Pro-democracy youth activists in Myanmar are smearing the streets with red paint in Yangon (AKA Rangoon) and all throughout Myanmar in order to protest the Myanmar military’s February 1st coup. The death toll from the daily clashes between the protestors and the military in the wake of the coup has now risen to at least 570.
Young people in Yangon’s Tamwe Township launched a “Blood Strike” on Tuesday, spraying red paint, symbolizing blood, in public places to honor fallen anti-coup protesters and express their continued defiance of the military junta. (Photo: CJ) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmarpic.twitter.com/kUaUT22y4w
— The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) April 6, 2021
The young activists spray-painted messages on building, pavements and roads as part of the “bleeding dye strike”. This strike allowed the protestors to express their opposition to the military rule, without risking detention or getting hurt by the authorities.
In the images circulating on the internet, activists were also shown giving a “three finger salute”, a style of salute which has been popularized by the extremely famous Hunger Games trilogy of books and movies. The Hunger Games is a young adult story about struggling against authoritarian control.
Outside of Yangon, pro-democracy demonstrations were held in areas like Dawei, Hpa-an, Kachin, Karen and Mandalay. Clashes and protests have become a daily occurrence in Myanmar in the aftermath of the February 1 coup.
Since the military coup, approximately 2,700 people have been detained by authorities. Around 570 people have died, including almost 50 children.
Myanmar has a long history of military rule, being under military control from its independence in 1962 to 2011. Now, the military has once again established its rule over Myanmar, deposing the civilian government led by Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup and then later detaining her, only months after Suu Kyi’s political party handily beat the Military-backed political alliance.
Just a couple of days after a 25-year-old Muslim man wrongfully induced a minor girl aged 16 to run away from her home, the UP police apprehended the two, bring the man back to Amroha in handcuffs. The minor girl was given the “protective custody” of a policewoman.
The 25-year-old Muslim carpenter has been booked by the police under the state’s anti-conversion law which came into force last year. The anti-conversion law is expressly aimed at preventing forced conversions under the pretext of love and marriage. This practice is also termed “Grooming Jihad”.
According to the Police, the minor girl claimed that Afzal, the accused’s real name, had “lured her” claiming that he was a Hindu named Arman Kohli. Afzal is a resident of Sambhal and was arrested from Delhi’s Usmanpur area. He had planned to go to a relative’s house with the minor girl. Afzal is now languishing in jail.
The SHO of Hasanpur Kotwali, Sanjay Tomar, told TOI, “A complaint was registered regarding a man abducting a 16-year-old girl two days ago. An FIR was registered against the accused under IPC section 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc) and under state anti-conversion law 2020.”
“During questioning, the minor girl told police that they were in contact for the last few months. She said that the man “lured” her by saying that his name was Arman Kohli, and he was a Hindu. She also said that Afzal tried to convert her,” the SHO added.
According to the girl’s family, the minor girl disappeared two days ago after she left home for some work but never came back. Later on, the locals informed the family about seeing the minor girl with a man.
This case is yet another example of Grooming Jihad, where a Muslim man pretends to be a Hindu in order to forcefully convert their spouse at a later date under a wrongful pretext. In order to guard against this, the Yogi Government passed the Vidhi Virudh Dharmantaran 2020 law against forced conversions.
Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen courted another controversy after she said on Monday that English cricketer and CSK player Moeen Ali would have strayed away to become an ISIS terrorist had he not stuck to cricket.
Nasreen’s acerbic comment came in the wake of several reports that claimed England all-rounder Moeen Ali had requested his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to remove the logo of an alcohol brand from his jersey.
Taking to Twitter, Taslima said, “If Moeen Ali were not stuck with cricket, he would have gone to Syria to join ISIS.”
Source: Twitter
Taslima Nasreen’s tweet on Moeen Ali sparks outrage on social media
Nasreen’s tweet sparked an outrage on the internet, with many cricketers and prominent personalities reacting to the Bangladeshi author’s tweet for her controversial post on the English cricketer.
Cricketer Jofra Archer hit back at Taslima, questioning her if she is okay. “Are you okay? I don’t think you’re okay,” the fast-bowler tweeted.
Another cricketer Ben Duckett also expressed his disgust with the tweet, asking people to report the account.
