The tomato farmers in Madhya Pradesh have put forth a unique barter deal to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, providing him with an opportunity to get tomatoes if he returns Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and apologises for the past sins committed by his country against India.
Amidst the unprecedented economic crisis bedevilling Pakistan, the citizens are suffering from high inflation as prices of essential commodities, especially vegetables previously imported from India such as tomatoes are hitting the roof. Following the abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan had unilaterally snapped all trade ties with India, triggering prices of tomatoes to skyrocket in its local vegetable markets.
The farmers of Jhabua from Madhya Pradesh used to export tons of tomatoes to Pakistan before the deterioration of relationship between the two countries. However, the cancellation of trade with Pakistan has adverse impact on the farmers who have come up with the novel idea of writing a letter to the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
They have advised Imran Khan to give back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to India, hand over terrorist Hafiz Saeed and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, make an apology for “past sins” and take tomatoes from them. The farmers have posted their letter addressed to Khan on Twitter, tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan embassy in the post.
The letter read, “If the Pakistan PM accepts our demand, our district unit would think about recommencing exports and would exhort the government of India to continue supplies.” Tomatoes were sold at Rs 400 to 500 a crate(around 25 Kgs) by the farmers of Jhabua when the relation between India and Pakistan were normal.
The farmers also organised a protest in Jhabua on Sunday wherein they shouted “PoK do-Tamatar lo” (Give PoK, take tomatoes). An elderly farmer who took part in the protest said, “We heard people in Pakistan are paying Rs 300/400 per Kg for tomatoes. If Pakistan PM Imran Khan considers tendering an apology for his country’s past sins, we may to consider thinking of resuming the tomato exports to Pakistan.”
Tomatoes in Pakistan have become such a rare and privileged commodity that the tomato farm owners in Pakistan are deploying armed guards to prevent their farms being robbed by thieves.
Ever since the ban on import of tomatoes from India, prices of tomatoes in local vegetable markets in Pakistan have hit the roof. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the average price of tomato in Pakistan hovered around Rs 180/Kg with several parts of the country witnessing the tomatoes being sold at a whopping Rs 300/Kg. A few days back tomatoes were being sold at Rs 320/Kg in Karachi.
In a barbaric incident, a 27-year-old veterinarian Dr Preeti Reddy (name changed) was brutally murdered and her body was set ablaze after allegedly raping her on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Wednesday night. Four people have been reportedly arrested in connection with the case.
The Hyderabad police have formed 10 special teams to nab the guilty. The clues team and the dog squad has lost been pressed into service. CCTV footage has been collected and they are looking into it for more clues. pic.twitter.com/VtCprox2Ej
According to the reports, the four accused had pre-planned the crime after they had noticed that the victim had parked her two-wheeler at the Tondupally toll plaza. The accused assumed that the lady would come to pick it up later in the evening. The accused then deflated the tyre.
As Preeti Reddy was returning home from work a little after 8 pm to pick her vehicle, she noticed a flat tyre. She immediately called her sister, who suggested that she leave her two-wheeler at the toll plaza and take a cab home. Before she could, two men approached her, who offered to take her vehicle for repair.
The woman was allegedly ambushed and dragged into the bushes by the accused barely 50 metres from Tondupally toll plaza behind a line of trucks that was parked near road. Her charred body was found under an underpass today morning.
We can’t protect our daughters, sisters or friends from Nirbhaya to Priyanka, not even one rapist is hanged.
According to police, the accused took her body to an under-construction bridge a few kilometres away and set it on fire. The police stated that the victim’s innerwear, and some other objects including an alchohol bottle found around 100 metres from the spot led them to believe she was sexually assaulted before being killed.
The victim’s family members said the Preeti Reddy had reported for duty at her place of work in Kollur in Mahbubnagar district and returned to her residence in the afternoon. Around 5.30 pm, she left her residence on a two-wheeler for consulting a dermatologist at a private hospital at Gachibowli for a skin problem.
She parked her vehicle at Tondupally toll plaza at Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Shamshabad. From there, she took a shared cab to reach Gachibowli and met the skin specialist at the hospital.
Reportedly, the CCTV footage from near the toll plaza showed her walking to her scooter at around 8 pm. When she reached her vehicle, two persons, who are believed to be truck drivers, told her that her tyre was flat.
