Modi made 'God' by BJP, 'bhakts' will land him in spot: Sena

April 26, 2016

Mumbai, Apr 26: Firing another salvo at ally BJP, Shiv Sena today took a dim view of its senior leaders for their extravagant praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by making him a "God", warning it is the "bhakts" who would eventually get politicians into trouble.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu recently sang his paeans to the prime minister calling him as "God's gift to India". Naidu's ministerial colleague Radha Mohan Singh also used a similar description while praising Modi.

In a sarcastic note, Sena also asked if the emotional call the Chief Justice of India Justice T S Thakur made on Sunday for increasing the number of judges to tackle the mounting number of cases could be termed as an "achievement" of the Modi Government.

"Senior BJP leaders are issuing statements that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an 'avtar' of God. Since he has been made a God, there is bound to be a temple and festivals in his name. A Ram Temple may not be constructed in Ayodhya but there will be 'shlokas' chanted in the name of this new God," the Sena said in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

The BJP should remember that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi spent a lot of money on advertisements, but eventually lost power after the 1975-77 Emergency, it said.

"It is the bhakts (devotees) that eventually get politicians and Gods into trouble. This has been so from the time of Mahabharat to the present political situation in Delhi," it said.

"The Chief Justice of India broke down in front of Prime Minister (while making an appeal to increase number of Judges). Should this be considered an achievement of the Modi- led Government?

"Thirty-three per cent of the country is reeling under drought and areas like Marathwada (in Maharashtra) and Bundelkhand (a backward region spread across MP and UP) have become desolate and appear like burial grounds. Government schemes have not reached there even in two years. This cannot be termed as a failure of the previous Government," it added.

"What happened to the pre-election promises of bringing black money back, taming inflation, ending corruption? How can we say these are the achievements of Modi Government?" the Sena organ questioned.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party is an ally of BJP-led Governments in Maharashtra and also at the Centre. 'Saamana', a Marathi daily, has been critical of several policies and decisions of the Modi Government, ranging from its stand on Pakistan to Uttarakhand political crisis.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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