“This is the problem with this app. People being able to say stuff like this. Disgusting. Things need to change, please report this account!” Duckett tweeted while quoting Taslima Nasreen’s tweet on Moeen Ali.
This is the problem with this app. People being able to say stuff like this. Disgusting. Things need to change, please report this account! https://t.co/uveSFqbna0
Not just crickets but others were also outraged by the tweet.
Disgraceful. And the follow up to trying to justify this tweet as sarcastic is outright stupid. Surely there are better ways to make a point than to attack a decent man on the basis of his religion. You should be ashamed @taslimanasreenhttps://t.co/s8N2xhpNZG
A barrage of online criticism and abuses were directed at Taslima after she insinuated that Moeen Ali would have joined ISIS were it not for cricket.
However, Nasreen, defending herself, said that her tweet on Moeen Ali was sarcastic and her detractors used it to target her.
“Haters know very well that my Moeen Ali tweet was sarcastic. But they made that an issue to humiliate me because I try to secularize Muslim society & I oppose Islamic fanaticism. One of the greatest tragedies of humankind is pro-women leftists support anti-women Islamists,” Nasreen said in a subsequent tweet.
Source: Twitter
CSK CEO quashes reports of Moeen Ali asking the franchisee to remove logo of an alcohol brand from his jersey
Earlier on Sunday, several reports emerged that claimed that England all-rounder Moeen Ali had requested his IPL franchisee to remove an alcohol brand name from his team jersey. The reports claimed Ali, who doesn’t drink or promote alcohol, had asked for the logo of SNJ 10000 to be taken off from his shirt.
SNJ 10000 is a beer brand of the Chennai-based SNJ Distilleries, one of the sponsors of Chennai Super Kings. CSK had recently unveiled their new jersey for the upcoming season which also sports a camouflage as a mark of tribute to the Indian armed forces.
However, a day later, CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan quashed the reports, claiming that no such request was made by the England all-rounder.
Prasad Kulkarni, once a renowned magician, was forced to start a fast food stall for survival last year after his business was severely affected by the lockdown. However, the fresh lockdown announced in the state of Maharashtra in view of the sudden surge in cases has wreaked havoc in the lives of small business owners, especially the ones in the eatery business.
Prasad Kulkarni in an emotional and explicit video shared by Lokmat on its Facebook page narrated that the ever-changing rules by the government has made it difficult for him to sustain his fast-food stall in the city of Pune. While not against the measures taken to curb the rise in fresh Covid-19 cases, Kulkarni appealed that the government should give serious thought before taking an impulsive decision of lockdown.
He said that the eateries complied with the delivery rule by the government despite a clear possibility of heavy revenue loss. However, he said that the government then released a new directive to stop deliveries post 8 pm, and now the two new regulations imposed by the government forced him to make a video on the condition of small-time business owners like him.
He said that eateries are being forced to deliver only through food delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy. Takeaways have been restricted by the police and now the government has asked all the eateries to shut after 6 pm.
Kulkarni revealed that from being a magician to selling a vada pav worth Rs 10 for survival, he supported the government in every fight against the pandemic. But now it is getting difficult for them to survive in the fresh lockdown imposed as the sales in the stipulated time is not enough to keep the business afloat.
He informed that he has to pay a rent of Rs 40,000 monthly rent for the shop and keep aside Rs 4000 regularly for the salaries of his staff. He questions the government how he would recover the expenditure with deliveries only that too with limited hours of functioning. It is imperative to note that eateries can function only on weekdays as the state government has imposed a complete lockdown on weekends till the end of this month.
Kulkarni in his video urges the government to give small-time business owners like him poison instead. He states while they survived and accepted the first lockdown considering the uncertainty of the virus, the second lockdown he suggests is mindless and will result in more deaths due to hunger than the virus.
He brought to the notice of the viewers that there are many students in Pune who are dependent on food outlets for their daily meals and such regulations will add to their misery as well. At the end of the video, Kulkarni with a heavy heart announced the closure of his famous Kulkarni vada pav stall.
The restaurant industry which was just getting back on its feet after suffering heavy losses in the last lockdown is expected to take a bad hit again. The Maharashtra government, on Sunday late night, announced the imposition of weekend lockdown and night curfew despite being warned by the Centre.
