Owaisi-led MIM’s tie up with BMM will only help BJP: Shiv Sena

Agencies
September 17, 2018

Mumbai, Sept 17: Terming the proposed pre-poll alliance between the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Prakash Ambedkar-led Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) as "bogus", the Shiv Sena said Monday that such a political move is not a good omen.

The alliance would only benefit the BJP, the Sena claimed, alleging that the move by the BBM chief, who is the grandson of late Dr B R Ambedkar, is akin to betraying people of his own community.

The political alliance of Owaisi and Ambedkar is only for someone's defeat and is a well-planned strategy," it said, without naming any party.

Leaders of the AIMIM and the BBM had said Saturday that both parties will forge an alliance for the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly polls in 2019.

Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of the Hyderabad-headquartered AIMIM, had said that preliminary talks held between the two parties yielded positive results.

"The proposed political alliance of the AIMIM and Prakash Ambedkar's front of scheduled castes is not a good omen," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'

Till now, both were carrying out activities behind the curtains in support of the BJP, but now they will come out openly to help the saffron party, said the Sena, which is an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

It said instead of openly joining hands with the BJP, they have chosen to set up a new front, which has nothing to do with the line of thinking of late Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.

"Babasaheb fought against the wrong, unjust traditions of Hindu religion but he never joined hands with radical Muslim groups. He even rejected an offer to convert to Islam," the Marathi publication said.

The AIMIM is a "corrupt version" of the Muslim League, it alleged, adding that it is involved in Muslim vote bank politics.

"One Owaisi brother had allegedly remarked that 25 crore Muslims could easily overpower Hindus in this country. The grandson of late Babasaheb Ambedkar joining hands with such people is like betraying people of his own community," it said.

"However, any rational Muslim or a scheduled caste youth will not fall for such a bogus alliance," it added.

Alleging that Owaisi's language propagates "anarchism", the Sena asked Prakash Ambedkar to clarify if he is comfortable with it.

"If someone construes that BBM's joining hands with Owaisi would lead to instigating the scheduled caste youth and fuel riots in the state, then what answer does Prakash Ambedkar have for it?" it sought to know.

Most of the scheduled caste community outfits are already affiliated to some mainstream political party. The leaders are more interested in their self-growth than helping the community, the Sena said.

"The schedule castes are already divided into several factions, such as Athawale, Kawade, Gavai and Ambedkar. Instead of these factions floating their own front, Prakash Ambedkar is joining hands with the AIMIM," it said, wondering if such a move will be accepted to the scheduled caste youth.

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News Network
December 21,2025

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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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