Speaking on the phone, Preeti urged her sister Bhavya to continue talking to her, as the situation was not fine and she was feeling scared. As soon as Preeti went incommunicado abruptly, her family approached the Shamshabad police and a missing case was registered.
Reportedly, milk vendor S Sathyam found a body burning underneath an underpass of a flyover on NH-44 on Thursday morning. He immediately called village elders, who informed local police.
The Cyberabad police soon arrived and found that it was a murder. They later verified the recent missing complaints. On Wednesday night, the Shamshabad police had received a complaint of a veterinary doctor missing. When her family reached the spot where the fully charred body was found, they established its identity based on a scarf and a Ganesha locket around the victim’s neck.
“The victim’s bike was found at Kothur, while her mobile phone and purse are missing,” Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar confirmed.
The police stated that number plates of the two-wheeler were missing. They added that the accused drove her bike 30 km away from the toll plaza, who might have removed them before abandoning it. A driver and cleaner of a lorry have been detained in connection with the case.
Hyderabad police have stated that dog squads and special teams have been set to work to nab the culprits. The police are scanning the CCTV footage of the area.
NDTV was recently awarded the International Press Institute (IPI) India Award for ‘excellence in journalism’ for its coverage of the Kathua pape and murder case where it apparently managed to “expose of the conspiracy to scuttle” the probe. The jury was headed by the former Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee.
“The award is for the expose of the conspiracy to scuttle probe into the heinous Kathua rape and murder, and a strong expose of the political hypocrisy across the political spectrum represented excellence in journalism…,” a statement issued by IPI read.
The award to NDTV for its reportage on the Kathua case reveals quite clearly the biases that pervade the ivory towers of the Left. The media coverage of the Kathua case, especially that of NDTV, marked one of the lowest points in the history of Indian media. The fact that one of them is now being awarded for it speaks volumes for the nature of these institutions.
It is important to remember the numerous journalistic ethics that the NDTV violated during the Kathua case in order to pursue its political agenda. The Delhi High Court issued notices to several media houses including the NDTV for revealing the name of the minor rape victim in contravention of the existing rules. The same Court then ordered the media houses to pay Rs. 10 lakh for violation of the norms.
If that was not enough, Nidhi Razdan of the same ‘news network’ live on television said without a shred of evidence that the victim was targeted due to her Muslim identity. She said that the eight-year-old girl was raped ‘because she was Muslim‘. It was the most disgraceful attempt to give the heinous crime a communal colour. During the same debate, one of her panellists claimed that the incident had emerged after three months, therefore, there must have been a cover-up. This was a blatant lie as the incident had been reported earlier by the media as well. Nidhi Razdan did not correct her.
Not the just the NDTV, the entire media create a fake narrative that attempts were made by the lawyers of Jammu to save the perpetrators of the crime. The lawyers were demanding a CBI inquiry over the matter and there were allegations that the investigations were biased. There were some shouts of Jai Shri Ram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai too, and invariably, the media came to the conclusion that they were trying to save the criminals.
The Jammu High Court Bar Association were demanding a CBI probe into the case as well claiming that the state police crime branch investigation botched up. The Bar Council of India, after a thorough investigation, came to the conclusion that the incident of the protests were completely misrepresented by the media and gave a clean chit to the Jammu Bar Association and Kathua Bar Association during the Kathua rape controversy.
The concerns of over the investigations were perfectly legitimate. There were reports of forced demographic change in the area over which protests were being organized. There were also reports of the investigative team picking up civilians at random and torturing them which escalated the demands for a free and fair CBI investigation into the matter. The media portrayed all these valid concerns as attempts to shield the criminals and thereby, did a great disservice to the people who appear to have suffered greatly due to the media’s agenda.
Allegations were also made that the chargesheet was framed after the men were tortured and forced to confess. One of them was Vishal Jangotra, the son of the main accused in the crime. As per the chargesheet, he was the one who dumped the dead body. His family had maintained that he was innocent and that the chargesheet was filed with malafide intentions. However, all such concerns were brushed aside the media amidst claims that attempts were being made to shield the criminals. Ultimately, Vishal was found innocent of the charge although the others were declared guilty.
