The Evening Wrap: Will act against Raj Thackeray over his Aurangabad rally speech: Maharashtra DGP

Maharashtra police chief Rajnish Seth on Tuesday said Aurangabad police commissioner will take appropriate legal action against MNS leader Raj Thackeray over his speech against loudspeakers atop mosques. Notices under section 149 of CrPC (preventing cognizable offences) have been issued to over 13,000 persons, he said. “Aurangabad CP is looking into the speech. He will take whatever legal action that is needed,” Seth told reporters, two days after Thackeray, at a rally in Aurangabad, called for “silencing” loudspeakers from the mosques from May 4. In the Aurangabad rally, Thackeray had asked people to play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques from May 4 if loudspeakers there were not removed. Earlier on Tuesday, Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Seth and senior police officials reviewed the law-and-order situation in the backdrop of the MNS chief’s deadline. “Maharashtra police are capable of handling any kind of law-and-order situation. SRPF and Home Guards have been deployed in the state,” Seth said. “I appeal everyone to maintain peace,” he added. Seth said police are prepared to maintain law and order in the state and stern action will be taken against anyone seeking to disturb communal harmony. Leave of all police personnel has been cancelled, he said. Police are fully prepared to tackle the situation in the state and have been given clear instructions to take stern action against those creating trouble, he said. Police have taken pre-emptive action against anti-social elements to avoid any untoward incident, he said. Political slugfest between Congress and BJP over Rahul’s Kathmandu visit The Congress on May 3 asserted that attending the marriage ceremony of a friend was still not a crime, as its former president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kathmandu turned into a bitter war of words. As a video of Gandhi in a Kathmandu nightclub became viral on social media platforms and was shared by Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s Information Technology (IT) cell, Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit back. “Rahul Gandhi went to a friendly country, Nepal, to participate in a marriage function of a friend who also happens to be a journalist. Last I checked, it has still not become a crime in this country to attend a marriage. Maybe after today, the BJP may decide it is illegal to attend a marriage and a crime to have friends,” Surjewala said. Comparing it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 surprise visit to Lahore when Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister, he stated, “Rahul Gandhi ji, like Modi ji, didn’t go uninvited to cut Nawaz Sharif’s cake” uninvited like PM Modi,” Malviya tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi was at a nightclub when Mumbai was under siege. He is at a nightclub at a time when his party is exploding. He is consistent. Interestingly, soon after the Congress refused to outsource their presidency, hit jobs have begun on their Prime Ministerial candidate”. Other BJP leaders also attacked Gandhi. Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi called him “full-time tourist and a part-time politician, who is filled with hypocrisy”. Bihar Minister and senior BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain took a swipe at Gandhi, saying “he [Rahul Gandhi] is more involved in parties, rather than running his own party.” Defending his leader, Lok Sabha member and Congress leader Manickam Tagore said that everyone attended private functions. “So what is wrong if Rahul Gandhi attends it?” According to a report in Kathmandu Post, Gandhi arrived in the city on Monday afternoon to attend the wedding of Sumnima Udas, daughter of Bhim Udas, former Nepali ambassador to Myanmar. Russia planning east Ukraine annexation: U.S. official A senior United States official says the U.S. believed Russia is planning this month to annex large portions of eastern Ukraine and recognise the southern city of Kherson as an independent republic. Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said on Monday that the suspected actions are “straight out of the Kremlin’s playbook” and will not be recognised by the United States or its partners and allies. Carpenter said the U.S. and others have information that Russia is planning “sham referenda” in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” that would attach the entities to Russia. He also said there were signs that Russia would engineer an independence vote in the city of Kherson. “We believe that the Kremlin may try to hold sham referenda to try to add a veneer of democratic or electoral legitimacy and this is straight out of the Kremlin’s playbook,” he said, adding that the information suggested the votes could come as early as mid-May. “Such sham referenda, fabricated votes will not be considered legitimate, nor will any attempts to annex additional Ukrainian territory,” he said. Carpenter did not detail the information that led to the assessment, although there have been public reports that Russia is moving to exert greater control over areas that it already controls and occupies in eastern and southern Ukraine. He pointed to evidence that local mayors and legislators there have been abducted, that internet and cell phone service had been severed and that Russian school curricula is soon to be imposed. Draft opinion suggests U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade that legalised abortion: Report A draft opinion circulated among Supreme Court justices suggests that earlier this year a majority of them had thrown support behind overturning the 1973 case Roe v. Wade that legalised abortion nationwide, according to a report published Monday night in Politico. It’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter. If the authenticity of the draft Politico posted is verified, it would mark a shocking revelation of the high court’s secretive deliberation process, particularly before a case is formally decided. A Supreme Court spokeswoman said the court had no comment. The news outlet published what was labeled as a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling in the case, and opinions — and even justices’ votes — have been known to change during the drafting process. The court is expected to rule on the case before its term is up in late June or early July. The draft is signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it adds, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services and would allow individual States to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure. Politico said only that it received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document.” The report came amid a legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states — Oklahoma being the most recent — even before the court issues its decision. Critics of those measures have said low-income women will disproportionately bear the burden of new restrictions. The leak jumpstarted the intense political reverberations that the High Court’s ultimate decision was expected to have in the midterm election year. Already politicians on both sides of the aisle were seizing on the report to fundraise and energize their supporters on either side of the hot-button issue. An AP-NORC poll in December found that Democrats increasingly see protecting abortion rights as a high priority for the government. Other polling shows relatively few Americans want to see Roe overturned. