Gadkari rejects ‘insinuation’ made by RSS member, says party united behind Modi

[email protected] (The Hindu)
November 13, 2012

modi_gadkeri

New Delhi, November 13: The controversy over the propriety of Nitin Gadkari continuing as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president continuing in office refuses to die down and now the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been dragged into it directly.

Stunned by veteran RSS member M.G. Vaidya’s blog entry that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi could be behind the campaign within the BJP for ousting Mr. Gadkari, the BJP president issued a statement that his party rejected ‘insinuation’ made by the senior RSS member.

“The writer has tried to link recent comments by one of the party MPs with Mr. Modi. The BJP completely rejects such insinuation, as it is totally unfounded. All Central leaders of the party and its Chief Ministers have been working cohesively and unitedly for the party’s cause. We are fighting Gujarat Assembly elections with complete unity of purpose and total mutual confidence. The BJP is firmly and unitedly behind Mr. Modi and we are confident that the party will win decisively in the ensuing assembly elections,” Mr. Gadkari said in a written statement.

However, RSS propaganda chief Manmohan Vaidya sought to play down Mr. Vaidya’s comments, saying the article only expressed Mr. Vaidya’s “personal views” and it was not the Sangh’s official view.

Ever since anti-corruption activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal trained his guns on Mr. Gadkari for the alleged wrongdoings by a company owned by him, there have been murmurs within the BJP that an influential section within is targeting Mr. Gadkari. However, it is for the first time that any one has pointed fingers at Mr. Modi.

The rumblings within the BJP surfaced after BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani and his son Mahesh Jethmalani went public saying Mr. Gadkari should immediately step down from his post as the charges against him were damaging to the party.

The senior Jethmalani claimed the backing of other party leaders like Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha. The campaign within the BJP against Mr. Gadkari is widely perceived as a power struggle among senior leaders with an eye on the 2014 elections.

Last week, a prominent RSS face and BJP National Executive member Jagadish Shettigar joined the ranks of those demanding the resignation of Mr. Gadkari. The growing chorus within the party makes it very difficult for Mr. Gadkari to even consider bidding for a second term.

The discomfort within the party over the allegations against Mr. Gadkari is evident from the fact that the BJP’s top brass had to meet twice in a span of less than three weeks to affirm their support for him.


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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state that may further create hardship for the labourers.

In a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is "injustice" to the migrant workers from the state.

Referring to the 'Shramik Special' trains being run by the central government to facilitate transport of migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, the home minister said in the letter that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants workers to reach home.

Shah said migrant workers from West Bengal are also eager to reach home and the central government is also facilitating the train services.

"But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote.

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Agencies
February 26,2020

Kochi, Feb 26: Kerala High Court on Wednesday imposed a ban on strikes in schools and colleges that impact the functioning of the campuses.

''The functioning of campuses should not be hampered by the strikes. The colleges are for study, not for strikes. There should not be any march or gherao on campuses. Do not incite anyone for a strike," a bench of Justice PB Suresh Kumar said in its order.

"The order applies to schools and colleges. Do not harm the rights of others. The college can be a venue for peaceful discussions or thoughts. If actions are contrary to the orders of the court, the authorities can take action. They can call the police and restore peace," the order reads.

The Kerala High Court issued the order while hearing a petition filed by 20 educational institutions against campus politics.

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News Network
January 30,2020

New Delhi, Jan 30: Tension spiralled in Jamia Nagar on Thursday after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring a Jamia Millia Islamia student before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence in the area.

Massive protests erupted in the area after the incident with hundreds of agitated people gathering near the university, breaking barricades and clashing with police personnel.

The man, who identified himself as "Rambhakt Gopal", was subsequently overpowered by police and detained. He was taken into custody and was being interrogated, police said.

The entire drama, which triggered panic in the area, was captured by television cameras that showed the man in light coloured pants and a dark jacket, walking away on an empty road barricaded by police, turning around and shouting at the protesters in Hindi, "Here, take this freedom."

The gunman went live on Facebook before the brandishing the gun. Police said they were verifying whether it is his real name.

Before the attack, the man also put out messages on Facebook stating "Shaheen Bhag Khel Khatam" (Run Shaheen, the game is over). Another message stated, "Please wrap me in saffron in my last journey with slogans of Jai Shri Ram". His Facebook profile was deleted after screenshots of his posts were circulated widely on social media platforms.

Several students recapped how their peaceful march on Gandhi's death anniversary became violent.

"We were moving towards the Holy Family Hospital where the police had raised barricades. Suddenly, a gun-wielding man came out and opened fire. One bullet hit my friend's hand," Aamna Asif, a student of economics at the university, told PTI.

She said her friend, Shadab Farooq, a mass communication student, was trying to calm the attacker but he shot at him injuring his left hand.

Farooq, who belongs to Kashmir, was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

Ragibh Naushad, an LLB student at the university, said, "The Jamia Coordination Committee organised a march to pay homage to Gandhi ji on his death anniversary. It started at 12 noon from Gate number 7, but police denied the permission and stopped the march near the Holy Family hospital.

"A man named Gopal, came there and started brandishing a weapon and later shot a round. He was also chanting pro-CAA slogans."

The incident led to panic in the area.

Khalid Hassan, a JMI alumnus, said initially many were not sure whether it was a gunshot or a tyre burst.

There was heavy police and media presence when the incident took place.

The students were heading from Jamia to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat. The march was stopped at the Holy Family Hospital near the university.

Chinmoy Biswal, DCP (southeast), said the students wanted to take out a march from Jamia to Rajghat but were denied permission.

"They were being repeatedly told that the protest should be carried out peacefully. We had barricaded the road just before the Holy Family hospital. Meanwhile, a person was seen in the crowd who waved something which appeared to be a weapon."

"We have detained him and are interrogating him. One person has also been injured," Biswal said.

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