Amusingly enough, it was Zee News which prevented the life of an innocent youth from being destroyed. A report by Zee News showed a CCTV footage from an ATM in Muzaffarnagar, which had Vishal standing in a queue at the ATM on the day the charge sheet claimed he was in Kathua. This glaring hole was the biggest nail in the coffin for the hallowed manner in which the chargesheet was treated by the media. If the Courts had bought into the media frenzy, Vishal Jangotra’s life would have been destroyed. But now, one of the media networks which nearly destroyed the life of an innocent man is awarded for their irresponsible and motivated coverage of the entire matter.
The concerns over the conduct of the investigative received a further boost when the Jammu court-ordered to lodge an FIR against six SIT members, who had probed the case, for indulging in custodial torture of witnesses, criminal intimidation and manufacturing of false evidence. It is alleged that the SIT members wanted to implicate Vishal Jangotra in the case by forcing the witnesses to give false statements against him.
The acquittal of Vishal Jangotra and the Jammu Court’s order to register an FIR against the SIT members is the biggest blow to the conduct of the media during the Kathua controversy. In order to pursue a political agenda, the media used the tragic death of an eight-year-old girl. And the NDTV played a prominent, if not the leading role, in this disgraceful farce during the coverage of the Kathua case. However, now, they are getting awarded for it.
It only shows that international institutions only exist to pat the backs of their ideological brethren. They do not care about credibility, they do not care about authenticity, they do not care about due diligence and they certainly do not care for performance. In the world of the Left-Liberal Clown World, conduct does not matter. As long as a person keeps mouthing the Leftist talking points, they are going to be rewarded for it. Ethics, principles, performance be damned.
If the media wants to learn why it is that they are at the receiving end of so much hate, they need only take a look at the conduct of those among them who keep receiving awards. The ones who receive awards personify everything that is wrong with the media today. And it’s no wonder that they are being thoroughly rejected by the ordinary citizen worldwide. It’s because they deserve it.
The NDTV is the Queen of Fake News in India. They are the biggest manufacturers of fake news in the country. Their journalists are known to first peddle fake news and then attempt to brazen it out when exposed. Its founders are not beacons of morality either. When FIRs are filed against them for alleged crimes, they twist it to give the impression as if the FIRs are not about individuals committing crimes but a larger battle between good and evil. They use ‘freedom of the press‘ as a cloak to hide their alleged crimes.
Thus, in hindsight, although the conduct of the entire mainstream media during the Kathua pape case was atrocious, the NDTV was truly the most deserving candidate for the award. It’s because NDTV is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with the media.
Opposition to the appointment of Dr Firoz Khan by the students of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Faculty of Kashi Hindu University continues. On the one hand under this movement, students are protesting by boycotting classes and the regular academic activities have been affected due to the university administration not arriving at any conclusion over the issue.
On Thursday, the students of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vigyan Faculty carried out a campaign to seek help and aid from the public at the Lanka Singh Gate to fight the legal battle and protect the rules established by Mahamana to run the SVDV faculty.
OpIndia spoke to the protesting students of the Faculty, and Shashikant Mishra said that as the University has failed to reach any solution, students are now seeking ‘Bheeksha’ and informing the general public about this whole episode so that the average person can also understand the movement being run for the protection of our religion and join themselves.
At the same time, the atmosphere of the BHU campus has once again started heating up due to the continuous protest by students. Because now only 2 days are left out of the 10 days demanded by the administration.
A torch procession was taken out by the students on Wednesday to demand action by the BHU administration. Students of the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Social Sciences and alumni of SVDV also reached the procession to support the students of the SVDV Faculty. The torch procession went to the Ravidas Gate, chanting from the Singh gate and coming again from there to the gateway and ended after the meeting.
#BHU प्रशासन द्वारा माँगे गए 10 दिन के समय मे से आंदोलन के आज सातवें दिन #SVDV के छात्रों द्वारा मशाल जुलूस निकाला गया। जुलूस में संस्कृत विद्या धर्म विज्ञान संकाय के छात्रों का समर्थन करने के लिए कला संकाय व सामाजिक विज्ञान संकाय के भी छात्र भारी संख्या में पहुँचे। #ferozekhanpic.twitter.com/cgvv8KYcJH
In the meeting, Dr Arvind Shukla, an alumnus of BHU, said, “Mahamana’s values and his dreams will never be allowed to disappear.” He also said that the respect BHU students have for Mahamana can be gauged from the fact that almost every student studying here, wherever he or she is, always keeps the statue of Mahamana in office or home.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Munish Mishra cautioned the administration, “If the administration does not listen to the students and does not fulfil its promise, then to protect Dharma, Kashi Vidya Parishad, Shankaracharyas, former professors, Acharyas, Alumni of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vigyan faculty living in every corner of the country are also ready to join the huge movement.”
