NEWS

Flagging off two more rath yatras or roadshows rechristened Parivartan Yatra (journey for change) in poll-bound West Bengal on Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national president J P Nadda launched another scathing attack on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of insulting the state’s rich culture and presiding over corruption.

“The culture once nurtured by icons such as Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Shyama Prasad Mookerjee can be revived only after you (Banerjee) are ousted,” Nadda said at a rally at Lalgarh, an erstwhile Maoist stronghold in Jhargram district, where he launched a roadshow.

In the afternoon, Nadda flagged off the day’s first roadshow in Birbhum district after offering prayers at Tarapith temple, one of the most popular destinations among Hindu pilgrims.

The number of people from Jharkhand who are missing in Chamoli district of Uttrakhand, following a glacial burst that triggered an avalanche and massive flooding on Sunday morning, rose to 21, officials said on Tuesday.

Ten people, who are stranded in Chamoli district, have requested the state government to help them return to their respective district, officials said.

Johnson Topno, who is leading the state migrant control room, said, “A total of 21 people from Jharkhand’s four districts have been reported missing so far, while ten people have expressed willingness to return.”

Khalistani sloganeer Deep Sidhu, who was wanted in the Republic Day violence case, is finally in the police net. The police had been trying to nab him since a group of protesters barged into the Red Fort and hoisted a religious flag on the ramparts of the monument on Republic Day.

Deep Sidhu, who was allegedly seen encouraging protesters to hoist the flag, had been absconding since the day of the violence. Even though his videos continued to appear on his Facebook page, he had managed to remain allusive to the cops, despite a cash prize on his head.

One possible reason is that during the past fortnight, he regularly changed his location to do avoid the arrest.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee is not allergic to Ram naam (chanting the name of Ram), nor is she anti-Hindu, as BJP has been trying to make her seem. To drive home this message following the Victoria Memorial incident in late January—where she refused to address an event on the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose after being heckled by saffron supporters who aggressively shouted "Jai Shri Ram" at her before she was to speak—Mamata has been making sure to evoke Ram at least once or twice during her speeches.

On this count, on January 25, two days after she refused to speak at the Victoria Memorial, Mamata introduced a four-line limerick that will feature in campaigns going forward: "Hare Krishna, Hare Ram/ Bidaye jaak, BJP ar baam (Hail Krishna, hail Ram/ It's time for the BJP and the Left to retire)." This was not an invocation of Ram as much as it was a gesture to highlight that she was not averse to taking Ram's name. Aside from this, a TMC-affiliated college teachers' organisation, the WBCUPA (West Bengal College and University Professors' Association) has also floated a new slogan—"Hey Ram", Gandhiji's last words before he died of the gunshot wounds inflicted by the RSS's Nathuram Godse.