Congress leader Shashi Tharoor came under attack from the BJP for his remarks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore “outlandish” and “hilarious” Naga headgears during his trips but refused to wear a Muslim skull cap.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded an apology from the Congress party for insulting the people of Northeast and tribals, apart from seeking an explanation from Tharoor.

“Congress party and Shashi Tharoor ji please explain what’s the English meaning of outlandish and hilarious headgear? You can’t get away after insulting the tribal and Northeast people,” tweeted Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju.

“I demand an apology from the Congress party for insulting the people of India’s Northeast and tribals. Shashi Tharoor described Northeast people and Naga tribal headgears as funny looking outlandish and hilarious,” he added.

Another Minister and BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said: “Shashi Tharoor insults the proud cultural heritage of the people of Northeast.

“This condescension and arrogance towards the people of India have become a hallmark of @INCIndia,” he added.

Addressing a seminar, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said: “Why does our Prime Minister, who wears all sorts of outlandish headgears wherever he goes around the country and around the world, but always refuses to wear a Muslim skull cap?

“You see him in hilarious Naga headgears and feathers. You see him in various kinds of extraordinary outfits, which is a right thing for a Prime Minister to do. Indira Gandhi has also been photographed wearing various kinds of costumes. But why he still always says no to one?”

“Why does he refuse to wear green, the colour that he says is identified with Muslim appeasement? What kind of talk it is?” Tharoor said.

Tharoor had kicked up a row recently with his “Hindu Pakistan” remarks.

Around 17 lakh Maharashtra government employees launched a three-day strike on Tuesday over pending demands including implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission Report with departments like education and medical severely hit.

The state government on Monday night directed all employees to report for duty on Tuesday and warned of strict disciplinary action against those who failed to comply under MESMA (Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act) and salary cuts.

It also announced the payment of pending Dearness Allowance (DA) for 14 months to 150,000 gazetted officers, who accordingly withdrew from the three-day agitation.

An official of the Maharashtra State Employees Organisation (MSEO) said that all employees right up to taluka levels have joined the agitation.

The MSEO has accused the state government of sitting on its demands including the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission Report, effective from January 1, 2016.

However, later it dilly-dallied saying that it was awaiting the report of the K.P. Bakshi Committee in the matter as implementing the Commission would entail an additional burden of a staggering Rs 21,000-crore on the debt-hit state.

Other major demands include implementation of a five-day week in all government offices, increasing the retirement age from 58 to 60 and filling up urgently over 200,000 vacancies in the state.

The MSEO, Maharashtra State Class IV Employees Association and other affiliated associations served a notice to strike to the General Administration Department on July 16, but there was no response.

The unions have said that they will not settle for “mere assurances” but only direct action from the government since the strike was deferred several times in the past few years on such promises.

Tuesday’s action has hit normal work in all government offices including the headquarters, Mantralaya in Mumbai, collectorates, tehsils, and talukas, besides educational, medical and other government institutions.

Starting Tuesday midnight private buses, auto rickshaws, taxis, freight vehicles, state-owned KSRTC buses — all have gone off Kerala roads in solidarity with a day-long strike organized by the All India Motor Transport Organisation.

Even all workshops and spare parts shops have remained closed, turning it into a total shutdown.

With this 24-hour strike, the transport body is demanding the withdrawal of the proposed Motor Vehicle (MV) Amendment Bill.

Barring the Bhartiya Janata Party-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), all the other trade unions are taking part in the protest.

Private vehicles, though, have continued to ply across the state, as usual, leading to thin attendances in offices.

Students’ attendance at almost all educational intuitions was practically nil, even though it was not an official holiday. Even teachers’ attendances were also very low.

Given the situation, there was a huge rush reported on the Kochi Metro.

Although shops and establishments were open in several districts in major markets due to non-arrival of lorries ferrying consumables, they wore a deserted look.

People arriving at railways stations had a tough time. The police officers on duty tried their best to ensure transport for patients in need of emergencies.

