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Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu sweeps the floor before offering prayers at Shiva temple, netizens react

OpIndia Staff
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Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu sweeps the floor before offering prayers at Shiva temple, netizens react

On June 22, NDA’s presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu visited her neighbourhood temples to offer prayers following the announcement. Early morning she visited Rairangpur Jagannath Temple and also visited a tribal worship place called ‘Jahira’.

Later, Murmu visited a Shiva temple, where she swept the floor before offering prayers. The video of her temple visit has gone viral on social media platforms.

Netizens react to Murmu’s dedication to the temples

It is a general practice for many people to first perform some seva, like cleaning the floor, at the temple before offering prayers. Murmu was also seen following the traditional way of prayer at a Shiva temple, that is, offering respect to Nandi and murmuring one’s wishes to Nandi, because it is believed that Nandi will convey one’s wishes to Lord Shiva.

Another user, Sibasis, said, “This is our dharma and culture.”

Dhaneswar Mallik also pointed out that it is Odisha’s culture.

Twitter user Vivek Kumar praised her gesture and said, “Feeling proud as an Indian what a humble human being is going to be our respected President. Shivji se parthana hai ki Draupadi mam hi president bane.”

Twitter user Krishna Shukla pointed out that her grandmother follows the same routine. He said, “Real culture. Hmree dadi aaj bhi dwar pe chota sa mandir phle roj saaf krti hai fir pooja krti hai.”

Shalini Bharadwaj said, “is a grassroots politician has many firsts to her credit, she was also in consideration for the presidential post in 2017.”

Another Twitter user Shrin said, “Some remain grounded no matter how big their stature has become. Proud that she is becoming the 1st person of our great country.”

Many devout Hindus follow the same practice

Though some Twitter users claimed it was a photo-op, in reality, what Draupadi Mumru did is part of culture followed by many devout Hindu women. A Twitter user VS Anitha pointed out that before starting any good work, everyone visits a nearby temple. The women of the family sweep the temple premises as a mark of respect for the Deity. She said, “That’s an age-old tradition.”

It is notable here that devout people sometimes also wash the temple steps, or bring sandalwood paste and flowers from their garden to their local temples. Such acts are common in many Indian Hindu communities. It is notable here that during the Rathayatra festival in Puri, the erstwhile ruler of Odisha Gajapati Maharaj also sweeps the Ratha, as a ritual known as ‘Chhera Panhara’, with a broom with a golden handle. The Rathas start only after that.

NDA announced Draupadi Mumru’s name as Presidential candidate

On June 21, BJP Chief JP Nadda announced Draupadi Mumru’s name as a Presidential candidate. She will fill her nomination on June 25. The elections are scheduled for July 18, and the results will be announced on July 21. The new President will take charge on July 25.

The Resort Politics OG: When Shankersinh Vaghela in Gujarat pulled off the biggest coup with help from Congress

OpIndia Staff
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The Resort Politics OG: When Shankersinh Vaghela in Gujarat pulled off the biggest coup with help from Congress

On June 20, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde was reported missing along with several other Sena MLAs. The reports of him being unreachable came after the unsatisfactory performance of the legislative council elections on Monday. Soon, it was revealed that Shinde, alongside his group of supporting MLAs had fled to Surat. Since then, the rebel MLAs have now been flown to Guwahati, Assam.

On Tuesday, a day after the Maharashtra MLC polls, nation woke up to the news of Shiv Sena’s powerful leader from Thane, Eknath Shinde stationing a rebellion camp at Le Meridian Hotel in Surat. As per reports, nearly 25-30 Shiv Sena MLAs are with Shinde, out of Shiv Sena’s total tally of 55 assembly members. Political analysts and observers have suggested that Shinde, a supremo from Thane was miffed with Uddhav Thackeray’s lacklustre attitude in challenging the NCP, which was enjoying all the perks of the power – while Shiv Sena leaders didn’t get enough share.

