KRISHNA THAKUR

Reporter @ IANS, Ex AbpNews, Zee News

[IANS @ians_india]

Mumbai, Maharashtra: On RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement, AIMIM national spokesperson Waris Pathan says, "Their own people are bringing crisis upon religion. These very people are practicing the politics of religion. None of their people are talking about development or progress. They are talking only and only about spreading hatred. Unemployment keeps increasing, but their attention isn't on that. When they go abroad, what do they say there? That if any Hindu of India says something wrong about a Muslim, then he isn't even a Hindu... They say one thing, but here their bhakts are doing something completely different..."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: AIMIM national spokesperson Waris Pathan, on the drought situation, says, ''The farmers are burdened with debt. Their loans should be waived. Now that a drought has been declared, they are in distress. The government has moved away from its priorities. It has the money, but it wants to carry out ‘Operation Lotus’ and buy MPs and MLAs. So many farmers have died by suicide.''

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: AIMIM national spokesperson Waris Pathan, on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, says, ''Our party president has said that we are ready for an alliance. Our intention is to defeat the BJP. We do not want a government with a Hindutva-oriented ideology to come to power for the third time. We are talking about an alliance, but they are not coming forward. We will contest the elections now. We talk about representation and equality. When we contest, you will then call us the ‘B-team’…''

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: AIMIM national spokesperson Waris Pathan says, ''Today, we have sent a notice to the Chief Executive Officer of the Maharashtra Waqf Board. As you all know, the Mumbai-based Khilafat House has been embroiled in controversy for the past few days. The committee claims that it is trust property, but we and everyone else believe that it is Waqf property. The Waqf Board Chairman has said that it is Waqf land. It is registered in the Maharashtra Gazette. The Supreme Court has said that it is Waqf property. Despite that, you are neither obtaining a NOC from the Waqf Board nor taking any other permission. The people associated with Khilafat House have gone ahead with construction through private builders. We went there and, after discussing the matter and reaching a consensus, locked the premises, saying that the work should remain stopped until the court delivers its verdict. But they resorted to a mischievous act…''

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Captain Smit Machchhar, says, "Captain Smit Machchhar...the act of bravery and valor that he has shown is a rare feat in the entire world. He displayed immense courage and bravery, risking his own life to save 174 lives. He prevented the aircraft from being hijacked and worked to save everyone at the risk of his own life. Our country's popular and successful Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was the first to congratulate him and felt immense pride that he belongs to our country, to our Mumbai, and is a pride of Maharashtra as well..."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: On the Flydubai incident, Captain Smit Machchhar’s former colleague Tina Goswami says, “The first reaction was that we were all scared and wondering whether everyone was safe. This was not a normal incident. It was a very serious matter. Because generally, as pilots, all the training we undergo and all the emergency situations we prepare for depend on teamwork and coordination among the crew...”

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Captain Smit Machchhar’s former colleague Tina Goswami says, “Ultimately, saving even one person’s life is a very big thing. Yesterday, we also saw an interview of his with Prime Minister Netanyahu. In it, he explained how he used his last bit of strength to try to open the door. If the door had not opened, because there was a presence of mind here that he knew that given the way he was injured and the way the aircraft was out of control, he would not be able to do anything...”

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Captain Smit Machchhar’s brother-in-law, Ankit Jogi, says, "It is a matter of great pride for us that our MLA has visited our home today. We are very happy. Because of the work done by our brother-in-law, we have been receiving everyone’s good wishes regularly. We are very happy that such prominent people have visited our home. We spoke to him, and he said that he is there to support us. He assured us that he would be available to help us whenever we need anything. This is a matter of great pride for us."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Sonal Machchhar, aunt of Captain Smit Machchhar, says, "Since the children were very young, we would play the Hanuman Chalisa on the phone when putting them to sleep at night. In the morning, everyone would visit the temple and seek blessings. Hanuman Chalisa is also kept in our temple. This is how all the children have grown up... That was all we discussed. It was not like this in childhood. We had a textile factory, so the expectation was that they would join the textile business. They also studied accordingly at Sasmira. Then one day, both of them came and said that they wanted to pursue aviation. At first, we were surprised and said, 'Oh God, they want to go into aviation!' But then we told them that if they wanted to study and pursue it, they should go ahead..."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Kishorbhai Machchhar, uncle of Captain Smit Machchhar, says, "I have not spoken to Smit. Only his parents went to meet him at the hospital. I have not spoken to Smit. I spoke to his father, and he told me that Smit is healthy. It is too early to say how we will celebrate, but we just want him to come home. Then we will definitely celebrate lavishly, 100 per cent..."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: On India defeating Pakistan by 19 runs in the men's T20 cricket final at the Asian Games 2026 to win the gold medal, Cricket Coach & Childhood Mentor of India all-rounder Shivam Dube, Satish Samant says, "I am very happy. Whenever we play against Pakistan and win, it feels great. But winning at a prestigious competition like the Asian Games is an even bigger achievement... Despite that, the team went there and won under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy. It is a great achievement, and I am very happy"

