Will Modi have courage to fight from Kerala, asks Shashi Tharoor

Agencies
April 7, 2019

New Delhi, Apr 7: Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad shows he has the confidence to win from both north and south India, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said Sunday and asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have the courage to fight from a seat in Kerala or Tamil Nadu.

With Gandhi contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Kerala's Wayanad constituency, there is “palpable excitement” across the southern states that the next prime minister could be elected from the the region, Tharoor told PTI in an interview.

Tharoor also slammed Modi and the BJP for suggesting that Gandhi chose Wayanad to "run away" from majority dominated areas, saying the ruling party has repeatedly resorted to peddling bigotry. It was dismaying that this was coming from the prime minister, he added.

"By reinforcing his role as a torchbearer for the BJP's bigotry, Mr Modi has disregarded the principled position that a prime minister of India must be a prime minister for all Indians," he told PTI from Thiruvananthapuram.

Addressing a rally in Wardha in Maharashtra, the prime minister had said the opposition party was "scared" to field its leaders from constituencies where the majority dominates.

Tharoor claimed Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad comes at a time of "unprecedented strain" on the spirit of cooperative federalism that has held the country together since its Independence in 1947.

Under the BJP-led Centre, he alleged, relations between the southern states and the federal government have "steadily deteriorated" over a number of issues such as threats to the economic security of the south as well as the future of its political representation.

In that context, Gandhi has made a “bold statement” of intent to suggest he can be the bridge that repairs the growing north-south divide within the country, Tharoor said, adding that it also signals that the Congress chief has the confidence to win elections in both the north and the south.

"Can Narendra Modi make such a claim? Would he have the courage to fight for a seat in Kerala or Tamil Nadu?" the former diplomat turned politician asked.

His remarks come after Gandhi, who is fighting the Lok Sabha elections from his traditional bastion Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday also entered the poll fray in Wayanad by filing his nomination papers from the constituency in Kerala.

Tharoor, who himself is seeking a third straight Lok Sabha term from Thiruvanathapuram, cited the "incredibly warm and rousing reception" Gandhi received in Wayanad and said it was reflective of the genuine spirit of celebration that has seized the south.

Asked if the message of support for the people of south India that Gandhi wanted to convey by contesting from Wayanad was well received, Tharoor said, "I think it certainly has and today as a result of his decision there is a palpable excitement across the southern states that the next prime minister of the country could be elected from the south."

Quoting Gandhi's statement that "south India feels hostility from Narendra Modi" and he wanted to send a message of support to the people there, Tharoor said a sense of confidence and reassurance is spreading across the region, including in Kerala and neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Asked if the move could create a 'Rahul wave' in the south, Tharoor said, "In Kerala, it has had an invigorating effect among our workers particularly those working on the ground and we are already seeing a ripple effect of this 'wave' spreading across neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.”

"… arguably, the implications of his decision have not just been prompted by a strategic choice to energise the Congress workers, but by a larger sense of duty and commitment," the former Union minister added.

Discussing the BJP's criticism of the move and the PM remarks at the Wardha rally, Tharoor said for the country to have a prime minister with such "well documented and blatant disregard for minorities" is one of the "greatest tragedies" of the five years of the present ruling dispensation.

It is also a “severe blemish" on the record of the illustrious men and women who have held the post before him,” he said.

"But for all this bigotry, the BJP has still not managed to open their account in Kerala and their chauvinistic ideals have been repeatedly rejected by the people of the state," the 63-year-old leader said.

According to him, Kerala's educated and inclusive electorate is once again going to offer "the same boot" to the BJP's hopes in the state.

Tharoor asserted the Congress chief will be one of the rare leaders in the country who enjoys a clear and demonstrated popularity in both the south and the north if he wins from both Amethi and Wayanad.

“And, most important, the south will be galvanised by the fact that its concerns are unlikely to be ignored by such a leader, one who will walk into Parliament on the back of their support," he said.

Asked if Gandhi's fighting from south also boost his credentials as a prospective prime minister, Tharoor answered in the affirmative.

Gandhi's decision to contest from the south is part of a larger outreach to the southern states and to demonstrate his electability among the voters of the south, he said. At the same time, the Congress president is also reiterating the party's historic commitment towards an inclusive India, the author-politician said.

Comments

Shiju
 - 
Monday, 8 Apr 2019

If bjp has guts let them ask Modi to contest agaisnt Rahul in Wynad, KIerala.   Modi is not willing to contest from his own state also.  

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Agencies
June 5,2020

Jodhpur, Jun 5: A video has gone viral on social media showing what could be called Jodhpur's George Floyd moment with a twist, showing cops throwing a person on the ground and pressing his neck with their knees for roaming around without a mask.