Shinde’s political suffocation motivated him to lead a major rebellion within the Shiv Sena, the undercurrents of which have tattered the fate of the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance in the state. Meanwhile, there have been talks of BJP leaders including Devendra Fadnavis likely to meet the Shinde faction soon, to work out an equation for a probable alliance to form the government in the state. Questions are also being raised over the rebel Sena leader’s stay in Surat, a state where BJP has an incumbent government.

The episode is only the newest entrant in the long legacy of ‘resort politics’ – hoarding one’s own MLAs amidst fear of detraction. Looking inside the annals of India’s political history, “Resort Politics” is not a new phenomenon and emerged out of a coup attempt from Gujarat itself. Incidentally, it was pioneered by the Congress party back in 1995 when they allegedly conspired with Shankersinh Vaghela and toppled the BJP government in Gujarat.

The OG ‘resort politics’ game ft Shankersinh Vaghela

It all started with Shankersinh Vaghela who had felt sidelined in the BJP because of Keshubhai Patel’s immense popularity as the chief minister of Gujarat. After the demolition of the disputed structure called Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992, there was a saffron undercurrent in Gujarat. It was in 1995, when the BJP won a majority in Gujarat for the first time by winning 121 out of 182 seats. While Keshubhai Patel became the Chief Minister, Vaghela who was considered the ‘real architect’ of the victory felt left out in the cabinet. Vaghela felt that Patel, along with the then BJP General Secretary Narendra Modi were keeping ‘their people’ in the government.

In September same year, when Keshubhai Patel was a tour to America to get appeal to NRIs to invest in Gujarat, Ashok Bhatt was in charge CM. Before he left for the US, Patel had asked Vaghela if he had any issues with Narendra Modi, who was then the General Secretary of BJP. It is widely reported that Vaghela said, “I have problem with you and there are chances that by the time you return from the US, you may not remain the chief minister.”

Soon after Patel left for US, Vaghela took his supporting MLAs to his village in Vasan and told them that if they want to stay with him, they would have to leave the government. Slowly, he managed to get support of 55 MLAs. From Vasan, the supporting MLAs were taken to Charda village of Manasa Taluka where Haribhai Chaudhary, a Congress supporter stayed. Here, Mansukh Vasava escaped from the village. Vaghela had claimed that BJP workers even pelted stones on the ‘rebel MLAs’, but Choudhary’s wife and other villagers shooed them away.

At that time, all three neighbouring states of Gujarat – Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had Congress governments. Over and above that, Vaghela had also considered taking his supporting MLAs to Delhi. But eventually they zeroed in on Madhya Pradesh, where Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was the chief minister. All the ‘rebel MLAs’ were to be flown in to Madhya Pradesh in one chartered flight on one afternoon. But it took so long to convince them all that it was evening by the time they all were ready.

In the evening, when all the rebel MLAs reached Ahmedabad airport, they found that the tyres of the aircraft were punctured. Vaghela still considers it was a Gujarat government conspiracy. When the tyres were fixed, it dawned on everyone that the Khajuraho airport at that time did not have facility for landing flights in night. Eventually, a request was put in to the civil aviation minister and special permission was sought for the aircraft carrying MLAs to land. Finally, lanterns were placed on the runway to facilitate landing for the airplane. When the flight finally took off from Ahmedabad airport, Vaghela heaved a sigh of relief.

Vaghela himself had stayed back in Gandhinagar. To speak to Vaghela, the BJP sent top leadership – Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Rajasthan chief minister Bhairosinh Shekhawat. Vaghela put his one condition that Narendra Modi be exiled from Gujarat. Meanwhile, BJP leaders like Uma Bharati and Kushabhai Thakre went to meet the rebel MLAs in Khajuraho but came back empty-handed.

To pass their time, the rebel MLAs would play table tennis, listen to music and swim in the luxury resort. Since there were no mobile phones and even 24 hour news channels were not around, the rebel MLAs truly had a whale of a time relaxing. Each room that time cost about Rs 2-2.5 thousand and all MLAs stayed in twin-sharing. Vaghela had said that the total cost of the entire operation was about Rs 10 lakh. Meanwhile, the talks between Vaghela and Vajpayee continued in Gandhinagar. Finally, the rebel MLAs were directed to return to Gandhinagar one fine day by 6 PM.

