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Tamil Nadu: DMK councillor Sarbraz Nawaz, brother Jainuddin attempt to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 360 crore to Sri Lanka, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: DMK councillor Sarbraz Nawaz, brother Jainuddin attempt to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 360 crore to Sri Lanka, arrested

On Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu coastal Police arrested a DMK councillor and a former councillor for attempting to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 360 crores from the Ramanathapuram district. The accused intended to transport the cocaine worth crores of rupees to Sri Lanka.

According to the reports, the arrested accused persons have been identified as Jainuddin (45), a former DMK councillor of Keezhakarai municipality, and Sarbraz Nawaz (42), currently the DMK councillor of the 19th ward of Rameshwaram. The incident came to light after the coast guard police officials conducted an intensive surveillance activity on the Mandapam-Vedalai road in Ramanathapuram district.

During the search on 26 November, cops stopped a racing luxury vehicle and discovered 30 containers holding 20 litres of raw cocaine. Following an inquiry, it was found that Sadiq Ali, 36, of Rameshwaram, owned the boat that was to be used to transfer the cocaine to Sri Lanka. The Police then confiscated the drugs and arrested the brothers in the car, Jainuddin and Sarbraz Nawaz.

The confiscated substances are worth over Rs 360 crores as per international value. Reports mention that authorities in the Ramanathapuram district had never before discovered such high-value narcotics intended for smuggling to Sri Lanka.

The DMK brothers, who have been arrested for attempting to smuggle drugs to Sri Lanka, own and operate a cargo logistics company. Central and state intelligence services investigated them to determine their connections with mafia organizations or worldwide drug trafficking networks. 

Meanwhile, the fishermen community has expressed shock over the incident of smuggling drugs to Sri Lanka in a country boat by anyone disguised as a fisherman. The fishermen stated that such incidents affect the livelihood of the community and the Sri Lankan Navy becomes concerned and used this as an excuse to detain and arrest them.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam also took cognizance of the incident and slammed the state government. The opposition parties said that the incident was one more instance showcasing DMK’s poor administration.

Gujarat: AAP workers create a ruckus, obstruct Surat Municipal Corporation employees after damaging road barriers, booked

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: AAP workers create a ruckus, obstruct Surat Municipal Corporation employees after damaging road barriers, booked

On Wednesday, the Surat City Police booked three Aam Aadmi Party workers for allegedly creating a ruckus in the Katargam area at the Dhanmora Char rasta and stopping Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) employees from doing their job. The SMC employees under the assistance of engineer Hemant Patel were readjusting the guard stones on the road divider close to Dhanmora Char rasta ahead of Arvind Kejriwal’s roadshow in the area.

This is a day after the AAP volunteers in Surat demolished the road guard stones in the Katargam area while preparing for the Arvind Kejriwal roadshow amid the Gujarat Assembly Elections campaign. As the SMC officials arrived at the scene to repair the barriers, the AAP workers engaged in hooliganism and forced the employees to flee the area out of fear.

The accused AAP workers booked in the case have been identified as Piyush Varsani, Tulsi Lalaiya, and Rajni Vaghani. The Police after the investigation confirmed that AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s roadshow was to pass through the Katargam area stretch, for which the guard stones were removed by AAP workers.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s roadshow happened on Monday. The AAP workers had applied to the SMC and had requested the removal of barricades ahead of the rally as they wanted to hold the roadshow in the full width of the road. However, the AAP workers happened to destroy the dividers resulting in severe traffic bottlenecks and escalated problems for the inhabitants.

The SMC was then informed by the locals that the guard stones had been removed by some unidentified persons. The SMC officials lodged a police complaint and stated that around 12 stones had been damaged in the incident. The officials also said that the damage caused in the incident amounted to Rs 5436. The Police, after a thorough investigation, revealed that the damage had been caused by the AAP workers.

The legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held in Gujarat from December 1 to 5 in two phases, to elect 182 members of the 15th Gujarat Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on December 8, 2022.