The Centre in a high-level meeting had made it clear to the Maharashtra government almost two weeks back that weekend lockdowns and night curfews have limited impact on containing and suppressing transmission of the coronavirus and that the state should look for alternate robust measures.
Dr Swapna Patker, a renowned psychologist and producer of Marathi film Balkadu (biopic of Shivsena founder and leader Balasaheb Thackeray), in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has alleged that she is being harassed, tortured and abused by Shiv Sena MP and Editor of Saamana, Sanjay Raut, since the past eight years.
Dr Swapna informed OpIndia that she used to write columns for Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece publication Saamna from 2009-2014 and also took care of some of Sanjay Raut’s Rajya Sabha work. However, when she decided to get back to her profession from her passion, Dr Swapna alleged that Sanjay Raut was not happy with her decision and started to heckle, harass and torture her.
Detailing her ordeal in a two-page letter to the Prime Minister which is pinned on her Twitter profile, Dr Swapna appealed for justice and security. Appealing that her matter be considered at the earliest, she said her complaints were ignored by the police, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, ex-Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and other officials of Maharashtra as the perpetrator has a stronghold in the political party. Dr Swapna claimed that she also met NCP leader Supriya Sule to narrate her ordeal, but that just made matters worse for her.
— Dr Swapna – Dream & Happiness (@drswapnapatker) March 30, 2021
She said, being an educated and empowered woman, she seeks justice and not sympathy.
Dr Swapna in her letter stated that she had been attacked physically in 2013, multiple false cases have been filed against her, her family and friends have been tortured for the past eight years yet no action has been taken by the police department on any of her complaints. She alleged that her relatives were once called and assaulted on the third floor of Shiv Sena Bhavan.
The owner of Dream & Happiness Wellness Centre, Dr Swapna also alleged that Raut had made multiple attempts to malign her character, defame her and wreck her professional life. She says that she was threatened of being slapped with a prostitution case. She says that she has been the victim of vulgar abuses over phone calls and has also received vulgar video calls.
Dr Swapna also made a shocking allegation against retired ACP and encounter specialist Praful Bhosle. Dr Patker claimed that in 2014, she was called in multiple times by the cop and harassed in a false extortion case filed by Sanjay Raut. The matter settled after Dr Swapna informed the cop that she will visit the police station only after she receives a written official order and asked the accuser to take up the matter legally.
Dr Swapna who has been tweeting regularly to seek justice informed that her trauma continues despite filing numerous complaints with the police, NCW and National Human Rights Commission, India. She has now filed a writ petition in the Mumbai High Court.
In her pinned Tweet, Dr Patker stated that she fears her case will be looked at only after her death just like that of Mansukh Hiren.
Controversial actress Swara Bhasker spread a misleading claim on Tuesday while trying to attack filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri and the BJP over Naxal terrorism. She used a now deleted News18 report which made a false claim to attack her ideological opponents.
Swara Bhasker makes misleading claims
The News18 report is from the 28th of August, 2015 and has now been deleted. The headline of the report read, “Two BJP leaders among 13 convicted for supplying arms to Naxals”. The report appears to have been deleted because there does not appear to have been the involvement of any BJP leader in the particular matter.
News18 has deleted the report
The News18 report was flagged by Reddit users as well for peddling misleading information. Users noted how other media reports had mentioned that the two were businessman with alleged political connections but there was no mention of them being BJP leaders.
Reddit users labeled the news report misleading
Three days later, the Indian Express reported on the same matter and does not mention anything about the accused being BJP leaders. The headline of the report on the 31st of August, 2015 read, “8 arrested, police probe ‘deal’ between Maoists, mining firms”.
Thus, clearly, the news report used by Swara Bhasker to attack the BJP and Vivek Agnihotri contained false information about BJP leaders being arrested for Naxal connection. Having said that, there have been occasions in the past when BJP leaders have been arrested for alleged Naxal links. However, the one cited by the controversial actress is based on false information.
Swara Bhasker has spread false claims in the past as well, notably when she claimed that a real photograph of Azad Maidan riots was fake.
Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the leader of the Islamist militant group Tahrir-al-Sham operating in Northwestern Syria, recently gave an interview to the American investigative documentary program, Frontline. In this interview, al-Julani clearly states that his group, Tahrir-al-Sham, poses no threat at all to either the West or the United States and that their only goal is to fight Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian forces and ISIS.