Minor skirmishes were reported from a few places between protesters and drivers of taxis and auto-rickshaws who tried plying their vehicles despite the shutdown-call.

The proposed Motor Vehicle (MV) Amendment Bill, has been passed by the Lok Sabha, and is now awaiting the Rajya Sabha’s nod.

The protesters are also demanding reduction in insurance premium, besides the frequent price hike of petroleum products.

The YSR Congress party on Tuesday decided to vote against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman’s election.

Party leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaysai Reddy announced that the party will vote against Janta Dal-United (JD-U) MP Harivansh Narayan Singh, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA’s candidate.

The YSR Congress, the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, has two members in the upper House of Parliament.

Five Lok Sabha members of the YSR Congress have resigned to protest the Centre’s refusal to accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The party had earlier backed NDA candidates in the presidential and vice presidential elections.

Opposition parties will meet here on Monday evening to discuss the name of a joint opposition candidate for election to the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman’s post on August 9.

Sources said the opposition parties are expected to short list candidates at the meeting, which will be held in the chamber of Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad.

They would then get back to their leaders about the outcome of the meeting.

Another meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday to decide the candidate.

The election is likely to be a tight affair even as the opposition bloc has an edge over the BJP-led NDA in terms of numbers. The outcome will depend on the stance of parties such as BJD, AIADMK, Telangana Rashtra Samiti and YSRCP–which could ally with the government in certain situations.

Opposition sources said that there were 35 “fence sitters” and the outcome will depend on their stance.

The two large parties in the upper house — BJP and Congress — are unlikely to put up a candidate.

The parties which would support an opposition nominee include the Congress (50), TMC (14), SP (13), TDP (6), CPI-M (5), CPI (2), DMK (4), NCP (4), AAP (3), BSP (4), RJD (5), PDP (2), JD-S (1), Nominated (1), Kerala Congress-Mani (1) and IUML (1).

Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu had on Monday announced that the new Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman will be elected on August 9.

The post of the Deputy Chairman fell vacant after P.J. Kurien retired in July.

The election will be held a day before the conclusion of the monsoon session of Parliament.

The Congress on Monday accused the government of having brought the bill to restore the stringent provisions of the Scheduled Castes-Scheduled Tribes law after a lot of delays and that it did so now fearing a loss in elections.

“It has taken a lot of time to bring the legislation forward. I welcome the Bill and support it,” Leader of the party Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Lok Sabha while initiating a discussion on the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018.

He said the Supreme Court judgment in March had diluted the original Act, which Dalits around the country understood as “injustice”.

In the March judgment, the Supreme Court had struck down the provision that ensured the automatic arrest of a person charged with atrocities under the SC-ST law and also made it clear that any arrest of a government servant should be cleared by the competent authority and a civilian by an officer of the deputy superintendent of police.

“Protests took place across the country. People went to the jail and a lot of properties were damaged,” the Congress leader from Karnataka said.

He said the restoration of the provisions of the original law could have been done through an ordinance earlier.

“The Bill was nullified by the Supreme Court in March this year. And in the last four months, six ordinances were brought by the government. The government brought the ordinance to help the corporate companies first but did not bring the ordinance to stop injustice to over 24 percent of the population of the country. They could have brought the seventh ordinance also,” he said.

“The government thought that if we don’t bring this Bill now then we shall have to face its heat in the election,” he alleged.

Kharge said that even the dalit MPs of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had brought pressure on the government.

“Why didn’t you bring this Bill earlier? The Congress protested against the SC order on March 27, 2018 before the Gandhi statue in Parliament. If the answers were given four months ago, then this injustice to Dalits would not have happened,” he said.

Kharge said cases registered against the dalits who were part of the agitation on April 2 and 3 should be withdrawn and the protesters who were still in jail should be immediately released, he said.

He also said that the SC-ST law must be included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution.

Kharge also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that though he spoke about Kabir Das, from inside he believes in Manusmriti.

