Indian Election
BJP fields candidate accused in bomb blast
The ruling party of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Wednesday it will field a candidate accused of involvement in a deadly 2008 bomb blast in the country's ongoing national election. Pragya Singh Thakur, a 48-year-old female monk, is out on bail while she faces charges related to the attack that killed six people. She announced Wednesday that she will run for a seat in the city of Bhopal on the ticket of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Thakur, a firebrand speaker, made national headlines after the blast close to a mosque in western Maharashtra state's Malegaon city that also injured around 100 people.
Modi jabs Congress-JDS over IAF strike at Balakot
Prime Minister Narendra Modi upped the ante against the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular alliance in Karnataka yesterday saying national security is not a priority for the Opposition parties. He cited recent Balakot strike and the surgical strike of 2016 across the Line of Control (LoC) to target the Opposition in his public rally. "I remember that when air strike was conducted Pakistan was sleeping. Pakistan told the whole world that there was a strike by India and they started crying. There were some people in our country who got hurt when the attack was launched across the border," the prime minister said at an election rally in Bagalkot Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka.
EC suspends IAS officer for checking Modi's chopper
The Election Commission on Wednesday suspended an officer posted as General Observer in Odisha for allegedly checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chopper in Sambalpur in violation of the laid down norms. The 1996 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, Mohammed Mohsin, has not acted in conformity with the EC's instructions concerning SPG protectees, an order issued by the commission said. On the basis of a report from the district collector and the DIG of police, the EC has taken action against the General Observer of Sambalpur came a day after the Prime Minister's visit there on Tuesday.
Man hurls shoe at BJP leaders during press conference
A man flung a shoe at BJP leaders addressing a press conference at the party's headquarters in New Delhi yesterday. The incident took place when GVL Narasimha Rao, national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP was starting to brief the media. An unidentified man in pink shirt came near the stage where Rao was sitting and hurled the shoe at the MP which rammed into the mic. It was not immediately clear why the person, who identified himself as a doctor by profession, threw the shoe. Rao, momentarily startled , continued with the briefing as the party workers dragged the man out of the conference hall. At the time of the incident, other than Rao, BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav was also present at the media address.
Source: TNN, AFP, Hindustan Times