Kolkata, July 31 (IANS) BJP legislators staged a walkout from the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday as soon as Minister for Municipal Affairs & Urban Development, Firhad Hakim, rose to speak on the eighth day of the Monsoon Session.

The Chief Whip of BJP’s legislative party, Shankar Ghosh, said a decision was taken earlier that the party MLAs will boycott any speech by Hakim as a mark of protest against the latter’s comment at a recent event that there is a “need to spread Islam among non-Muslims”.

On July 26, the BJP legislators staged a similar walkout after Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay rejected an adjournment motion moved by the leader of the opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, demanding the termination of Hakim as an MLA for his remark.

“Boycotting his speech on the floor of the House is the decision of our party. We will reconsider our decision only after he (Hakim) withdraws his remark made at a public gathering,” said Ghosh.

The BJP legislators returned to the House only after Hakim, who’s also the Kolkata Mayor, completed his speech.

The Speaker, meanwhile, said that such developments are not suitable for the sanctity of the Assembly as he made a plea to the BJP’s legislative team to reconsider its decision.

Hakim later told mediapersons, “I have always been a secular person, and continue to be so. What I said at a religious gathering cannot be the subject of discussion in the Assembly. The BJP always tries such divisive tactics.”

–IANS

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Sangrur (Punjab), July 31 (IANS) Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Wednesday that the Punjab government is following in the footsteps of martyrs like Udham Singh to restore the pristine glory of the state by making the youth active partners in the socio-economic progress of the country.

Addressing the gathering at a state-level function to mark the 85th martyrdom day of Udham Singh at Sunam in Sangrur district, the Chief Minister recalled how he used to accompany his father as a child to attend an annual event here to pay tributes to Udham Singh.

He said the countrymen are enjoying the fruits of freedom today due to the enormous sacrifices made by legendary heroes like Udham Singh.

Calling him a true son of the soil who exhibited exemplary courage to kill Michael O’Dwyer, the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and the prime perpetrator of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Chief Minister said he regularly paid visits to the Caxton Hall in London where Udham Singh took revenge on behalf of millions of Indians.

“The unprecedented sacrifice made by this iconic martyr at the altar of national freedom struggle helped the country overthrow British imperialism,” he said, adding that Udham Singh waited for 21 years to avenge the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh and thus laid the foundation for freedom of the nation.

The Chief Minister also asserted that Punjabis hold a prominent place in the national freedom struggle and “we are proud of their brave and unique contributions”.

The rich legacy of the unprecedented sacrifices made by the martyrs will act as a lighthouse to guide the destiny of future generations, he added.

–IANS

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Agartala, July 31 (IANS) Tripura Police arrested six Bangladeshi women along with two children from Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala for entering India without valid passports, police said on Wednesday.

An officer of the Airport Police Station said that on being informed about their suspicious movement at MBB Airport, police asked them for valid documents.

As they failed to show any valid papers they were arrested on Tuesday night.

The Bangladeshi women, aged between 30 to 38 years, during preliminary interrogation said that they illegally entered Tripura through the clandestine route and were planning to go to other states in the country by flight in search of jobs.

Three days ago, 28 Bangladeshi nationals, including a tout, and two Rohingyas were arrested from two different places in Tripura by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel before boarding trains.

Over the last two-and-a-half months, more than 155 Bangladeshi nationals and 32 Rohingyas were arrested by the GRP, BSF, and Tripura Police from the Agartala railway station and various other places in Tripura after they illegally entered India.

In the last few weeks, Bangladesh has witnessed waves of deadly violence and clashes during the quota reform protests claiming the lives of over 170 people and injuring over a thousand.

–IANS

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Imphal, July 31 (IANS) The 13-day-long Manipur Assembly session began on Wednesday while ten tribal MLAs, who have been demanding a separate administration or a Union Territory for the tribals in the state, once again skipping the proceedings.

The current session, which would continue till August 12, is the third session of the Assembly since the ethnic violence broke out on May 3 last year.

On the earlier two occasions too, the 10 tribal MLAs belonging to the Kuki-Zo community boycotted the Assembly sessions, alleging insecurity in Imphal and demanding a separate administration or a Union Territory for tribals in Manipur.

Chief Minister, N Biren Singh last week said that he would request the 10 MLAs to attend the Assembly session.

Of the 10 tribal MLAs, seven are from the ruling BJP, two belong to the Kuki People’s Alliance and one is an Independent. One of the 10, the BJP’s Paolienlal Haokip, who was elected from Saikot Assembly constituency in tribal-dominated Churachandpur district, said that they would not attend the session this time too.

“When my people can’t set foot in Imphal, how can I attend an Assembly held in the state capital,” he said.

Since May 3 last year, Manipur has been hit by unprecedented ethnic violence between the Chin-Kuki-Zos and the Meiteis that has claimed the lives of at least 220 people, while over 1,000 were injured and 60,000 people of both communities displaced.

The Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, on the first day of the session, presented a Rs 34,899 crore budget for the 2024-25 fiscal, with a deficit of Rs 1,526 crore.

Tabling the budget, he highlighted the economic challenges faced by the state, primarily due to the ongoing ethnic unrest. He told the house that the ethnic crisis significantly impacted on the state’s economy, leading to a drop in revenue collections and increased spending on security and relief operations.

“Reduced own revenue collections, increased expenditure on security and relief operations, inflation, difficulties in movement of goods and services, problems in implementation of projects and schemes were a few of the challenges that we faced. With normalcy returning to the state, our tax collection is showing a positive trend. I am confident that this improvement would continue during the current year,” the Chief Minister told the house.

Biren Singh said that the state government would continue to work on the economic recovery of the state.

“Bringing and ensuring a peaceful and secure environment, rehabilitation and support to those who are displaced, providing livelihood to those without one, providing opportunities for skilling, and investing in quality infrastructure are some of the steps that we are taking,” he added.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 31 (IANS) Veteran politician CP Radhakrishnan was sworn-in as the 21st Governor of Maharashtra since the state’s formation in 1960, at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, here on Wednesday, officials said.

He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by the Bombay High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya at a glittering ceremony attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, other ministers and top civil and police officials.

Appointed in place of former Governor Ramesh Bais, the new Governor was accorded a Guard of Honour by the Indian Navy.

Earlier, he was the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly 18 months before he was posted to Maharashtra, and has also held additional gubernatorial charge of Telangana and as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry for brief periods.

Born on May 4, 1957 at Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan is a graduate in business administration, with a rich political experience of over four decades in his home state.

Starting with the RSS, he went onto become the state executive committee member of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the predecessor of the BJP, in 1974.

He became the TN BJP Secretary in 1996 and was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore in 1998 and again in 1999, and has served on various committees of the Parliament.

He addressed the UN General Assembly as part of a parliamentary delegation in 2004 to New York, and from 2004-2007 he served as the TN BJP President.

At that time, he undertook a major 19,000 km-long Rath Yatra for various public and social causes, like the garlanding of rivers project, ending terrorism, a Uniform Civil Code in the country, the drug menace and eradicating untouchability, etc.

After holding various party and official positions, Radhakrishnan was appointed as Jharkhand Governor in February 2023, and has now taken over as Maharashtra Governor.

–IANS

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