Later, after a middle ground was reached that neither Keshubhai Patel nor Shankersinh Vaghela would be the chief minister. Suresh Mehta and Kashiram Rana were two names that were suggested. Eventually Mehta was sworn in as the chief minister of Gujarat in October 1995. Six supporting MLAs of Vaghela were included in the Mehta government but there was still discontent. BJP leaders were looking down upon Vaghela and his supporters. Those who had gone to Khajuraho were given nickname ‘Khajuria’ and those who supported Patel were called ‘Hajuria’ and those who stayed loyal to the party were given monicker ‘Majuria’.

In 1996 when a function was held to felicitate Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the ‘Khajurias’ and ‘Hajurias’ engaged in hand to hand combat. In the fight that ensued, some people undid the dhoti of Atmaram Patel, an MLA and a staunch supporter of Vaghela. While veteran BJP leader Dattaji Chirandas almost got burned. This was the final straw for Vaghela.

In 1996, Vaghela contested from Godhra constituency in Lok Sabha elections and lost. BJP expelled him for anti-party activities. So then he floated his own political party, Rashtriay Janata Party (RJP). And with external support of Congress, formed government in Gujarat in 1996. This mixed-bag government did not even last one full year. He had a fallout with Congress over creation of new districts and he resigned after making Dilip Parikh the chief minister. In March 1998, Parikh recommended dissolution of Assembly and submitted his resignation to the governor.

Fresh elections were held and Vaghela’s RJP won four seats. By end of 1998, his party was absorbed in the Congress. BJP under Keshubhai Patel won 115 seats and formed the government. Since then, Gujarat has only had BJP government.

Vaghela broke the BJP for his power lust but he could not enjoy it. He was chief minister of the state for less than a year. However, he was indeed rewarded for this by the UPA and he was made Union Minister of Textile in Manmohan Singh government from 2004 to 2009. However, after this coup, Congress has failed to form a government in Gujarat, where now an entire generation has grown up in just BJP-ruled state.

Note: Some portion of this was first published in Gujarati. You can read the full article in Gujarati here.

Meet Draupadi Murmu: BJP-led NDA’s Presidential candidate who can soon be India’s first Adivasi President

Anurag
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Meet Draupadi Murmu: BJP-led NDA’s Presidential candidate who can soon be India’s first Adivasi President

On June 21, Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced former Governor of Jharkhand Droupadi Murmu’s name as its Presidential candidate for the upcoming elections scheduled for July 18, 2022. Before the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed a BJP Parliamentary Board meeting. BJP Chief JP Nadda announced Murmu’s candidature in a press conference following the board meeting. She will file her nomination on June 25.

Speaking to ANI after the announcement, she said, “I’m surprised. I wasn’t able to believe it. I’m thankful, do not wish to speak much. Whatever powers are there of a President in the Constitution, I’ll work accordingly.” She added, “Our work is to go to people, reach out to members of Electoral College and seek their cooperation. I will request all parties and states for support.”

On Wednesday morning, she visited Shiva Temple in Rairangpur and performed seva by sweeping the floor before offering prayers to Bhagwan Shiva. Earlier, she offered prayers at Rairangpur Jagannath Temple and visited a tribal worship place called ‘Jahira’.

As per reports, she has been provided round-the-clock Z+ category security cover by armed Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel by the central government.

Murmu has a political career spanning over 20 years. Hailing from Odisha, she was born in a Santal Tribal family on June 20, 1958, in village Uparbeda of district Mayurbhanj.

She gained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ramadevi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar and then worked as a Junior Assistant in Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983 in the Odisha government. IN 1994, she joined as a teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur and continued serving at the institute till 1997. She got married to Shyam Charan Murmu and had three children. Her husband and two sons have passed away. Her daughter Itishri Murmu is married and settled in Bhubaneshwar, where she works at UCO Bank. Itishree’s husband Ganesh Hembram is a rugby player and the young couple has a little daughter.