“First and foremost, this region does not represent a threat to the security of Europe and America,” al-Julani told the interviewer. “This region is not a staging ground for executing foreign jihad.”
Abu Muhammad al-Julani has been one of the most notorious Islamist terrorists in Syria, with the U.S. designating al-Julani as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in May 2013, offering a $10 million reward for information leading to al-Julani’s capture. Abu al-Julani was one of the founders and the Emir (leader) of the Islamist terror group Al-Nusrah Front, designated as a Foreign Terrorist organization by the USA in December 2012. In 2013, Al-Nusrah Front became the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria.
The US State Department had cited the group’s “violent, sectarian vision” and said al-Julani’s “ultimate goal is the overthrow of the Syrian regime and the institution of Islamist sharia law throughout the country,” adding that suicide attacks carried out by his group “killed innocent Syrian civilians.”
Al-Julani was a part of Al Qaeda
Prior to Al-Nusrah Front’s formation, al-Julani was a part of Islamist Jihadist organizations like Al Qaeda in Iraq and Islamic State in Iraq. In his past, Abu al-Julani fought American troops in Iraq, before taking on the current role of commanding an Islamist militant rebel group against the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad.
Tahrir-al-Sham, the organization Abu al-Julani presently commands, was formed in 2017 after a merger of five Syrian Islamist militant rebel groups, including the Al-Nusrah Front. This new Islamist rebel group, Tahrir-al-Sham, was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. in May 2017. Turkey and Canada also consider Tahrir-al-Sham a terrorist organization.
However, in the interview, al-Julani has challenged his terrorist designation, terming it as “unfair” and “political”.
“We didn’t say we want to fight,” al-Julani told the interviewer. Speaking on his connection to Al Qaeda, al-Julani says it “has ended”. Abu al-Julani stresses that his only focus is Syria and that his group is “against carrying out operations outside of Syria.”
The interview was recorded in the early weeks of February in the Idlib Province of Syria, which is under the control of the Syrian Salvation Government, a de facto alternative government of the Syrian Opposition forces in the Idlib province. Idlib province is one of the last Syrian rebel strongholds against the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad and is home to almost 3 million people.
Over the past two years, Idlib has come under attack from the Syrian Government coalition of Syrian, Iranian and Russian forces as Bashar al-Assad seeks to restore his country by wiping out the last strongholds of the Syrian rebels. Tahrir-al-Sham is the strongest Islamist Syrian rebel militia in Idlib.
Former U.S. ambassador James Jeffery, who served as Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, said that al-Julani’s organization is an “asset” to America in Idlib.
“They are the least bad option of the various options on Idlib, and Idlib is one of the most important places in Syria, which is one of the most important places right now in the Middle East,” Jeffrey said in an interview on March 8.
Many Human Rights Organizations have documented multiple human rights violations by Tahrir-al-Sham, including indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas. These attacks led to scores of civilian casualties and may have amounted to war crimes, according to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI).
In the interview, al-Julani said he would grant access to International Human Rights Organizations to Idlib’s prisons.
“Human rights organizations could come and inspect the prisons or take a tour,” al-Julani said. “Our institutions are open to anyone. Organizations are welcome. Or people who are interested in this matter can visit and assess the situation. Are things being done properly or not?”
The Syrian civil war
The Syrian Civil War has been raging on for almost 10 years now. The civil war is seemingly in its twilight, with the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad controlling more than 65% of the country as of the present date. The only major Syrian rebel stronghold is in the Idlib province, where the designated terrorist militia, Tahrir-al-Sham, is the most powerful.
If Assad successfully manages to take Idlib, it will be a defeat for the Americans, who have backed Islamists and other Syrian rebel groups against the Assad government. Therefore, this interview of Abu al-Julani, sort of like an introduction to American audiences, can be viewed as an attempt to soften or improve al-Julani’s image in America. However, this is just speculation till the USA officially removes the terrorist designation from Abu al-Julani and Tahrir-al-Sham.
India is currently experiencing the second wave of Covid-19, and the number of cases is rising exponentially from the last few weeks. Just a month ago, on March 7, India had reported 18,000+ cases in contrast to April 4, where over one lakh new cases were reported in a single day. In just a month, the cases saw a 5-times jump.
