BJP frustrated with INDIA bloc’s historic rally: UP Cong chief on ‘Save Democracy padyatra’

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Lucknow, Nov 4 (IANS) Congress’ Uttar Pradesh President Aradhana ‘Mona’ Misra, on Wednesday, said it “must be the first time” that a ruling party is staging protests against the opposition, contending that the BJP-led government has been left “frustrated” with the INDIA bloc’s “historic” ‘Dilli Chalo’ rally.

Misra made the remarks after BJP chief Nitin Nabin and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ rally in UP’s Gorakhpur.

The BJP has been holding the rally across various parts of the country to counter the INDIA bloc’s protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.

Speaking to IANS, Aradhana Misra said: “I think this must be the first time that the ruling party is taking to the streets in protest against the opposition. This also reflects their frustration somewhere, the unrest that has stirred within the BJP after the historic rally at (Delhi’s) Ramlila Maidan.”

“So, somewhere, it has compelled them to the point that today the ruling party itself is forced to hit the streets in agitation,” she claimed.

Meanwhile, the UP Congress chief also spoke regarding the meeting held in Delhi under the leadership of party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in view of the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

“Yesterday’s meeting was very important, in which we began preparations for our elections, and there was discussion on those election committees that are formed during the elections, such as the manifesto committee, management committee, coordination committee, media committee—there was extensive discussion on all of them, and it has been a very positive and energetic start,” Aradhana Misra said.

She added that the party has already undertaken preparations for the upcoming polls.

“We will go into the polls strongly, not just for contesting but also to win and form government,” Misra asserted.

According to party insiders, Priyanka Gandhi will play a pivotal role in the seat-sharing negotiations with Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, NDTV reported.

She had also led the party’s unsuccessful campaign in the 2022 polls when the Congress fought the elections alone and could manage to win only two seats.

Priyanka Gandhi had also held a meeting last month with UP Congress leaders regarding seat allocation ahead of the Assembly polls.

–IANS

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Kerala govt woos Arab tourists, eyes huge tourism bonanza

Kochi, Aug 14 (IANS) The Kerala government led by Chief Minister Satheesan is mounting an ambitious drive to attract more tourists from the Arab world, targeting nearly three lakh additional visitors and hoping to generate more than Rs 25,000 crore in economic activity from the segment over the next five years.

The State is particularly eyeing high spending Arab families, with Tourism Minister P.C. Vishnunath calling for a coordinated effort by the government and tourism industry to position Kerala as a preferred destination for travellers from the Gulf and West Asia.

Minister for Tourism, Cinema and Culture P.C. Vishnunadh had recently released the logo of the Indo-Arab Connect 2026 scheduled to be held in Kochi from August 31 to September 2. Speaking after releasing the logo, the minister said tourists from Arab countries will play a critical role in the future growth of Kerala’s tourism economy.

Indo-Arab Connect 2026 will bring more than 175 Arab travel agents and tour operators from 11 countries to Kochi from August 31 to September 1.

The summit will provide Kerala’s hotels, resorts, Ayurveda centres, houseboat operators and tour companies an opportunity to directly showcase their products to Arab buyers.

More than 150 tourism and hospitality establishments from India and neighbouring destinations are expected to participate.

The State is banking on its established popularity among Arab travellers, particularly from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, as well as markets such as Egypt, Jordan and Iran.

Industry representatives said Arab tourists are among the world’s higher spenders on accommodation, dining and shopping, making every additional arrival particularly valuable to the local economy.

Importantly for Kerala’s tourism industry, Arab travellers predominantly visit the State between June and September traditionally a relatively lean period for domestic tourism.

A sustained increase in Arab arrivals could therefore help hotels and resorts maintain occupancy and employment during the off-season.

Kerala’s centuries old links with the Arab world, its large Malayali diaspora and the availability of Arabic-speaking personnel are being projected as additional advantages.

Following the Kochi summit, Arab delegates will undertake a nine-day familiarisation tour from September 2 to 9, covering Kochi, Munnar, Kumarakom, Alappuzha, Kovalam and Wayanad.

With Arab travellers already forming an important component of Kerala’s foreign tourist market, the State is now seeking to turn that established relationship into a much bigger and more lucrative tourism opportunity.

–IANS

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Two Kuki women killed in suspected Naga militant attack in Manipur

Imphal, Sep 15 (IANS) In fresh violence in Manipur, two women belonging to the Kuki community were killed allegedly by cadres of a Naga armed group at Leisangphai in Jiribam district on Tuesday, officials said.

