karnataka HC. Ever since he was appointed a judge of the Bombay high court in 2003, 58-year-old Oka has emerged as a people’s judge.
Justice Oka always gave weightage to civil liberties over powers of the state government. Justice Oka always held the firm view that Mumbai being the state capital as well as the financial capital must have better living conditions, and it was the fundamental right of citizens to have pothole-free, good roads and footpaths.
While dealing with a public interest litigation filed by a Satara-based NGO, Justice Oka had taken on leading politicians for rampant defacement of the city and illegal and unauthorized banners, posters and hoardings.
Justice Oka ensured the BMC submitted a monthly report on criminal cases against political parties and politicians for putting up illegal banners and posters.
Following Justice Oka’s critical observations, several political parties issued newspaper advertisements, saying they would dismiss office-bearers who put up illegal banners and posters.
Justice Oka’s order on tackling noise pollution, too, was a landmark one.