Today's Big StoryEC curtails campaigning in West Bengal ahead of final phase of polls, shunts out two senior officers
In an unprecedented move, the poll panel on Wednesday decided to curtail campaigning in nine Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal following the incidence of violence during Amit Shah’s roadshow.
The ban will come into effect from 10 pm today in the constituencies of Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, South and North Kolkata.
The poll body also removed two senior state officials in West Bengal. Outrage and outpour: The incidence of violence and vandalism during the BJP chief’s Kolkata roadshow, in which the bust of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was desecrated, has sparked national outrage.
The great luminary's kin was left shaken by the act of vandalism. "I don't have words to explain how this could actually happen here in Bengal," said Vidyasagar's great-grandson.
The Trinamool Congress even took out a ‘padayatra’ in protest against the BJP, who they claimed were responsible for the vandalism. Meanwhile, BJP leaders including Nirmala Sitharaman staged a silent protest in Delhi and Kolkata against TMC.'Emergency-like situation': Hitting out at the EC’s decision to put the ban into force at 10 pm (an EC enforced “silence period" usually starts at 5 pm), CM Mamata Banerjee said the time was only chosen to convenience the PM, who is addressing rallies in Mathurapur and Dum Dum today evening.
“An emergency-like situation has arisen because of the EC decision... it is not the EC’s decision, it's a decision taken by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi," she said.In Other NewsSushma Swaraj tells Iran's Foreign Minister that decision on Iranian oil imports will be taken after elections
During her meeting with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Sushma Swaraj said that the Indian government will take a decision about importing oil from Iran after elections conclude, which has been put on hold following US sanctions, keeping in mind the “commercial considerations, energy security and economic interests".Air India sets up inquiry to probe harassment charges against senior captain
The captain has been accused by one of his colleagues of asking inappropriate questions about her sex life. The complainant said that the captain had asked her: “Don’t you need to have sex everyday".Alabama senate passes bill banning nearly all abortions, including cases of rape
The senate has only allowed for exceptions in cases where the mother’s health is in danger. The law will only be passed after it is approved by Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who is known to be a strong opponent for abortion.In Lok Sabha polls, users use WhatsApp clones worth Rs 1,000 to skip app safety tools
WhatsApp clones and software tools that cost as little as Rs 1000 are helping Indian digital marketers and political activists bypass anti-spam restrictions set up by the world’s most popular messaging appNews18 Election Tracker
The Supreme Court on Wednesday termed as "prima facie arbitrary" the arrest of BJP's youth wing leader Priyanka Sharma for allegedly posting a morphed image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media.
The top court on Tuesday had granted bail to Sharma but had directed the activist to tender an apology. The BJP youth wing activist, however, refused to apologise saying she had no regrets for what she had done.
Meanwhile, a day after Congress MLA from Rae Bareli Aditi Singh was attacked by goons, an FIR was registered against six people, including BJP Lok Sabha candidate and MLC Dinesh Singh.
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi rushed to the constituency after the attack to take stock of the situation. She claimed BJP government’s hand in the incident and wondered, “What kind of democracy and governance is this?" On Our SpecialsDeciding vote: In Uttar Pradesh, Badri Narayan finds that 17 of the most backward castes will play a determining role in the Lok Sabha contest in the eastern part of the state (Purvanchal) that head to the polls in the final phase on Sunday.Keenly watched: From Bihar, Pankaj Kumar describes the intense battle taking place between Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti and one-time loyalist of Lalu’s family Ramkripal Yadav.An attempt to kill?: Anurag Verma writes that Game of Thrones’ character Lord Varys, who dies in the latest episode, could actually have tried to poison the Dragon Queen aka Daenerys Targaryen after learning about Jon Snow’s truth. On Reel
Comments
0 comment