Fact check: Did PM Modi compare Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury to Ramayana’s Surpanakha

OpIndia Staff
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Fact check: Did PM Modi compare Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury to Ramayana’s Surpanakha

On November 29, Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh Renuka Chowdhury questioned the media for calling out Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as he compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ravana. Without mentioning the ongoing controversy over Kharge’s statement, Renuka said, “Modi compared me to Surpanakha in parliament. Where was media then?”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks from February 2018

On February 7, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Rajya Sabha. During his address, Congress MPs and other opposition parties’ leaders kept interrupting him, irking the then-Vice President and Chairman of the house, Venkaiah Naidu, who warned them not to indulge in unruly and unparliamentary behaviour. While he was warning the opposition leaders, Congress’s Renuka Chowdhury laughed hysterically, and her voice was distinctively heard from the background.

Former Vice President Naidu asked the PM to pause his address. He selectively named Chowdhury and warned her again. However, PM Modi showed his wittiness and asked the then-Chairman not to stop her from laughing. While comparing Chowdhury’s laugh with an unnamed character from Ramayana, he said, “Sabhapati Ji, meri aapko prarthana hai Renuka Ji ko aap Kuch mat kahiye. Ramayan serial ke baad aise hasi sunane ka aaj saubhagya mila hai. (Respected Chairman, I am requesting you not to say anything to Renuka Ji. We got the privilege to hear such laughter for the first time after the Ramayana serial.) It is noteworthy that PM did not say to whom he compared her laughter.

His remarks irked Congress and opposition leaders, and the so-called controversy continued for days afterwards. While the opposition leaders, their followers and a section of media questioned how PM could pass such remarks, BJP leaders counter-questioned why those voices were mum when PM Modi was being ridiculed repeatedly.

The post by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju

On the same day, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju shared a video from the now-deleted Facebook page “Narendra Modi – True Indian” that explicitly had Surpanakha’s scene from Ramayana followed by the clip of PM Modi’s remarks.

Screenshot of now-deleted post on Facebook. Source: NDTV

The video and the post were later deleted from Facebook. The same video is still available on some of the meme pages on Facebook.

Coming to a Twitter post by Kiren Rijiju on the matter, the post is still there, but the video does not have any reference to Surpanakha. Notably, Rijiju himself never compared Chowdhury with Surpanakha but only shared a video.

In a Twitter post, Rijiju said, “Despite such vexatious laugh by Renuka Chaudhary Ji PM Narendra Modi Ji didn’t get irritated.”

Statement by Mallikarjun Kharge

On November 29, newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made an offensive remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, equating him to the demon king Raavan.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarked at a public event in Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat that Modi has 100 heads since he is present in every election. “We see your face everywhere in corporation elections, MLA elections, and MP elections. Do you have 100 heads like Raavan?” Kharge said at a gathering in Ahmedabad’s Behrampura.

“I’ve been seeing that votes are sought in the name of Modiji, be it municipality elections, corporation elections (or Assembly elections)… Ask for a vote in the name of the candidate… is Modi going to come and work at the municipality? Is he going to help you in times of your need?” Kharge added.

Verdict: No, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not compare Renuka with Surpanakha. He only compared her laughter to an unnamed character from the serial Ramayana.

Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy resign from NDTV promoter firm RRPR after the takeover of the firm by Adani Group

OpIndia Staff
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Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy resign from NDTV promoter firm RRPR after the takeover of the firm by Adani Group

Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy has resigned from the board of RRPR Holding Private Limited, the holding company of the NDTV promoters through which they owned more than a quarter of New Delhi Television Limited shares. The move came after 99.5% of equity of RRPR Holding was transferred to Vishvapradhan Commercial Vishvapradhan Commercial private limited (VCPL) owned by the Adani group.

This was informed in a regulatory filing made with the BSE, and according to the filing dated 29 November, the Roys resigned from the RRPR board effective from 29 November. Along with the exit of Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, three new directors have been appointed to the board of the company. They are, Adani Group CEO Sudipta Bhattacharya, AMG Media Network CEO and Editor in chief AMG Media Network, and Senthil Sinniah Chengalvarayan, director at Adani group owned Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt. Ltd.