She was elected as a councillor in 1997 and became the vice-chairperson of the Rairangpur NAC. She became MLA from the same constituency.

In 2000, he became Minister of State (Independent Charge) at Transport and Commerce Department in the Odisha government and served till 2004 when BJP was in a coalition government with Naveen Patnaik’s BJD. During the same period, she also handled the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries as Minister of State.

From the year 2002 to 2009, Murmu was a national executive member of BJP’s ST Morcha. She served as state president for the same between 2006 to 2009. From the year 2013 to April 2015, she served as a national executive member of ST Morcha.

From the year 2015 to 2021, she served as Honorable Governor of Jharkhand. She was the first woman Governor for the state and the first female tribal leader to serve as a Governor in any Indian state.

In 2007, Murmu was awarded the ‘Neelkanth Award for Best MLA by Odisha Legislative Assembly.

Once elected, Murmu will become the first tribal President of India. She will be the second female President after former President Pratibha Patil, who served as the President between 2007 to 2012. Murmu will be the first-ever President elected from Odisha.

Personal tragedies that shook Murmu’s life

Murmu has suffered multiple tragedies in her personal life. Her husband, Shyam Charan Murmu had passed away following a cardiac arrest. Later in 2009, one of her sons died under mysterious circumstances. Just three years later, in 2012, her second son died in a road accident.

A wave of congratulations followed Murmu’s candidature announcement

Following the announcement of her Presidential candidature, a wave of congratulations followed from the leaders across party lines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote, “Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, the downtrodden as well as the marginalised. She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation.”

He added, “Millions of people, especially those who have experienced poverty and faced hardships, derive great strength from the life of Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature will greatly benefit our country.”

Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Draupadi Murmu Ji has made a special identity in public life by spreading awareness about education in the tribal community and serving the public for a long time as a public representative. I wish her all the best on becoming a candidate for this dignified post and I am sure she will definitely win.”

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “Congratulations Smt Draupadi Murmu on being announced as candidate of NDA for the country’s highest office. I was delighted when Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi  Ji discussed this with me. It is indeed a proud moment for the people of Odisha. I am sure Smt Murmu will set a shining example for women empowerment in the country.”

BJP Chief JP Nadda said, “Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji with her rich administrative experience, her great history of selfless social service and her relentless zeal to work for the upliftment of society, will make her a great President for our country. Under the leadership of Hon. PM Narendra Modi  Ji, it was an honour to announce her as the Presidential candidate from NDA. Her personality is an inspiration to us all and a benchmark for us all to follow.”

He added, “Her contributions to our nation are immense, and she possesses a lot of expertise in different areas which will be of great benefit to our country. Her efforts towards the upliftment of the marginalised sections of the society are also widely celebrated.”

Maharashtra political crisis: Eknath Shinde reaches Assam with rebel Sena MLAs, claims to have 2/3rd numbers

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra political crisis: Eknath Shinde reaches Assam with rebel Sena MLAs, claims to have 2/3rd numbers

On Wednesday (June 22) morning, rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde reached the Northeastern State of Assam, reportedly with 34 party MLAs and 6 independent MLAs.

As per reports, they were initially lodged at the Le Meridian hotel in Surat and were later ferried to the Surat International Airport to board a chartered flight to Guwahati.

They were escorted to safety by the Gujarat police. On reaching Assam, the MLAs from Maharashtra were received by BJP leaders Pallab Lochan Das and Sushanta Borgohain.

While addressing the media, Eknath Shinde informed, “A total of 40 MLAs are present here. We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva.”

According to news agency ANI, the rebel MLAs are currently staying in Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati. “Before the arrival of Maharashtra MLAs at Guwahati airport, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati, today morning. The MLAs are staying at this hotel,” ANI tweeted.

Given that Shiv Sena has 55 members in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Shinde needs the support of 2/3rd MLAs (or 37 MLAs) to avoid being penalised under the anti-defection law.

