Ahmedabad: A caricature tweeted by the Gujarat unit of the BJP hailing the special court’s verdict sentencing 38 convicts to death in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case has been removed by Twitter after a row.

“The post on the 2008 serial blasts verdict has been removed by Twitter after someone reported against it,” Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave said on Sunday, adding that the tweet was in response to the court’s judgement.

The cartoon depicted men wearing skull caps hanging by the noose. It had a tricolour and a drawing depicting the scene of a bomb blast in the background, with “Satyamev Jayate” written on its top right corner.

It was posted on the official Twitter handle of the Gujarat BJP on Saturday, a day after the special court sentenced to death 38 convicts and handed life terms to 11 others in the 2008 serial bombing case in which 56 persons lost their lives and over 200 were injured.

The caricature is not available on either the Instagram or Facebook social media pages of the state BJP unit.

In an incident reported from Shimoga, a youngster was brutally stabbed and killed in the city’s Bharati Colony here on late Sunday evening.

The deceased has been identified as Harsha, an activist of Bajrang Dal.

Harsha was reportedly brutally killed after stabbing around 10 pm on Sunday. Local police reached the spot immediately after the incident was brought to their notice.

Bajrang Dal activists gathered around the hospital where the body of the youngster was taken to, leading to a tense situation in the vicinity. Security has also been beefed up in the city following the incident.

All the schools and colleges in the city have also been ordered to remain closed on Monday, February 21.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wished Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II a speedy recovery after she tested positive for COVID-19.

The Buckingham Palace said she has tested positive for the infection and is experiencing “mild cold-like symptoms”.

“I wish Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth a speedy recovery and pray for her good health,” Modi tweeted.

The 95-year-old monarch remains at her Windsor Castle residence and is expected to carry out light duties over the next few days.

“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” a Buckingham Palace statement said.

Bengaluru: COVID-19 cases in Karnataka declined from 1,137 cases on Saturday to 1,001 cases on Sunday while 18 deaths took place today. These took the total infected and fatalities till date to 39,36,586 and 39,795, said the State Health Department.

A bulletin said 1,780 people were discharged. The total recoveries were 38,84,120 so far. Active cases stood at 12,634.

Bengaluru urban district reported 485 infections and 12 deaths.

Other districts too had fresh cases: 93 in Tumakuru, 51 in Belagavi, 48 in Mysuru, 46 in Ballari and 42 in Kodagu.

There were deaths in six districts, including the two in Dharwad.

There were zero fatalities in 25 districts.

The test positivity rate for the day was 1.42 per cent and the case fatality rate was 1.79 per cent.

As many as 70,290 tests were conducted and they included 53,503 RT-PCR tests. This took the total tests so far to 6.40 crore.

There were 19,998 people who got inoculated and the number of those vaccinated so far was 9.96 crore, the department said.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh

Bhopal,: A video showing Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh exhorting party leaders to stand united failing which it would be tough to find workers post the 2023 Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh surfaced on social media on Sunday, leading to the ruling BJP saying it was yet another example of “groupism” gripping the grand old party.

The video, which has been purportedly shot in Ratlam, has Singh telling party workers about the urgent need for unity.

“You are not ready to sit together. I am here but you are standing separately…. This will not do. I am telling you the election of 2023 (Assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh) will be the last one. If you will not contest elections honestly then be ready to sit at home. The Congress will not make a comeback and even finding workers (for the party) will be hard, he says in the video.

Ratlam District Congress (City) president Mahendra Kataria told PTI Singh was speaking to party workers outside the local circuit house on Saturday.

“On Saturday morning, Singh told party workers who had come to meet him to gather at the lawn. He expressed displeasure after seeing the workers who came from Jaora (a town in Ratlam district) standing in groups separately. So, he told them to be united, Kataria said.

Mocking the Congress over the video, state BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal said Singh was highlighting groupism in the party and that the video was aimed at unseating Kamal Nath as the state unit president.

“Singh already knows the truth that it is a distant dream for Congress to regain power in MP in 2023. He knows his party will become non-existent after that. However, Singh purposefully mentioned groupism in the party in the video to highlight that all this was happening under the leadership of Kamal Nath,” Agrawal claimed.

Chandigarh: The Election Commission on Sunday restrained actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood from visiting polling stations in Moga, where his sister is contesting on a Congress ticket, after receiving complaints that he was allegedly influencing voters, according to officials.

Sood’s vehicle was also impounded by police, they said, adding that a video surveillance team was also deployed outside his residence.

However, he has denied the charges of influencing voters.

Moga Returning Officer (RO) Satwant Singh said that Sood was directed not to visit polling stations.

Sood accused some candidates of buying votes, but the district election office did not find any substance in the allegation.

In a tweet, Sood alleged, Other Candidates in #Moga Constituency are buying votes. @ECISVEEP should take immediate action regarding the same.

“We should be extremely careful of rumours and fake news & ensure that we all go out and vote for the right candidate who can bring the change for the betterment of our society. Your every vote will strengthen our democracy and is crucial for the development of our country,” he said in another tweet.

On Sood’s accusation, the RO said no such incident came to their notice.

He said several locations were checked but no cash was found.

Sood’s sister had joined the Congress last month. Election to the 117-member Punjab Assembly is being held on Sunday.

Mumbai: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday met his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray here as part of efforts to bring together various like-minded parties against the BJP at the national level.

Following an invitation from Thackeray, Rao arrived at ‘Varsha’, the official residence of Maharashtra CM. Thackeray, who is also president of the Shiv Sena, recently spoke to Rao over phone and invited him to Mumbai.

Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Sunday said the meeting will expedite the process of political unity at the national level against the BJP.

Shiv Sena MP and party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut is also attending the meeting.

Later in the day, Rao is also scheduled to meet NCP president Sharad Pawar, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.

Thackeray had earlier announced “complete support” to Rao’s fight against the BJP’s alleged anti-people policies and to uphold the federal spirit.

The Telangana CM, who has been critical of the BJP and the Centre on a number of issues, had said he will hold meetings with his Maharashtra and West Bengal counterparts as part of efforts to unite various political parties against the BJP and the NDA government.