In August this year, Adani Group announced that it had acquired 29.18% stake in NDTV indirectly. The transaction involved Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd, owned by Adani Group, converting warrants of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPR) into equity. VCPL decided to exercise the warrants, giving it over 99.5% stake in RRPR. As RRPR owns 29.18% stake in NDTV, this meant VCPL gained this stake in the media group.

The root of this transaction goes back to 2008, when the Roys had taken a loan of Rs 540 crores from Indiabulls to fund an open offer they made to buy NDTV shares from the market. They had taken the loan by pledging their shares in NDTV as security. After that, they took a loan from ICICI Bank to pay back the Indiabulls loan, this time also pledging their NDTV shares held under RRPR.

Again, after that, they took un unsecured loan from Vishvapradhan Commercial private limited (VCPL) to pay the ICICI loan, in exchange of warrants of their shares in NDTV. The money that VCPL gave RRPR came from a company fully owned by Reliance Group of Mukesh Ambani. Later, VCPL was acquired by the Adani Group company AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL).

On November 28, NDTV informed the BSE that its promoter group company RRPR has transferred 99.5% of its equity to VCPL upon exercise of the warrants. As Adani Group now owns 29.18% stake in NDTV, it has also made an open offer to purchase 26% shares of NDTV from shareholders, as mandated by rules.

The group has offered to buy around 16 million NDTV shares at the open offer price of Rs 294, which is much lower than the current market price of around Rs 425.

Bengaluru: 22-year-old woman raped by ‘Rapido’ driver Shahabuddin and his friend Akhtar

OpIndia Staff
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Bengaluru: 22-year-old woman raped by ‘Rapido’ driver Shahabuddin and his friend Akhtar

A 22-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a bike taxi driver and his friend after she hired the services of Rapido, a bike taxi aggregator and logistics service provider, police said on Tuesday.

The Bengaluru Police arrested the driver and his friend based on a complaint filed by the victim. The woman said the incident took place on November 24 after she hailed a bike taxi from BTM Layout to Electronic City. Shahabuddin, the Rapido driver, took the victim to his house, which was close to where she was staying. The police said Shahabuddin and his friend Akhtar raped the victim in the house.

“The woman had hired a ‘Rapido’ bike to go from one friend’s house to another. On the way, the bike driver took advantage and has taken her to his place, where he along with his friend raped her. There was another woman along with them during the crime, who cooperated and then tried to hush it up,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy said. 

The victim filed a complaint with the police a few days later. Talking about police action in the case, Reddy said they registered an FIR soon after the woman visited doctors for medical help on November 26 after she complained of suffering pain in her body parts.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner further said that evidence has been collected from the spot with the aid of forensic lab experts. The police said the driver worked as a Rapido bike driver while his friend Akhtar was employed at a mobile store. One accused had a criminal case against him in the past, Reddy added.

In addition to Shahabuddin and Akhtar, the police have also arrested their female friend who was present at the house when the incident took place. The woman provided false information to protect the other accused, Deputy Commissioner of Police South-East division Bengaluru, CK Baba was quoted as saying by The News Minute.

Reports also said that Shahabuddin had misbehaved with the victim when he had stopped the taxi at a shop on the way to Electronic City. As per an article published in The Hindu, the police are currently investigating if the accused were involved in similar cases in the past.

Delhi MCD Polls: Kejriwal promises to grant RWAs ‘mini councillors’ status, BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla slams it as ‘old wine in a new bottle’

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi MCD Polls: Kejriwal promises to grant RWAs ‘mini councillors’ status, BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla slams it as ‘old wine in a new bottle’

On November 29, The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced that the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Delhi would get the status of ‘mini councillors’. Codenamed ‘Janta Chalaegi MCD’, the poll promise was announced by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference. He said, “Under this scheme, people need not go to a councillor to file their complaints. If you have complaints regarding sewer, garbage, cleanliness etc, you can go to the RWAs ‘mini-parshad’. He will be your ‘neta’ and will solve the problem.”

In his statement, Kejriwal claimed he does not care to whom the members of RWAs belong and urged them to door-to-door campaign for Aam Aadmi Party. He also urged them to ask people to vote for AAP on social media and WhatsApp groups. Kejriwal claimed, “Keep in mind that if a councillor of another party wins in your ward, he will not let you work. He will create hurdles in the powers we want to grant to RWAs.”