Police said the women were gathering firewood on their farm when the armed cadres allegedly opened fire on them, killing both on the spot.

The victims were identified as Chonga Sitlhou, 60, and Ng. Kimneo Singson, 28.

Singson had recently completed her nursing course and returned home to assist her parents with farming, according to local sources.

Kuki community organisations blamed the NSCN-IM and ZUF-K for the incident, saying it came amid a series of attacks and killings involving Kuki civilians in Jiribam, Tamenglong and Noney districts.

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), an apex body of the community, in view of what it described as continuing and unabated violence against Kuki-Zo civilians allegedly perpetrated by Naga armed groups operating in Manipur, issued a notification to all civil society organisations (CSOs) across community-inhabited districts directing that no Kuki-Zo person killed by Naga armed groups in Manipur shall be buried until further notice.

“The mortal remains of every such victim shall instead be preserved in the nearest available cold-storage facility until further directions are issued by the Kuki-Zo Council,” it said.

“This decision is a deliberate and collective measure of protest and resistance against the continuing killing of Kuki-Zo civilians and the failure to ensure justice and accountability for these attacks,” it said, adding that it could not allow the deaths of people to be reduced to isolated incidents and forgotten after burial while those responsible continued to operate with impunity.

Another leading tribal organisation, the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), strongly condemned what it described as an unprovoked attack and killing of innocent Kuki villagers by the “NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson)”.

Over the past three days, including Tuesday, six innocent Kuki villagers have reportedly been killed, the KIM said in a statement.

“Where are the Central and state Governments? How much longer will the authorities remain silent in the face of repeated attacks on innocent Kuki-Zo civilians? The government cannot continue to feign ignorance of what is being perpetrated against the Kuki-Zo people,” it said.

The Kuki people have exercised considerable restraint despite repeated provocations and the loss of innocent lives, particularly in recognition of the many Nagas who do not support violence and genuinely desire peace and peaceful coexistence between the two communities, the KIM said. The statement said the Kuki Inpi Manipur did not wish to see the actions of armed groups like the NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson) further damage relations between the Kuki and Naga peoples. However, the continued targeting of innocent civilians and the alleged failure of the authorities to protect them were pushing the situation towards an extremely dangerous point, it said.

The Kuki Inpi Manipur urged the Central and state governments to act immediately and decisively to stop further attacks, protect innocent civilians, ensure the safety and security of vulnerable villages, and bring those responsible for the killings to justice.

It has also decided that, however difficult and painful it may be for the bereaved families, the mortal remains of the two deceased women shall not be claimed until justice is attained.

–IANS

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What stopped BJP from driving out Bangladeshi infiltrators for so long, asks Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Murshidabad, May 29 (IANS) Amid the BJP government’s measures against illegal infiltrators in West Bengal, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday asked, “what stopped the BJP-led Centre from driving out Bangladeshi infiltrators from West Bengal during their three-term regime at the Centre?”

Notably, ever since the BJP came to power in Bengal, the Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari-led government has set up ‘holding centres’ in the state for providing temporary accommodation to illegal infiltrators before they are handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) at its nearest border outposts (BOPs), from where they will be sent back to their own countries.

There has been a huge influx of infiltrators at the Hakimpur border since Tuesday night.

Addressing the media, Chowdhury acknowledged that illegal infiltration has been taking place since decades in the country.

“The government can do anything. We are seeing detention centres in Assam as well. We do not have any data on how many infiltrators were caught or how many were sent back to Bangladesh,” he said.

Maintaining that the government should fulfill what it had promised, he said: “Given the noise surrounding all this, the government should reveal the figures of how many infiltrators have been caught and sent back.”

The Congress leader questioned the Centre on what had been stopping it from taking action against the infiltrators till now.

“Laws have been passed for this, such as the NRC and many others. You people (BJP-led NDA) are the ones running the country for the third term, and even the Prime Minister of the country belongs to your party (BJP). So, who had stopped you for so many days from removing Bangladeshis?,” he said.

However, Chowdhury stressed that the BJP government should look into the facts that how many of the illegal infiltrators are Hindus and Muslims, how many of them are being ‘pushed back’, how many are being legally deported and how many of them has the Bangladeshi government agreed to take back.

While emphasising that not a single infiltrator should stay back in India, he urged the BJP-led Centre to release a White Paper regarding the government’s calculations.

“How many infiltrators are residing in India, should be made public by the government,” he asserted.

–IANS

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