Congress-led states among the top contributors
Currently, Congress is in power in five legislative assemblies – Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. While in the first three states, Congress is in the absolute majority, in the latter two states, it is part of an alliance. In Maharashtra, it has formed a government with Shiv Sena and NCP under Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA, and in Jharkhand, it formed the government as a part of Mahagathbandhan or MGB.
Maharashtra is the top contributor
Maharashtra has been the top contributor of Covid-19 cases in India. The uncontrolled rise of coronavirus cases in the state has pushed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to impose lockdown in the state. It is pertinent to note that the central government had advised the Maharashtra government to not impose a lockdown but focus on effective containment. The central government had said that at this point in time, lockdowns would not help curb the case. However, Maharashtra has gone against that advice and imposed a lockdown in certain parts and weekend lockdown in other areas anyway.
For example, in Pune, it is reported that all shops are supposed to be shut till 30th April. Maharashtra has now announced a full lockdown over the weekends and several restrictions to be imposed through the month of April.
The state has been consistently reporting 45,000+ cases from the last six days. On April 4, it broke all records and reported 57,000+ cases in a single day.
Maharashtra is the worst performer in handling Covid-19 cases (Data from Covid19India.org)
Rajasthan is looking at rising numbers
The state of Rajasthan was reporting less than 500 cases a day just a month ago. The situation started to change on March 22 when it reported 602 cases. On March 28, the state reported over 1000 cases. Since April 3, Rajasthan has been reporting 1500+ cases, and on April 5, it reported over 2,400 cases.
Rajasthan saw a sudden spike in last week of March (Data from Covid19India.org)
Chhattisgarh walking on the same line as Rajasthan
Just a month ago, Chhattisgarh was reporting less than 500 cases. The situation started to get worse on March 15, when it reported 500+ cases. By March 18, the state was reporting 1000+ cases. On April 1, it reported 4,617+ cases which further rose to 7,300+ on April 5.
The cases started to rise around mid-March in Chhattisgarh (Data from Covid19India.org)
Jharkhand rose from 40+ cases to 1000+ in one month
In just a month, the state of Jharkhand went from 40+ cases to 1000+ cases in a day. On March 6, the state reported only 44 new cases. The situation started to go out of hands-on on March 26 when the number of cases rose beyond the 250+ mark. By April 1, it crossed the 600+ mark, and on April 5, the state reported over 1,000 cases in a single day.
Jharkhand saw a spike in third week of March (Data from Covid19India.org)
Punjab is on the path to see the worse situation
A month ago, the situation in Punjab was already on the decline as it was reporting over 1,000 cases. By March 17, the number rose above 2,000 cases in a single day. Since March 26, the number of new cases per day has been consistently jumping between 2,750 and 3,100.
Punjab has been consistent in increasing its contribution to the national Covid-19 tally (Data from Covid19India.org)
Approx 63% of new cases came from Congress-ruled states
On April 5, Congress-led states Maharashtra (47,288), Chhattisgarh (7,302), Punjab (2,692), Rajasthan (2,429) and Jharkhand (1,086) reported 60,797 out of 96,982 total cases reported in India, making these five states contributing approx 63% in the total tally.
Green: Congress-ruled states, Saffron: BJP ruled states, Yellow: UT/President Rule, Blue: Other parties. Data for April 5 collected from https://www.covid19india.org/, Arogya Setu app and MoHFW
Other Non-BJP states contributed 15% (approx) of cases
Other non-BJP ruled states, that are Delhi (3,548), Andhra Pradesh (1,326), Kerala (2,357), Tamil Nadu (3,672), West Bengal (1,961), and Telangana (1,498), contributed approx 15% of new cases on April 5.
BJP-ruled states contributed close to 22% (approx) of cases
The states that are under BJP rule individually (eight states) or in alliance (nine states) or under centre’s or president rule contributed approx 22% new cases on April 5. These states are Arunachal Pradesh (2), Assam (70), Bihar (935), Goa (247), Gujarat (3,106), Haryana (2,040), Himachal Pradesh (567), Karnataka (5,279), Madhya Pradesh (3,398), Manipur (5), Meghalaya (4), Mizoram (9), Nagaland (2), Sikkim (6), Tripura (14), Uttar pradesh (3,974), Uttarakhand (547), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (7), Chandigarh (285), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (26), Jammu and Kashmir (442), Ladakh (48), Lakshadweep (3), and Puducherry (180).