Kejriwal said RWAs would get funds to solve the problems people bring to them. He further added that his government would make an online system to track the grievances received by RWAs. Blaming BJP for not doing any work in the last 15 years in MCD, he said, “I asked a union minister who is campaigning for BJP in MCD polls. He told me that they get a 2-page brief before campaigning, and it is filled with abuses directed at me. When he asked why there was no list of projects done by MCD, they told him he only needed to abuse me.”

When asked about the controversial videos of AAP leader Satyendar Jain leaked from Tihar Jail, he said, “They release a film every day just like Bollywood releases a film every Friday. Their films get released on news channels but only run until 12 PM as there is no ‘masala’ in them. Their films lack drama and songs. Ask them to add ‘Rinkiya ke papa’ and other such songs in their films so that people can at least enjoy them. Otherwise, they are very boring.” BJP has released a series of videos showing AAP leader Satyendar Jain getting VIP treatment in Tihar Jail.

‘Old wine in a new bottle’: BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla slam Arvind Kejriwal’s promise

Speaking to OpIndia, Bharatiya Janata Party’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “This is nothing but rebranding and repackaging old wine in a new bottle. Kejriwal promised in 2013 and 2015 about Mohalla Sabhas would be empowered to decide how Janta would run the government or the administration. He had, in fact, even said that before opening the liquor shops, he would ask the local women’s committees about the locations and only after that kind of consultation would decisions be taken. He mentioned this in his book called Swaraj also. But none of those was implemented. Now, yet again, he is repackaging an old promise which he hasn’t fulfilled, which he hasn’t kept. This is classic Kejriwal. Lie and then repeat things assuming that people have forgotten just because time has passed.”

MCD Polls

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections is scheduled for December 4. The results will be announced on December 7. The main competition is between AAP and BJP. Notably, BJP has been in power for the last fifteen years in MCD. The Central Government passed Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill in March 2022 to re-merge the municipal bodies in Delhi. The unified Municipal body came into existence on May 22, 2022.

“Will leave filmmaking if The Kashmir Files is proved to be not based on truth”: Director Vivek Agnihotri gives a befitting reply over IFFI controversy

OpIndia Staff
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“Will leave filmmaking if The Kashmir Files is proved to be not based on truth”: Director Vivek Agnihotri gives a befitting reply over IFFI controversy

On November 29, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri called out Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid for calling The Kashmir Files a ‘vulgar propaganda’ film. In a video statement released on Twitter, Agnihotri said, “Friends, yesterday at IFFI Goa, the Jury Chairman said that The Kashmir Files is a propaganda and vulgar film. This is not something new for me. Such statements have been given by terrorist organisations, urban Naxals, and people who belong to the Tukde Tukde gang. But what surprised me is that the narrative of terrorist sympathisers who claim Kashmir is not an integral part of India was supported at an event organised by the Government of India. Furthermore, the narrative [propagated at IFFI’s platform] was used by some ‘Indians’ against India.”

He added, “Who are these people? These are the same people who have been calling this film propaganda since I started researching the topic four years ago. This film was made after personal interviews with 700 people. Are these 700 people whose parents and siblings were killed in broad daylight, who was gang-raped and cut into two pieces propaganda and vulgar? The land that used to be a Hindu land has no Hindus left. Hindus are being selectively killed there even today. Is this propaganda and vulgar? Yasin Malik confessed to his crimes and is currently lodged in jail. Is this propaganda and vulgar?”

Challenging the urban Naxals, intellectuals and Lapid to prove the film wrong, he said, “Friends, again and again, The Kashmir Files is deemed as a propaganda film. That means the genocide of Hindus never happened there. So I challenge all these intellectuals and urban Naxals of the world, I challenge the “great” filmmaker from Israel to prove that a single event or dialogue of the film is completely false. If they succeed, I will stop making films. Friends, who are these people who stand against India? These are the same people who hid the truth about Mopla.”