सभा में #BHU के पूर्व छात्र व डॉ. अरविंद शुक्ल ने कहा कि महामना के मूल्यों व उनके सपनों को कभी मिटने नहीं दिया जाएगा। डॉ. मुनीश मिश्र ने प्रशासन को चेताते हुए कहा, “अगर प्रशासन #SVDV के नियमों को नहीं मानता है तो धर्म की रक्षा हेतु एक विशाल आंदोलन के लिए पूर्व छात्र भी तैयार हैं। pic.twitter.com/mm0fLqsAXH
Abhishek Singh of the history department of the Faculty of Arts said, “In our history, culture and civilization are authenticated on the basis of inscriptions. Those who call the inscription of Mahamana fake, get it checked, it will be known by itself how old it is. Not respecting him is an insult to the Mahamana and the entire Faculty of Arts is ready to stand by him if needed. ”
Along with the support of students and scholars of various departments, all the saints and saints of Ayodhya have also come in support. The students have also been joined by the Kashi Vidyat Parishad, Shankaracharyas and former professors Acharyas along with many Sanatani practitioners of Kashi.
Under the leadership of Acharya Ramayatan Shukla, President of Kashi Vidyat Parishad and former Professor of SVDV, many scholars met RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi and apprised him of the whole matter. He said, “Vice-Chancellor (VC) Rakesh Bhatnagar did not take into account the Malaviya values and the rules of the Faculty of Religion, which has caused the atmosphere of the university today to deteriorate.”
Recently, a statement had come in support of Firoz Khan from a pracharak of Varanasi Mandal of the Sangh, which was run by the media as a statement of the Sangh because the media did not tell him about the whole matter and only questioned him on the basis of the propaganda they were running. Opposing the statement, the students had requested the authorities of the Sangh to take cognizance of the whole matter.
Today in Ayodhya, under the chairmanship of Swami Raghavacharya, the Mahants of many temples and teachers of about 30 Sanskrit schools also supported the students’ movement and said, “If the administration does not take the necessary decisions within the stipulated time, the saints and Mahants will stand with the students in the next protests. ”
Recently, many people of the Sant Samaj also gave a statement in the same context when the media asked questions about the Sanskrit language due to lack of knowledge about the matter. When the students went to meet them this morning, Swami Raghavacharya said that coincidentally, he was introduced with an important incident regarding the history and tradition of the SVDV.
Listening to a memoir, he said, “It was known from the Peethadhishwar Swami Anantacharya of Totadri Math that the second Peetadhishwar Swami Ram Prapanacharya of the Totadri Math was a student of the Faculty of SVDV. There was a debate in Mithila, Mahamanaji was decisive, the decision could not be made in that assembly, then Prapanacharya Ji said that Kashi is the proof in itself, the statement of Kashi’s person is the decision and proof. With which Mahamana himself agreed.”
Swami Raghavacharya giving alms to students
Student leader Shashikant Mishra stated that “Swamiji took all the information about the movement from Chakrapani Ojha, Krishna, Dr Munish Mishra, who met him today and became emotional. When he came to know that the students are seeking ‘Bheeksha’ for the campaign, he had gladly come forward and contributed. His pain was spilling over from his eyes while giving Bheeksha.” He added that the Swamiji stated to the students that Sanatan Dharma has undergone numerous tests and trials and has emerged victorious each time.
A day after former Congress President Rahul Gandhi called BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur a ‘terrorist’, a Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh has issued shocking threats to the Bhopal MP stating that he will burn her alive is she enters the state.
According to the reports, Biaora Congress MLA Govardhan Dangi issued threatening statement against Pragya Thakur saying that she will be burnt alive if she ever sets her foot in Madhya Pradesh.
“We will not just burn her effigy…if she sets foot here, we will burn her also,” said the Biaora MLA.
The shocking comments against Bhopal MP come after the controversy over Sadhvia Pragya allegedly calling Nathuram Godse, the killer of MK Gandhi a ‘patriot’ during a debate in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Following that, opposition members had strongly protested against the remarks made by BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur during the debate in the parliament. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday went on to call BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur a ‘terrorist’ after she had allegedly praised Nathuram Godse by calling him a patriot.
However, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur’s response came after DMK member A Raja had cited a statement of Godse on why he killed MK Gandhi during a discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill. Responding to Raja, Thakur had reportedly interrupted to say, “You cannot give the example of a deshbhakt.”
Later, Thakur had clarified that she was referring to Udham Singh when she made the statement.
Following the outrage, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday had clarified that the BJP condemned any philosophy which describes Nathuram Godse as a ‘patriot’.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh also said that the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi was, is and will remain relevant and described him as a guide (margdarshak) for the nation.
After the controversy, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has also been removed from a key parliamentary panel and has been barred from attending the parliamentary party meetings of the party.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur joined the BJP formally early this year and went on to win the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal against Congress veteran Digvijay Singh. The NIA had given her a clean chit in the Malegaon Blasts case in 2016 after years of brutal torture in prison.
It is widely believed that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was one of the victims of the Congress party’s attempt to invent Hindu Terror. However, Sadhvi Pragya was granted bail in April 2017 after she was jailed for eight long years. Her legal representative said in an exclusive interview to OpIndia.com that she should have been granted bail in half an hour based on the circumstances of the case. We were further told that there was no credible evidence against her.
After multi-crore scam accused P Chidambaram challenged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to submit ‘even one piece of evidence’ linking him to the INX Media case, the investigating agency on Thursday filed a detailed investigation report consisting details of 12 bank accounts and purchase of 12 properties in 16 countries, allegedly purchased from proceeds of crime.
According to a report by Times Of India, the Enforcement Directorate submitted the evidence before the Supreme court in a sealed envelope. Appearing before the SC bench of Justices R Banumathi, AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, the ED opposed granting bail to P Chidambaram stating that accused was too powerful and influential to be released on bail.
Opposing the bail, the ED added that the Chidambaram was not just a ‘bystander’ during the alleged crimes. It said economic offences are grave offences that affect society, country and national economy and shake the confidence of the common man in the entire system when people in office indulge in corrupt activities. It argued that such offences are committed with deliberation and not on the heat of the moment.
“In this case, a web of shell companies were set up in India and abroad by people who were acting as his agents. He was not just a bystander when the offence was being committed,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended.
Reportedly, Solicitor General further added Former finance minister P Chidambaram has substantial control over crucial witnesses who are afraid to testify against him. Tushar Mehta told the top court that one key witness refused to appear for face-to-face with Chidambaram “because he is too powerful”. Two other witnesses did not even turn up.
“It shows the fear which he evokes in the witnesses,” said Tushar Mehta, the country’s second-most senior law officer.
Countering the claims of the ED, Chidambaram’s counsel represented by Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the accused is not a hardened criminal and should not be treated as “Ranga or Billa”. Ranga and Billa are the two men who had brutally killed two teenagers in Delhi in 1978. They were executed in 1982.
However, Tushar Mehta argued that economic crimes were serious offences. “The argument that he should be granted bail because he has not committed an offence like Ranga-Billa does not hold good,” he said.
Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is currently under the custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the INX Media case, was initially arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on August 21. On October 16, Chidambaram was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and sent to judicial custody till October 30. On November 13 his judicial custody was extended till November 27.
On Wednesday, the Special CBI Court yet again issued an order extending the judicial custody of the former Union Finance minister P Chidambaram for granting FIPB approvals to the INX Media company while serving as a minister in the cabinet in the UPA era.
P Chidambaram is accused in the INX Media scam which involves charges of bribery and lobbying in granting foreign investments worth over Rs 300 crores to INX Media. INX Media was later known as NewsX, it was owned by Peter and Indrani Mukherjee of the sensational Sheena Bora murder case. Chidambaram is accused of misusing his power as the finance minister to grant INX Media an FIPB clearance.
On Thursday, the Nagpur Police delivered a summons to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in connection with a case of alleged non-disclosure of information regarding two criminal matters against him in election affidavit.
According to the reports, the Nagpur police delivered a summons issued by a local court to the residence of former CM Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur. Devendra Fadnavis is also an MLA from Nagpur South West constituency.