Eknath Shinde proposes to return to Shiv Sena if it allies with the BJP

Amid the ongoing political turmoil in Maharashtra, Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak met rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and other MLAs camping in Surat on Tuesday (June 21) to defuse the situation.

According to the reports, Shinde proposed to Narvekar that he would return to the party if Shiv Sena formed a government with the BJP. In his meeting with Narvekar and Phatak, Shinde and other MLAs reportedly insisted that Hindutva was paramount to them and that they would not compromise on it.

Reportedly, Narvekar also facilitated a call between Eknath Shinde and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, which went on for 15 minutes and during which the latter assured the rebel Shiv Sena leader that his issues would be resolved.

BJP-led NDA announces Tribal leader Draupadi Murmu as their Presidential candidate

OpIndia Staff
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BJP-led NDA announces Tribal leader Draupadi Murmu as their Presidential candidate

The BJP-led NDA coalition has announced Odisha Tribal leader Draupadi Murmu as the Presidential candidate for the upcoming elections.

While announcing Draupadi Murmu’s candidature, BJP president JP Nadda said it is the first time that preference has been given to a woman tribal candidate.

The announcement came in the wake of the reports that BJP had zeroed in on a few names, including that of Draupadi Murmu, for the constitutional post.

Born on June 20, 1958, Murmu has held several key positions throughout her illustrious political career, including the post of Jharkhand Governor which served from 2015 to 2021. Besides being the first woman Governor of Jharkhand, she is the first woman and tribal leader from Odisha to be appointed a governor in an Indian state.

Murmu was the Minister of State with independent charge for Commerce and Transport from March 6, 2000 to August 6, 2002 and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development from August 6, 2002 to May 16, 2004, during the BJP-BJD coalition government in Odisha. She has also served as the former Odisha Minister and an MLA from the Rairangpur assembly constituency in the years 2000 and 2004.

Opposition parties select Yashwant Sinha as their Presidential candidate

Earlier today, On Tuesday, TMC Vice President Yashwant Sinha was declared the candidate for the upcoming Presidential Elections which are due on July 18. Sinha was backed by Mamata Banerjee, NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar, the Congress and other parties who unanimously backed him as their choice for the President.

Twitter user creates history: Here are the three major predictions of his, including NDA candidate for Pres polls, that came true

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter user creates history: Here are the three major predictions of his, including NDA candidate for Pres polls, that came true

Twitter user Niks has created history, so to say, by being consistent with his absolute spot-on predictions that have created history of sort in India.

On June 13, Niks tweeted how he was potentially on the verge of Internet mortality as two out of his three predictions have come true and the third one, of NDA Presidential candidate, if comes true, would be nothing short of Internet immortality, so to say.

On 27 August 2018, full three years before Neerja Chopra won gold for India at the Olympics and made us all proud, Niks had posted a message on his Facebook profile that he would bring us a gold at Olympic. What he predicted came true in August 2021, three years later, when Chopra created history at Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Prior to that, on 2nd February 2016, just before the NDA declared the Presidential candidate, Niks had predicted it would be Ramnath Kovind, who was the then Governor of Bihar. He had said how he was a tall Dalit leader and came from highly educated background and was also from the RSS.

On 9th June 2022, Niks had again predicted Draupadi Murmu as the NDA presidential candidate. He had said that she is an educated woman and a tall Tribal leader and also from the RSS background.

Just few minutes back the NDA declared her as the Presidential candidate against Yashwant Sinha, ex-TMC VP who is being pitched by the ‘United Opposition’.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Sarma files a 100 crore defamation suit against Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia

OpIndia Staff
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Sarma files a 100 crore defamation suit against Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia

Riniki Sarma, the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has filed a Rupees 100 Crore defamation case against Aam Aadmi Party leader and deputy CM of Delhi, Manish Sisodia. The case has been filed against Sisodia for leveling corruption allegations in the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits in Assam during the Covid pandemic period.

The issue started when the leftist propaganda outlet The Wire published a report alleging that a firm owned by Riniki Bhuyan Sarma was given an order to supply PPE kits and other Covid-19 essentials without following due procedure. However, Riniki Sarma immediately refuted the allegations declaring that she supplied the PPE kits free of cost without charging a penny, as a humanitarian gesture.