“These are the same people who hid the truth about direct action days where lakhs of Hindus were killed. These are the same people who hid the truth about Kashmir. These are the same people who were selling pyres for a few dollars during Covid. Now, as I have announced Vaccine War, they have stood against it. But I am not going to get scared. You can issue as many fatwas as you want, but I will keep fighting. Jai Hind,” he further added.

The IFFI controversy

On November 29, an Israeli filmmaker and International Film Festival of India (IFFI) jury chairman Nadav Lapid said called filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s film ‘The Kashmir Files’ “vulgar” and “propaganda”. During his closing remarks at the festival, he said he was “shocked” and “disturbed” by the inclusion of the film in the competition section.

He said, “Usually, I don’t read from paper. This time, I want to be precise. I want to thank the director and head of the programming of the festival for its cinematic richness, diversity and complexity…There were 15 films in the international competition — the front window of the festival. Fourteen out of them had cinematic qualities…and evoked vivid discussions. We were, all of us, disturbed and shocked by the 15th film, The Kashmir Files. That felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for a competitive artistic section of such a prestigious film festival.”

The Kashmir Files

Directed by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, The Kashmir Files was released on March 11, 2022. The film was a blockbuster and widely appreciated for showing the true story of the exodus and genocide of the Kashmiri Pandits in the Vally in the 1990s. The film’s description on IFFI’s website reads, “Krishna Pandit is a young Kashmiri Pandit refugee living with his grandfather Pushkarnath Pandit – who has been a witness to the 1990 genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. He had to flee from Kashmir and has been fighting for the revocation of Article 370 all his life. Krishna believes his parents died in an accident in Kashmir. As a student of JNU, under the influence of his mentor, Professor Radhika Menon, he refutes the genocide and fights for Azad Kashmir, discovering the truth only after his grandfather’s death.”

Meerut: Hijab-wearing teacher gets death threats after she complained of harassment by students, suffers depression after video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Meerut: Hijab-wearing teacher gets death threats after she complained of harassment by students, suffers depression after video goes viral

Disgusted by the conduct of certain students, a Hijabi teacher at a Meerut school filed a complaint of harassment and molestation on Friday (November 25, 2022). The teacher now alleges that one of the accused and his parents have tried to intimidate her and are pressurising her to drop the case.

The teacher reported the event to the police and a new case was filed in this respect. In this case, the police detained two suspected students as well as the mother of a student. The student’s mother was granted bail by the court and two of the students were placed into juvenile custody. These students are reportedly studying in class 11 and are minors.

The incident occurred in Meerut’s Ram Manohar Lohia Inter College in the Kithor Police Station area of Meerut, where Aman, Kaif, and Amaltas of Class 12 openly harassed the teacher teaching in their class. Occasionally they said ‘I love you’ in class, and at times they embarrassed the teacher by making vulgar remarks during the prayer gathering.

Arif, the father of an accused student, and his mother Rizwana were enraged by this, and they went to the teacher’s residence with their son. These people allegedly intimidated the teacher and pushed her to drop the complaint. Following this, the teacher re-registered her case with the police.

According to the teacher, who is Muslim and wears a hijab throughout school, she is quite disturbed by the students’ behaviour. The students finally crossed the limit of her tolerance when they shared the video of harassment on social media. Fearing defamation in the classroom and now in her neighbourhood, the teacher decided to take action and notified the police. 

According to inspector Arvind Mohan Sharma, 4 students including a girl have been booked under IPC Sections 354 and 500 and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. The teacher has stated that she has been going through depression as a result of this harassment.

ASI reclaims 2300-year-old Ashoka edict that was illegally occupied and converted into ‘mazar’ in Sasaram, Bihar

OpIndia Staff
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ASI reclaims 2300-year-old Ashoka edict that was illegally occupied and converted into ‘mazar’ in Sasaram, Bihar

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) took to Twitter Tuesday to inform that the Ashoka edict in Bihar has been reclaimed by the agency. In September this year, reports emerged, that the 2300-years-old historical site in the natural cavern of Chandan Hill of the Kaimur hill range at Sasaram, the headquarters of Bihar’s Rohtas district had been encroached upon and converted into a ‘mazar.’

