New Delhi: Farmers from Tamil Nadu, who were protesting in Jantar Mantar from past few days, had stripped outside the Prime Minister’s office in North Block, New Delhi. They were protesting against farmer suicides, and demand relief package from central government.

The incident happened on Monday morning, when the representatives of the farmers agitation were taken to PMO on the promise to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, they did not get to meet him and had to hand over the memorandum to a official.

As they were escorted outside the PMO office in a police jeep, one of the farmer jumped outside the van and stripped on the road by shouting slogans against the government. Soon, two other farmers joined him and started rolling on the road.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: The Opposition in the Lok Sabha today sought stringent action against BJP leader Tarun Vijay for his purported racial remarks, even as the government assured there would be no discrimination based on caste or colour.

Seeking to soothe the frayed nerves, senior Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Ananth Kumar said the individual has already apologised and the country is secular. With noisy protests by Opposition members who also demanded lodging of an FIR against him on the issue, the House proceedings were adjourned thrice — once during the Question Hour and twice during the Zero Hour.

Attacking the ruling party over the remarks, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge wondered whether the people from South India were not Indian citizens. “I want to know whether we are Indians or not… Are we not citizens (of India),” Kharge said during Zero Hour.

Wanting to know what action would be taken against Vijay who is “not an ordinary person”, the Congress leader said he was a former Rajya Sabha member and has also written many books on BJP philosophy.

His remarks are a “threat” to the unity of the country and “you want to divide this country”, Kharge said, adding that if such things go on, then states would start asserting for independence.

This “shows your mentality”, he said as he sought to compare them to the likes of Hitler and condemned the remarks. “FIR should be lodged against him (Tarun Vijay). He has talked about breaking the nation. It is anti-national,” Kharge said.

Asserting that “Bharat is a secular country,” Singh in response said there would be no discrimination based on caste, creed, colour and religion. “The individual has already said that his remarks are indefensible”, Singh said quoting Vijay.

Since the individual has already apologised, there is no need to raise any more questions about it, the Home Minister said, adding he would not mention the name. As the protests continued even after Singh’s statement, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said “this (House) is not a court.”

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar sought to soothe the agitating members saying, “We are all one. The country is one”. After the House met again at 1245 hours, Kumar said the Home Minister has already given the reply and an apology has been tendered by Vijay.

BJP is of the view that “we all are Indians. There is no difference on the basis of colour. We all are one. Congress should not create differences. We are all together”. “Khargeji please don’t try to create differences… One India. Great India,” he emphasised.

Earlier during Question Hour, Kumar urged the Opposition to allow Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to respond to the question posed to her in Question Hour, saying she was a minister “from the South”. Dissatisfied with the Minister’s response, Opposition members, including from the Congress and the Left, trooped into the Well shouting slogans.

During Question Hour also, the Opposition members raised slogans in the Well. The Opposition members were heard shouting, ‘Modi sarkar jawab do-jawab do (Modi government should respond)’, ‘Desh ka vibhajan nahin chalega (Won’t allow division of country)’ and ‘We want FIR (against Vijay)’.

With the din continuing during the Zero Hour, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings for over 20 minutes till 1245 hours. The House was again adjourned till 1350 hours as the protests continued. There was also a brief adjournment of the House over the issue for 10 minutes till 1120 hours during the Question Hour.

(PTI)

Hyderabad: BJP MLA from Hyderabad’s Goshamal constituency Raja Singh has threatened to behead those opposing construction of Ram Temple at Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.

ANI tweeted Raja Singh as saying, “To those who warn of dire consequences if Ram Mandir built. We were waiting for you to say this so we can behead you.”

Raja Singh is the BJP whip for the Telangana Legislative Assembly. Raja Singh has been in controversy in the past. Raja Singh faces several charges and has been arrested on a few occasions.

A FIR has been filed against the BJP MLA at the Dabirpura police station.

Raja Singh’s remark comes a day after Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said that she was ready to go to jail for Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Uma Bharti had yesterday said, “Ram temple is a matter of belief for me and I have immense pride in it…If I have to go to jail for it I will go, if I have to hang myself for it I will do it.”

(Agencies)

Islamabad: A Pakistani army court today sentenced alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death for “for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan”, the military announced.

“The spy has been tried through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under Pakistan Army Act and awarded death sentence,” the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa “has confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM,” it added.

Jadhav was “arrested” on March 3 last year by Pakistan security officials in Balochistan after he entered from Iran. He has been accused by Pakistan of planning “subversive activities” in the country.

India has acknowledged Jadhav as a retired Indian Navy officer, but denied the allegation that he was in any way connected to the government.

(Agencies)

Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Friday embarked on a four-day visit to India which will see signing of at least 25 bilateral agreements including in key areas of civil nuclear cooperation and defence.

During her visit, which comes after a gap of seven years, Hasina will hold wide-ranging talks with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi Saturday during which India is also set to announce a line of credit of USD 500 million to Bangladesh for military supplies.

“The upcoming visit is expected to further expand the cordial and cooperative relationship between India and Bangladesh and build on the strong ties of friendship and trust between the two leaders,” a joint statement issued by the two countries said earlier.

Hasina will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee and meet opposition leader Sonia Gandhi. She will visit Ajmer on Sunday and will meet Indian business leaders on Monday.

She will also join a function at Manekshaw Centre to honour Indian Armed Forces members who embraced martyrdom in Bangladesh’s War of Liberation in 1971.

Diplomatic quarters of both sides expected that the reciprocal visit of the Bangladesh premier would take the Dhaka-New Delhi “historic relations” to a new height unveiling newer dimensions of cooperation in various sectors including trade and commerce, economy and connectivity.

It will be Hasina’s first bilateral visit to India in her current term as prime minister.

Ramping up cooperation in defence and security will be a major focus area of the talks between Modi and Hasina and apart from an MoU to provide USD 500 million credit, another pact is likely to be inked to formalise regular defence engagements.

Issues like combating terrorism, containing radicalism and enhancing security cooperation between the two countries are likely to figure prominently besides stalemate over the Teesta pact during talks between Modi and Hasina.

Liberation War Affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Law Minister Anisul Haque, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, the Premier’s Economic Affairs Advisor Moshiour Rahman and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam are accompanying Hasina for the visit.

(PTI)

Chennai: The fight for the legacy of the late Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary J.Jayalalithaa reached a new low on Thursday with the O. Panneerselvam faction seeking votes for their candidate with the dummy body of Jayalalithaa laid inside a coffin.

The coffin was covered with the National Flag.

Though it is said former Minister for Eduction P. Pandiarajan was against such a campaign, he nevertheless was seen standing with folded hands in a vehicle in which the dummy body and the coffin were kept.

The police removed the dummy body and the coffin and warned the party workers against such future moves.

Even members of Panneerselvam faction were opposed to such a stunt and termed it as a result of over-enthusiastic cadres.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Jayalalithaa last December.

(IANS)