Covid-19 cases in India
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, so far India has reported a total of 1,26,86,049 Covid-19 cases out of which 1,17,32,279 have recovered. There are 7,88,223 active cases in the country and 1,65,547 have lost their lives. On April 5, India reported 96,982 new cases.
In an appalling incident in Kerala, Islamists have allegedly attacked a Christian farmer named Shaji for the apparent crime of selling non-Halal meat in Meenangadi, located in Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad District. Reportedly, Shaji was force-fed the raw meat by Islamists in a horrifying act. The Islamists also burnt down the delivery trucks carrying the non-Halal meat.
The incident allegedly occurred when Shaji had gone to the area with 150 kg of fresh meat (beef and pork) in a three-wheeler, some members of Kisan Mitra claim.
As per reports, a farmer’s collective called Kisan Mitra, which has about 6,000 members in Kerala, had initiated the sale of fresh non-Halal meat on the occasion of Easter Sunday. This initiative is what irked the Islamic fundamentalists, as the low quality of Halal meat in Kerala is an open secret. This low quality is the reason why Kisan Mitra decided to supply fresh, good quality meat.
The Non-Halal meat has received quite a positive response from the general public in Kerala, as per reports. Fearing the end of Halal meat dominance as people prefer non-Halal is allegedly the primary reason behind the attack.
After being attacked brutally by Islamists, Shaji can be seen on video, stating that he cannot figure out the cause of the attack.
“I can’t figure out what is their problem? Those who want to smoke, let them smoke. Those who want to eat buffalo meat, let them eat. Those who like pork, let them eat. Those who do not like it, why are they indulging in physical attacks on us,” said Shaji.
The main coordinator behind Kisan Mitra, Manoj Cherian, has received death threats from Islamists. Islamists have threatened to hack him to pieces if Cherian sells pork, which according to the Islamists is “haram”.
According to reports, an investigation has been launched into the incident.
On Monday (April 5), a BJP worker and his mother were brutally assaulted by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in Tarakeswar in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. The gruesome incident took place prior to the 3rd phase of Vidhan Sabha elections in the State.
India Today journalist Poulomi Saha reported that the victim has been identified as one Srabani Chowdhury. She was attacked by TMC party workers and her earlobe was torn. This occurred when Chowdhury, a BJP worker, tried to protect her son from the hands of the TMC goons.
She says her earlobe was torn by alleged TMC partyworkers last night when she tried to stop them from beating her son, who is a BJP partyworker. #BattleForBengalpic.twitter.com/IXZGUVmmlj
In a disturbing image shared by the journalist, it can be seen that the victim’s ear lobe is torn. The goons forcibly removed her earring, leading to profuse bleeding. Swapan Das Gupta, the BJP candidate from Tarakeswar Vidhan Sabha constituency, slammed the ruling dispensation for their atrocities against his party workers.
While speaking about the matter, he said, “You can see a shop behind you that is completely smashed and another one in front of you. A lady had her earlobes badly hit because her earring was taken out. This was because her son is a BJP worker. Despite this, the brave lady went to vote because she said that she has overcome fear now. But, this is the reality. Poor people are losing their livelihood because of the vandalism by the TMC.”
BJP agents stopped from entering polling booths in Tarakeswar
A BJP agent was also stopped from entering the booth in the Tarakeswar Vidhan Sabha constituency in Hooghly district. When the candidate from the said constituency Swapan Das Gupta reached the Jamdara Sree Bharati Vidyapeeth school, he found that the BJP agent was not inside the booth. According to News 18 Bangla, the BJP worker confided to Gupta that he was being intimidated for over a week. He also complained about receiving death threats.
Following this, Swapan Das Gupta held the agent’s hand and took him inside the booth. While speaking about the matter, the former Rajya Sabha MP said, “Amader agent ke dhukta dai ni. Amader agent kunu karona dhukta para ni. Setai ami dekhchi (Our agent was stopped from getting inside the booth. Our agent could not reach the booth for some reason. I am looking into it).”