Today, however, ASI confirmed that the “key of the site, which is a protected monument, was handed over to officials of @ASIGoI after the intervention of district authorities.” The agency also shared a picture of the encroachers handing over the keys to the site to the ASI officials.

The agency further informed that a portion of the Asoka inscription of Sahasaram (232 or 231 BCE) which consists of eight lines in archaic Brahmi characters is damaged.

 2300-year-old Ashoka edict in Sasaram, Bihar converted into Mazar

It may be recalled that in September this year, OpIndia reported how the site of the Ashokan edict had been converted into a Mazar, and Islamic prayers were being offered at the site after it has been covered with a green cloth.

Ashoka the Great embossed the edict 2300 years ago in the natural cavern of Chandan Hill of the Kaimur hill range at Sasaram, the headquarters of Bihar’s Rohtas district. This inscription is in Brahmi script, and it is one of just eight in the country. This inscription is listed among them, and it is the sole inscription from Bihar.

The inscription had been encircled by unlawful construction around it. The inscription had been made a Mazar by covering it with a green cloth after it had been coated with white lime. An annual Urs was also being organised there by declaring it as the tomb of a Sufi saint. The gate of the monument was kept closed following this illegal construction.

In the years following independence, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) designated this edict as a protected monument in 2008. The ASI had also put up a conservation board near the inscription at Kandara, which is located about 20 feet below the top of the Ashiqpur hill in the Kaimur hill range between Sasaram city’s old Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) and the new bypass. However, the encroachers removed the board.

In 2008, 2012, and 2018, the ASI ordered that the encroachments surrounding the Ashoka edict be removed by the District Magistrate (DM). Following this, the District Magistrate directed the SDM of Sasaram to take appropriate action. The SDM had ordered the Markazi Muharram Committee, which had illegally encroached on the site, to immediately hand over the key to the administration, but the committee refused. A large structure was gradually constructed illegally there.

Gujarat: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge compares Modi with demon king Raavan in an election rally

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge compares Modi with demon king Raavan in an election rally

In a bid to garner support for the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections, newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made an offensive remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, equating him to the demon king Raavan.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarked at a public event in Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat that Modi has 100 heads since he is present in every election. “We see your face everywhere in corporation elections, MLA elections, and MP elections. Do you have 100 heads like Raavan?” Kharge said at a gathering in Ahmedabad’s Behrampura.

“I’ve been seeing that votes are sought in the name of Modiji, be it municipality elections, corporation elections (or Assembly elections)… Ask for a vote in the name of the candidate… is Modi going to come and work at the municipality? Is he going to help you in times of your need?” Kharge added.

Responding to his jibe, BJP spokesperson and their IT cell head Amit Malviya said that Kharge failed to tolerate the heat of the elections and Congress has been pushed to the margins so he insulted the Prime Minister.

“Unable to take the heat of Gujarat election, pushed to the fringe, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge loses control over his words, calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi “Ravan”. From “Maut ka Saudagar” to “Ravan”, Congress continues to insult Gujarat and its son,” Malviya stated in a tweet.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Kharge’s characterization of Prime Minister Modi as Raavan has disappointed the whole nation and demonstrates the mentality of the Congress.

“Narendra Modi is the pride of Gujarat and has been working for the development of each and every citizen. These are merely words of Mallikarjun and the ideology is of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Remember who called Narendra Modi ‘Maut ka Saudagar’? Madhusudan Mistry said he will show Narendra Modi his place his ‘Aukaat’,” Sambit Patra said.

“What ‘Aukaat’ will you show Soniaji? Every Gujarati should teach a lesson to this Congress party which has used such words against the Pride of Gujarat, every Gujarati should come out and vote and teach Congress a lesson,” Patra further added.

2022 Gujarat Assembly elections

Elections for the Gujarat Assembly are scheduled to take place in two phases on December 1 and 5, with results set to be announced on December 8. In the 2017 elections in Gujarat, the BJP won 99 seats out of a total of 182. The state has been ruled by BJP for the last 27 years since 1995.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and CR Patil at the helm, the party is looking for more than 140 seats during this election. The state has historically been a BJP stronghold, and the party has its sights set on taking back control for a record-breaking seventh time.

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