However, AAP, which is famous for its ‘shoot and scoot‘ policy, decided to attack Assam CM Sarma and his wife over it. Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia thought it is prudent to comment on Assam and attacked Assam CM over this alleged ‘corruption’. Sisodia shared a canceled purchase order as the ‘proof’ of his allegations.

Following these allegations, Himanta Biswa Sarma hit back at Sisodia for leveling these corruption allegations, asked Manish Sisodia to stop sermonizing, and told him to get ready for a criminal defamation case on the matter. Now that criminal defamation case has been filed by Riniki Sarma.

Manish Sisodia is not the first senior AAP leader to face a defamation case for baseless corruption allegations. Previously, party supremo Arvind Kejriwal had to apologize to BJP leaders Late Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari for leveling false allegations against them after they filed defamation cases against the Delhi CM.

‘For us, Hindutva is paramount, and we won’t compromise on it’: Eknath Shinde reportedly proposes to return to Shiv Sena if it allies with the BJP

OpIndia Staff
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‘For us, Hindutva is paramount, and we won’t compromise on it’: Eknath Shinde reportedly proposes to return to Shiv Sena if it allies with the BJP

Amid the ongoing political turmoil in Maharashtra, Maharashtra CM’s representatives—Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak—met rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and other MLAs camping in Surat to defuse the situation. According to the reports, Shinde proposed to Narvekar that he would return to the party if Shiv Sena formed a government with the BJP.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray earlier today dispatched two of his trusted aides—Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak—to Surat to have a detailed discussion with Eknath Shinde and other MLAs to solve the internecine conflict that stem the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the neighbouring state.

In his meeting with Narvekar and Phatak, Shinde and other MLAs reportedly insisted that Hindutva was paramount to them and that they would not compromise on it. As per reports, Narvekar also facilitated a call between Eknath Shinde and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, which went on for 15 minutes and during which the latter assured the rebel Shiv Sena leader that his issues would be resolved.

Meanwhile, Narvekar and Phatak left for Mumbai after meeting with Eknath Shinde and other rebel MLAs. After reaching Mumbai, he will directly go to the Varsha Bungalow to meet the CM.

According to Republic TV, the meeting between Maharashtra CM’s envoys and rebel MLAs went on for over 1.5 hours, during which Eknath Shinde talked to Uddhav Thackeray over the phone and expressed his displeasure at slogans being raised against him and his posters torn down during the protests held back in Maharashtra.

The report said Shinde asked for more time from CM Uddhav Thackeray to decide the future course of action. CM Uddhav reportedly agreed and assured him that his issues would be addressed.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra found itself on precarious terrain after Shinde and his loyalist MLAs went “missing”. It was later found that they had reached a hotel in Surat late Monday night, hours after the results of the MLC polls in Maharashtra were declared. As per the latest information, 30 Shiv Sena MLAs and 2 independent MLAs are camping at Le Meridian Hotel in Gujarat’s Surat. They are said to be in constant touch with the BJP and also plan to meet Devendra Fadnavis, who is scheduled to leave Delhi in a while, sources said.

Ladki hoon lad sakti hoon: Women Congress leaders spit, assault police personnel, and throw tantrums while participating in multiple protests

OpIndia Staff
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Ladki hoon lad sakti hoon: Women Congress leaders spit, assault police personnel, and throw tantrums while participating in multiple protests

Female Congress leaders have been assaulting police personnel without any fear of the law. Under the garb of peaceful protests, they have manhandled officers on duty and even thrown tantrums.

In the latest development, Netta D’Souza was seen spitting at police officials during a protest against the newly launched Agnipath scheme. D’Souza is the Acting President of the All India Mahila Congress.

While the Congress leader had been claiming to fight for the rights of ‘men in uniform’, she was seen treating police personnel with utmost disrespect.