“The Prime Minister speaks about Kabir Das, (Dr B.R.) Ambedkar. He remembers Basavanna in Karnataka but inside you believe in Manu,” Kharge alleged.

Quoting Ambedkar, Kharge said, “I want all people to be Indians first, Indians last and nothing but Indians. And it was Congress who supported Ambedkar and his cause.”

Targeting right wing forces over attacks on dalits across the country, he said amidst objections from BJP members, “On the one hand you want to unite Hindus but on the other hand you are ill-treating the dalits. A person cannot have moustache, cannot ride a horse. He will be flogged, won’t be allowed to use public well…”

“You won’t understand till you were born in my caste,” he countered.

Pointing to the rise in the attacks against SC and ST people, Kharge said, according to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), atrocities against Dalit are recorded every 15 minutes. “Eleven Dalits are killed every week and six Dalit women are sexually abused every day,” he said.

He also said that in the last four years there has been a rise of 35-40 per cent in atrocities against Dalits.

Slamming Union Road Transport and Shipping Minister over his reported remarks ‘where are jobs’, Kharge said, “No jobs? As many as 24 lakh government jobs are lying vacant.”

Kharge was referring to the Gadkari’s statement on Sunday that reservation will not guarantee employment as jobs are shrinking.

“About 10.10 lakh vacancies are there for elementary school teachers, 4.5 lakh vacancies for police, 2.4 lakh vacancies in railways, 64,000 vacancies in armed forces, 65,000 vacancies in para military forces, etc.”

“If Gadkariji asks from where the government should bring employment, then the government should fill the 24 lakh vacancies in the government jobs,” he said.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy from the post of party’s state unit chief, replacing him with adaguru H Vishwanath, who belongs to the backward Kuruba community.JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda on Sunday relieved his son

The decision to appoint H Vishwanath is seen as an apparent move to widen the social base of JDS, which is considered a party of Vokkaligas.

Kuruba is the third numerically stronger community in the state after Lingayats and Vokkaligas.

Speculations were rife for the last fortnight that the party leadership was mulling relieving HD Kumaraswamy, heading the JDS-Congress coalition government in the state, from the dual responsibility, and H Vishwanath was the first choice.

“I will take along senior party leaders, office-bearers, and workers… and live up to the expectations of the party leadership,” H Vishwanath told reporters here after his appointment.

H Vishwanath, a former Congress leader, had joined the JDS ahead of the assembly elections in May last.

A former MP and three-time MLA, H Vishwanath is considered a master strategist.

Replying to a query he said he would draw up a strategy for the local urban body elections and next general elections in consultation with HD Devegowda, Kumaraswamy and other seniors.

He also emphasised on strengthening the party base in North Karnataka as there have been allegations that the JDS is restricted to a few districts including Ramanagar, Mandya, Mysuru and Hassan.

H Vishwanath, a close friend of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, was instrumental in bringing him to Congress.

Later, his relations with Siddaramaiah soured after a public spar and he quit Congress to join JDS.

Asked whether he was appointed to take on Siddaramaiah, he said it was meaningless because Siddaramaiah himself grew in JDS and nobody could think of anything adverse about him.

Maharashtra BJP MP Heena Gavit on Monday demanded a probe into the attack on her vehicle by over 200 pro-Maratha reservation protesters outside the Dhule Collectors office.

“I was attacked by over 200 people when I was traveling from Dhule. And only four police personnel were there. My party workers rescued me,” the Nandurbar MP told the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour.

“Some 15-20 people were arrested but later let-off,” she said. The Bharatiya Janata Party member also wanted to know whether she was targeted for being tribal.

Demanding suspension of the Superintendent of Police for not taking action against the 200 protesters who attacked her vehicle, Gavit showed the photographs of the attack and that the culprits were garlanded.

The incident took place on Sunday when Gavit was emerging from an official meeting at the Dhule Collector’s office.

The protesters are demanding reservations in government jobs and education for the Maratha community in Maharashtra.