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v. Wade decision as is; just 29% said the court should overturn the decision. In general, AP-NORC polling finds a majority of the public favors abortion being legal in most or all cases. Still, when asked about abortion policy generally, Americans have nuanced attitudes on the issue, and many don’t think that abortion should be possible after the first trimester or that women should be able to obtain a legal abortion for any reason. Alito said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to Politico. At arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled that they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions that suggested that overruling Roe and Casey was a possibility. Only Chief Justice John Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, though that too would be a significant weakening of abortion rights. Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks. The court’s three liberal justices seemed likely to be in dissent. It’s impossible to know what efforts are taking place behind the scenes to influence any justice’s vote. If Roberts is inclined to allow Roe to survive, he need only pick off one other conservative vote to deprive the court of a majority to overrule the abortion landmark. In Brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis, even as his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen hoped that India will use its influence over Russia to end the war. Speaking to reporters here after bilateral talks, Modi said he discussed the Ukraine crisis and appealed for an “immediate ceasefire” in Ukraine. Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Frederiksen and the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest to boost the bilateral relationship. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 03 MAY 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Will act against Raj Thackeray over his Aurangabad rally speech: Maharashtra DGP Maharashtra police chief Rajnish Seth on Tuesday said [Aurangabad police commissioner will take appropriate legal action against MNS leader Raj Thackeray]( over his speech against loudspeakers atop mosques. Notices under section 149 of CrPC (preventing cognizable offences) have been issued to over 13,000 persons, he said. [Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray speaks during a rally in Aurangabad on Sunday.] “Aurangabad CP is looking into the speech. He will take whatever legal action that is needed,” Seth told reporters, two days after Thackeray, at a rally in Aurangabad, called for “silencing” loudspeakers from the mosques from May 4. In the Aurangabad rally, Thackeray had asked people to play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques from May 4 if loudspeakers there were not removed. Earlier on Tuesday, Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Seth and senior police officials reviewed the law-and-order situation in the backdrop of the MNS chief’s deadline. “Maharashtra police are capable of handling any kind of law-and-order situation. SRPF and Home Guards have been deployed in the state,” Seth said. “I appeal everyone to maintain peace,” he added. Seth said police are prepared to maintain law and order in the state and stern action will be taken against anyone seeking to disturb communal harmony. Leave of all police personnel has been cancelled, he said. Police are fully prepared to tackle the situation in the state and have been given clear instructions to take stern action against those creating trouble, he said. Police have taken pre-emptive action against anti-social elements to avoid any untoward incident, he said. Political slugfest between Congress and BJP over Rahul’s Kathmandu visit  [The Congress on May 3 asserted that attending the marriage ceremony of a friend was still not a crime]( as its former president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kathmandu turned into a bitter war of words. As a video of Gandhi in a Kathmandu nightclub became viral on social media platforms and was shared by Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s Information Technology (IT) cell, Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit back. “Rahul Gandhi went to a friendly country, Nepal, to participate in a marriage function of a friend who also happens to be a journalist. Last I checked, it has still not become a crime in this country to attend a marriage. Maybe after today, the BJP may decide it is illegal to attend a marriage and a crime to have friends,” Surjewala said. Comparing it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 surprise visit to Lahore when Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister, he stated, “Rahul Gandhi ji, like Modi ji, didn’t go uninvited to cut Nawaz Sharif’s cake” uninvited like PM Modi,” Malviya tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi was at a nightclub when Mumbai was under siege. He is at a nightclub at a time when his party is exploding. He is consistent. Interestingly, soon after the Congress refused to outsource their presidency, hit jobs have begun on their Prime Ministerial candidate”. Other BJP leaders also attacked Gandhi. Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi called him “full-time tourist and a part-time politician, who is filled with hypocrisy”. Bihar Minister and senior BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain took a swipe at Gandhi, saying “he [Rahul Gandhi] is more involved in parties, rather than running his own party.” [Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. File] Defending his leader, Lok Sabha member and Congress leader Manickam Tagore said that everyone attended private functions. “So what is wrong if Rahul Gandhi attends it?” According to a report in Kathmandu Post, Gandhi arrived in the city on Monday afternoon to attend the wedding of Sumnima Udas, daughter of Bhim Udas, former Nepali ambassador to Myanmar. Russia planning east Ukraine annexation: U.S. official A senior United States official says [the U.S. believed Russia is planning this month to annex large portions of eastern Ukrain]( and recognise the southern city of Kherson as an independent republic. Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said on Monday that the suspected actions are “straight out of the Kremlin’s playbook” and will not be recognised by the United States or its partners and allies. Carpenter said the U.S. and others have information that Russia is planning “sham referenda” in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” that would attach the entities to Russia. He also said there were signs that Russia would engineer an independence vote in the city of Kherson. “We believe that the Kremlin may try to hold sham referenda to try to add a veneer of democratic or electoral legitimacy and this is straight out of the Kremlin’s playbook,” he said, adding that the information suggested the votes could come as early as mid-May. “Such sham referenda, fabricated votes will not be considered legitimate, nor will any attempts to annex additional Ukrainian territory,” he said. Carpenter did not detail the information that led to the assessment, although there have been public reports that Russia is moving to exert greater control over areas that it already controls and occupies in eastern and southern Ukraine. He pointed to evidence that local mayors and legislators there have been abducted, that internet and cell phone service had been severed and that Russian school curricula is soon to be imposed. Draft opinion suggests U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade that legalised abortion: Report  [A draft opinion circulated among Supreme Court justices]( suggests that earlier this year a majority of them had thrown support behind overturning the 1973 case Roe v. Wade that legalised abortion nationwide, according to a report published Monday night in Politico. It’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter. If the authenticity of the draft Politico posted is verified, it would mark a shocking revelation of the high court’s secretive deliberation process, particularly before a case is formally decided. A Supreme Court spokeswoman said the court had no comment. The news outlet published what was labeled as a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling in the case, and opinions — and even justices’ votes — have been known to change during the drafting process. The court is expected to rule on the case before its term is up in late June or early July. The draft is signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it adds, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services and would allow individual States to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure. Politico said only that it received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document.” The report came amid a legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states — Oklahoma being the most recent — even before the court issues its decision. Critics of those measures have said low-income women will disproportionately bear the burden of new restrictions. The leak jumpstarted the intense political reverberations that the High Court’s ultimate decision was expected to have in the midterm election year. Already politicians on both sides of the aisle were seizing on the report to fundraise and energize their supporters on either side of the hot-button issue. An AP-NORC poll in December found that Democrats increasingly see protecting abortion rights as a high priority for the government. Other polling shows relatively few Americans want to see Roe overturned. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v. Wade decision as is; just 29% said the court should overturn the decision. In general, AP-NORC polling finds a majority of the public favors abortion being legal in most or all cases. Still, when asked about abortion policy generally, Americans have nuanced attitudes on the issue, and many don’t think that abortion should be possible after the first trimester or that women should be able to obtain a legal abortion for any reason. Alito said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to Politico. At arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled that they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions that suggested that overruling Roe and Casey was a possibility. Only Chief Justice John Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, though that too would be a significant weakening of abortion rights. Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks. The court’s three liberal justices seemed likely to be in dissent. It’s impossible to know what efforts are taking place behind the scenes to influence any justice’s vote. If Roberts is inclined to allow Roe to survive, he need only pick off one other conservative vote to deprive the court of a majority to overrule the abortion landmark. In Brief [Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine]( and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis, even as his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen hoped that India will use its influence over Russia to end the war. Speaking to reporters here after bilateral talks, Modi said he discussed the Ukraine crisis and appealed for an “immediate ceasefire” in Ukraine. Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Frederiksen and the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest to boost the bilateral relationship. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow  Today’s Top Picks [[Months after her election, Cuttack’s Deputy Mayor receives notice for partial demolition of her own house] Months after her election, Cuttack’s Deputy Mayor receives notice for partial demolition of her own house]( [[‘Summer of Soul’ review: A hidden gem that resonates even today] ‘Summer of Soul’ review: A hidden gem that resonates even today]( [[IPL 2022 final confirmed for Ahmedabad; Women's T20 Challenge moved to Pune] IPL 2022 final confirmed for Ahmedabad; Women's T20 Challenge moved to Pune]( [[Modi invokes FOMO, says those not investing in India will miss out] Modi invokes FOMO, says those not investing in India will miss out]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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