However, unlike the unfortunate incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the cops in Jodhpur reportedly acted after the person, said to be mentally challenged, turned violent after being confronted by the police.

Dumb TV media is playing the initial part of this video as 'India's George Flyod moment'. Doesn't matter to them that the same video shows the man beating the cops back badly pic.twitter.com/vGSaON6oii

— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) June 5, 2020

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after being arrested by the police outside a shop in Minneapolis in the US on May 25. Footage showed a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes while he was pinned to the floor. He was pronounced dead later in the hospital, triggering widespread protests across the US.

However, in the Jodhpur incident, the man, identifed as Mukesh Kumar Prajapat, did not die but instead started fighting with the policemen.

Jodhpur police officers confirmed that the video was shot in the city on Thursday after the police wanted to issue a challan against the man for roaming on the streets without wearing a mask before he started manhandling the police.

The video shows a cop pressing his neck with his knee while two other cops held the young man's legs. A huge crowd gathered when the scuffle broke out.

Meanwhile, the SHO of Dev Nagar police station, Somkaran, said that the police were issuing a challan to Prajapat when he attacked them and tore their uniform. An FIR has been lodged against Prajapat on a complaint lodged by the Pratap Nagar police station. He will be produced in the court later in the day.

Prajapat is said to be mentally challenged and had damaged his father's eye earlier for which a case was registered against him, the poice said. Action is being initiated against Prajapat under the Epidemic Act, they added.

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News Network
March 3,2020

New Delhi, Mar 3: Delhi's Tihar Prison authorities had made all necessary preparations for the hanging of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape-and-murder case which was scheduled for Tuesday, officials said Monday.

However, on Monday evening, a city court deferred the hanging till further orders.

Postponing the execution, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana said the hanging cannot be carried out pending disposal of Pawan Gupta's mercy plea before the President, observing any condemned convict must not meet his "Creator" with grievance against courts for not acting fairly on the opportunity to exhaust legal remedies.

"We had made all the necessary arrangements for the execution of the four convicts which was scheduled for Tuesday at 6 AM. Now, the execution has been postponed and we are waiting for the further order by the court," a senior jail official said.

The hanging of the four men -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan -- who are lodged in Tihar jail, was fixed for March 3 in Tihar jail on a court order.

"We had checked the ropes. Hangman was called and dummy executions were carried out," another senior jail official said.

Barring Pawan, the other three had in the previous weeks moved curative petitions and mercy pleas which were all dismissed.

The first date of execution -- January 22 -- fixed on January 7 was postponed by the court to February 1. But on January 31, the court indefinitely postponed the hanging. On February 17, the court again issued fresh date for execution of death warrants for March 3 at 6 AM.

The court in its orders observed that the four convicts cannot be hanged since a mercy plea of one or the other convict was pending.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Jammu, Jun 3: A mob on Tuesday disrupted the last rites of a coronavirus victim in Jammu and Kashmir and forced his family members to flee with the half-burnt body, prompting intervention by the administration which later ensured the cremation at another place as per protocol.

A 72-year-old man, hailing from Doda district, became the fourth victim of the novel coronavirus to die in Jammu region. He breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital on Monday.

"We had set out for the funeral along with a revenue official and a medical team, and had lit the pyre at a cremation ground in Domana area when a large group of local residents appeared at the scene and disrupted the last rites," son of the deceased said.

Only close relatives of the deceased, including his wife and two sons, were present during the cremation. They had to flee with the half-burnt body in an ambulance to save their skin from the mob which pelted stones and attacked them with sticks.

"We had sought permission from the government to take the body to our home district for the last rites, but we were told that all necessary arrangements were in place, and that we would not face any trouble during the cremation," the victim's son said.

He also alleged that the security officials present at the scene were of no help.

Two policemen who were present there failed to act against the unruly crowd, while the accompanying revenue official went missing, he said.

"The ambulance driver and other staff from the hospital helped us a lot and managed to take us back to the GMC hospital with the body the government should have come out with a better plan to conduct the last rites of coronavirus victims, taking into consideration the past experience and problems encountered during the funeral of such victims," the victim's son said.

Later, the body was taken to a cremation ground at Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, where it was consigned to flames in the afternoon in presence of senior civil officials, including additional deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate under tight security.

"My uncle was admitted in the hospital last week and died on Monday afternoon. He was suffering from various ailments, especially lungs and heart diseases. Before shifting him to GMC hospital Jammu, he underwent a coronavirus test in Doda which came negative," nephew of the deceased said.

However, he said, the victim's second test after his admission in the GMC hospital came positive on Sunday.

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