A lawyer from Nagpur named Satish Uke had filed an application in the court seeking that criminal proceedings be initiated against Fadnavis. In 1996 and 1998, cases of cheating and forgery were filed against Fadnavis but charges had not been framed yet in both the cases.
In his petition, Uke has alleged that Fadnavis has concealed information regarding two criminal complaints in his election affidavits.
On November 1, a magistrate’s court in Nagpur had restored his plea seeking criminal proceedings against the former CM for alleged non-disclosure of information.
The Bombay High Court had upheld the lower court’s earlier order dismissing Uke’s plea. However, the Supreme Court had later directed the magistrate’s court to go ahead with the application filed by Uke.
Issuing a notice to Devendra Fadnavis, the magistrate’s court on November 4 had said the case would be held as a summary criminal case. “Process (notice) is issued against accused (Fadnavis) for an offence punishable under section 125A of Representation of People Act, 1951,” magistrate S D Mehta said.
The Supreme Court had on October 1 ordered the trial court to hear the matter afresh to determine whether a case can be registered against Fadnavis under the Representation of the People Act. A large section of media had misrepresented the order and had propagated that the SC had ordered prosecution of Fadnavis.
The summons comes after a day a new ‘secular’ government was formed under the leadership of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. On Thursday, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra, becoming the third Sena leader after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane to occupy the post.
It is notable here that Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and this lawyer Satish Uke had filed objections with the election commission earlier this year to cancel Devendra Fadnavis’ nomination papers on different grounds. But the EC had dismissed the allegations and had held Fadnavis’ nomination valid.
This Satish Uke is the lawyer who was ‘used’ by the Congress to target the BJP government and Home Minister Amit Shah in the judge Loya death case. Uke had been held guilty of gross contempt of court by the High Court earlier.
The High Court had recorded that Satish Uke was in the habit of making frivolous, vexatious, and reckless allegations against everyone including judges of the High Court. Uke had reportedly vanished for 4 months after the incident and had remained untraceable.
West Bengal elections have always been marred with violence. Today, when the state’s by-poll results were declared, BJP District President Falguni Patra was attacked and her house and car was vandalised. Patra has accused ruling party TMC for this incidence of hooliganism and alleged that the TMC goons also beat up her party workers when they tried to intervene.
Pathak, whose residence is in Barrackpore Constituency Naihati was quoted by ANI as saying: “TMC workers vandalised my house and cars, today. When stopped by our party workers, they even beat them up.”
The images shared by the news agency shows smashed windshields of her car and broken window panes.
Falguni Patra, BJP District President, North 24 Parganas: TMC workers vandalised my house and cars, today. When stopped by our party workers, they even beat them up. The house is in Barrackpore Constituency Naihati. #WestBengalpic.twitter.com/2GNRYzUukL
On November 25, during the by-polls in Karimpur constituency of West Bengal, the BJP candidate Jayprakash Majumdar was manhandled, thrashed and thrown in a bush outside the Ghiyagat Islampur School booth. He too had accused the ruling party of the assault.
Shishir Bajoria, the state executive member of the BJP, had said on Twitter that a delegation led by Mukul Roy met Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal and demanded the immediate removal and arrest of the District Magistrate the Superintendent of Police of Nadia for dereliction of their duty.
BJP-Trinamool clashes have been occurring with remarkable frequency ever since the saffron party emerged as a threat to Mamata Banerjee’s political power. Only yesterday, three were injured in clashes between the two parties in Kharagpur. Political murders have also been occurring with a troubling frequency. Numerous workers of the BJP have been murdered, however, the state machinery appears utterly incapable of putting an end to the cycle of violence.
Utsav Chakraborty’s crusade against Mahima Kukreja continues on Twitter. On Thursday, the disgraced comedian accused Tanmay Bhat of AIB of lying when he said that he had confronted Utsav. Utsav said that he was under immense pressure from Kukreja as they were dating and in order to keep AIB floating, Tanmay threw him under the bus.
Plus, for all his faults and my personal problems with him, he still had to think of the 40+ employees who would be left without a job if he didn’t say what he did. I’m assuming by sacrificing me, he was hoping to ensure the livelihoods of many others.
Utsav further claimed that he wasn’t ever confronted by Tanmay or anyone else in AIB. He also said that everyone in AIB was aware of the particular incident. Intriguingly enough, Utsav says that AIB knew it was a ‘misunderstanding’. It was because ” they knew who I was and how socially clumsy I could be sometimes.”