Alka Lamba pushes cop, then cries foul

Netta D’Souza is not the only Congress leader who has misbehaved with the cops. On Tuesday (June 21), Congress leader Alka Lamba manhandled a police officer but later accused the same officer of trying to break her neck.

She held a protest at Jantar Mantar against the Agnipath scheme and the recent interrogation of Congress scion Rahul Gandhi in connection to the National Herald Case.

After being asked to vacate the place, Alka Lamba lay on the ground and chanted, “Bharat Mata ki Jai, Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan.” When a female police officer tried to lift her off the ground, she shoved the cop and hit her on her leg.

Then she accused the police officer of trying to break her neck.“Why are you holding my neck? Tell them to leave me alone. What do I have on me? Do I have an AK-47? Do I have a bomb? I am weaponless,” she was heard as saying.

Using the minor scuffle as an opportunity to make a larger political point, the Congress leader claimed that Agniveers would break necks of defenceless people in a similar fashion after being trained for 4 years.

Renuka Chowdhury grabs the collar of a police officer on duty

On June 16 this year, the Congress’ Chalo Raj Bhavan rally in Hyderabad turned violent, after party workers torched a scooter and shattered the glass panes of a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation bus.

During the protests, members of Congress clashed with police officers who were trying to control the law and order situation. When the officers were trying to take Renuka Chowdhury into custody, she and the cops got into a dispute. Renuka Chowdhury lost her calm and grabbed the collar of a police Sub-Inspector.

The police officer was seen maintaining restraint and not taking any coercive action against the Congress leader. Other party workers were seen trying to calm Chowdhury down and move her hand away from the policeman’s collar.

Despite the insolent behaviour of the three female Congress leaders with the law enforcement authorities, they have neither been reprimanded nor condemned in public by the Congress high command.

Islamic terrorists linked with the dreaded terrorist group Al-Qaeda kill 132 civilians over the weekend in Mali

OpIndia Staff
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Islamic terrorists linked with the dreaded terrorist group Al-Qaeda kill 132 civilians over the weekend in Mali

The government of the Republic of Mali in West Africa confirmed on Monday that as many as 132 civilians have been killed in recent attacks by Islamic terrorists in the country.

According to authorities, the killings occurred when numerous villages in the Bankass area in Mali’s central Mopti region were attacked on Saturday and Sunday. The attacks were carried out by Islamic terrorists belonging to the Katiba Macina armed group affiliated with the dreaded terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

Colonel Assimi Goita, the chairman of the ruling junta, has declared three days of national mourning, beginning on Tuesday, June 21.

Meanwhile, Moulaye Guindo, the mayor of Bankass told The Associated Press news agency, “Investigators are on the spot today to find out exactly what happened.”

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) took to Twitter today to share a press release wherein it strongly condemned the attack on civilian populations in the Center of Mali.

Yesterday too, it had issued a statement on Twitter saying it is concerned by “attacks against civilians in the Bandiagara region (the area of central Mali) perpetrated by extremist groups. These attacks have reportedly caused casualties and displacement of populations,” the Tweet read, adding that “MINUSMA immediately contacted the civilian and military authorities and plans to send a support mission to protect civilians and stabilize the area.”

The attack which occurred over the weekend indicates how rapidly Islamic extremist violence is expanding from Mali’s north to the country’s core regions, such as Bankass. In fact, several hundred civilians have been killed in attacks by Islamic terrorists in central and northern Mali since the beginning of 2022.

Islamic insurgency in Mali, Africa

Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa, has been struggling to contain the Islamic terrorism which first emerged in the north of the country in 2012, overtaking a rebellion by mostly ethnic Tuareg separatists. Attacks have since spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and are threatening other neighbouring countries as well. The entire region remains unstable.

France, which had earlier ruled these regions, had launched a military operation to drive back the Islamists in 2013. Over the years, fighting and civil unrest have engulfed the country and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger leaving thousands dead in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of people remain internally displaced, many seeking ways to flee to other countries for survival.

The United Nations has some 13,000 troops deployed in Mali as part of its peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, while France has 5,100 personnel deployed in the Sahel region.

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