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Cricket Coach & Childhood Mentor of India all-rounder Shivam Dube, Satish Samant says, "Very good. Actually, the pitch for the match was not that easy to score runs on, according to me. The start that Abhishek provided in the initial stage, followed by the partnership between Shreyas and Ishan Kishan, and later the partnership between Tilak Varma and Shivam near the end, brought the score—which looked like 170-180—above 200. So I can say it was a total team effort that led us to score 212 runs..."

[IANS @ians_india]

Mumbai, Maharashtra: On all-rounder Shivam Dube, Cricket Coach & Childhood Mentor of India all-rounder Shivam Dube, Satish Samant says, "Actually, he is preparing and training himself according to those expectations, because he is going to get opportunities like this—batting in the middle or lower-middle order, scoring more than double the runs off fewer balls..."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: At the CJP protest, Singer Vishal Dadlani says, "I would say this is extremely important. You may support any political party, but if the country's election system itself is compromised, then the country and democracy will no longer survive. So, I would tell everyone, even those who support the BJP, they too are with us and are part of this country. So I would tell them as well; wake up. Remove Gyanesh Kumar, reverse this entire process, eliminate the SIR, and protect every citizen's right to vote..."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: On the Flydubai incident, Mumbai Youth Congress President Zinat Sabrin says, "There were 180 passengers, and we are so proud of the pilot. Hats off to him. He was injured himself, but even after being stabbed multiple times, he saved the lives of all 180 passengers. I salute his bravery, and as Indians, we are proud of him."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Mumbai Youth Congress President Zinat Sabrin says, "It is very important that the actions of Gyanesh Kumar, who is responsible for protecting our voting rights, and the irregularities have come to light today. Every Indian citizen is now aware of them. The way the INDIA Maha Rally has been planned is very important..."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Reacting to Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar's statement, Congress MP Pratibha Dhanorkar says, "Wadettiwar Sahib is a senior leader of our party, a leader from Maharashtra and the CLP leader. He has made a statement, so the dispute must have been resolved; that is why he said it. And when he himself has come forward and spoken about it, then we also have no problem."

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Member of the Government of India (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare) Expert Committee, Aditya Sesh says, "So, if you recall, a few years ago we had the Bima, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, which is exactly meant to tackle this problem. And then you have the usual waiver of loans, which is not very recommended, but if you have no other situation, you have to do it. Then you can give, the government has already increased the Kharif prices where, the MSP for certain products wherever possible. The government is pushing the farmers to grow more oilseeds and dal because we are deficient in that, and those crops are more drought-resilient. So, the government is working on many fronts to solve this."

[IANS @ians_india]

Mumbai, Maharashtra: Member of the Government of India (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare) Expert Committee, Aditya Sesh says, "So, the thing is, this year is the year of El Niño, and we expect probably next year also will be an El Niño. So it is natural that during such years, there is a drought and there is a deficiency in rains. In fact, we are on the lower side of LPA by about 13%. But this is not even; it is uneven across the country, and therefore we now have to be prepared for this drought and ability to tackle this. And I can see that the government is seized of the situation, and the government is making attempts to solve this problem..."

[IANS @ians_india]

Mumbai, Maharashtra: Member of the Government of India (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare) Expert Committee, Aditya Sesh says, "Now, the drought will certainly increase the inflation. That's for sure. And that is why the government is also allowing the import of dals. It has been already announced today, 75% of Maharashtra is in a drought condition and, therefore, an exception of the Konkan area because the Konkan area has not been so bad. And therefore, the Government of Maharashtra is already tackling this situation on a war footing. The Chief Minister has been going to various drought-affected areas in order to create solutions and offer help to people..."