The truth is: Tanmay never confronted me about Mahima. And he wasn’t the only one with the information – everyone in AIB was. Because I had told them. And they knew it was a huge misunderstanding. Because they knew who I was and how socially clumsy I could be sometimes.
However, Utsav’s defence looks extremely problematic as it’s unclear how does one end up sending an unsolicited d*ck pic to someone and then claiming that it happened because he could be ‘socially clumsy’ sometimes. Furthermore, it appears rather inexplicable that someone would end up sending extremely inappropriate pictures just because he is ‘socially clumsy’.
This defence of his does not come across as very plausible. Furthermore, it also paints the AIB in extremely poor light as they did not confront Utsav even when they were aware of what he had done. Tanmay Bhat, too, comes across as vile since it appears he lied about confronting Utsav about the unsolicited d*ck pic.
However, in the entire saga, Mahima Kukreja doesn’t seem innocent either with audiotapes and conversations emerging about her being actively involved with Utsav.
The whole saga began when an audio clip surfaced on the internet that claimed to be a telephonic conversation between Utsav Chakraborty and Mahima Kukreja. In the audio-clip, lawyer-sister of Kukreja is allegedly heard threatening Utsav with legal action should he release screenshots that may prove his innocence.
Then, a second part of the alleged conversation between Utsav Chakraborty and Mahima Kukreja was released where Utsav is allegedly heard telling Mahima that she has destroyed his life and told her that he was close to killing himself. Mahima can be heard saying that should he pursue legal action, then she will get into it legally as well and in the process, he will end up ‘derailing the movement’.
Since then, Utsav Chakraborty has been posting screenshots on his Twitter timeline that he claims prove his innocence. Then, Mahima came out all guns firing and said that Utsav was maligning her. She called Utsav’s tweets and the audio clip a ‘carefully planned and orchestrated PR-led campaign’ to malign her and labelled them a ‘hateful campaign’.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had to face the ire of angry protestors while he was en route Amaravati, the capital city on Thursday. His convoy, which started from his residence at Undavalli village was blocked by protestors, particularly angry farmers who shouted ‘Naidu go back’ slogans, pelted stones and hurled slippers at him.
The former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu along with his other party leaders had planned a ‘Chalo Amaravathi’ tour to meet the farmers who had donated their land for the capital region and pay a visit to the sites of projects he had initiated as CM, which was either stalled or terminated at the hands of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) after it came to power in May this year.
His 20-vehicle convoy met its first impediment after a group of farmers blocked their way 15 kilometres from Vijayawada, at Venkatapalem. Even as security personnel tried to disperse the crowd, the protestors blocked the entourage including the private bus Naidu was travelling in. As per reports, the protesting farmers hurled slippers, pelted stones cracking the window panes on the bus Naidu was in.
TDP was quick to point fingers at the ruling YSRCP, alleging that the farmers were prompted by Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy and his government to disrupt Naidu’s tour. This claim was, however, vehemently refuted by Reddy’s government who in turn alleged that the farmers who had turned violent were anguished with ‘rampant corruption during Naidu regime’ and were self-motivated.
The TDP has had a sour relationship with the ruling YSR Congress Party after having lost in the 2019 Assembly elections. The erstwhile Naidu government had envisioned Amaravati on the lines of Singapore and availed the services of the Singapore government for drawing its master plan, consisting of nine theme cities and 27 townships in 217 sq km area. Aiming to connect Amaravati with six neighbouring towns including Vijayawada and Guntur, the previous dispensation had estimated a budget of over Rs 1 lakh cr for the greenfield capital city.
Naidu’s govt had taken 33,000 acres from farmers under land pooling, promised construction of world-class capital. However, they could manage to construct only a few buildings those too were completed 55 to 75 per cent only.
Soon after Reddy came to power in May, the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank pulled out of a $500 million funding they had promised for the Amaravati capital city project. A Singapore consortium comprising Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp also withdrew from the capital city startup area after the state government decided not to proceed with the project owing to its other priorities.
On Tuesday, however, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the status of constructions and gave nod to continue the construction works that were halted, indirectly indicating that Amaravati would remain the capital, albeit in a pruned down version.
Naidu, however, has alleged that due to the halted works, Amravati resembles a ‘ghost town’.
