logo
Raj Thackeray's men remove Gujarati display board at Navi Mumbai BJP MLA's office; taken off under police supervision

Raj Thackeray's men remove Gujarati display board at Navi Mumbai BJP MLA's office; taken off under police supervision

Time of India22-07-2025
NEW DELHI:
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
members, along with other political party workers, forced a Gujarat BJP MLA's office, located in Seawoods, Navi Mumbai, to remove a Gujarati signboard on Monday.
The signboard was taken down with police presence outside the public relations office of Virendrasinh Bahadursinh Jadeja, who serves as MLA for Rapar constituency in Gujarat, PTI reported.
The party had previously issued an ultimatum demanding the board's removal last week.
Led by MNS Navi Mumbai City Secretary Sachin Kadam, representatives from Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) organised a demonstration to the NRI Sagari police station.
The group submitted their request to authorities, demanding the immediate replacement of the Gujarati board with a Marathi one. They also requested action against those who they claimed had "insulted" Marathi identity.
NRI Sagari police station's Senior Inspector Sunil Kadam provided assurance that the disputed board would be removed promptly.
Following this assurance, MNS supporters visited the BJP office where the Gujarati plaque was removed under police supervision.
The MNS released a statement saying, "In the presence of the police, the Gujarati plaque was removed. And the BJP MLA's worker publicly apologised to all the Marathi people and assured to install the Marathi dais within a few hours."Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Madhya Pradesh minister Shah faces house heat over remarks on Col. Qureshi; Congress says he must quit
Madhya Pradesh minister Shah faces house heat over remarks on Col. Qureshi; Congress says he must quit

The Hindu

time17 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Madhya Pradesh minister Shah faces house heat over remarks on Col. Qureshi; Congress says he must quit

Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister Vijay Shah faced calls for resignation in the assembly from the opposition Congress over his controversial remarks on Army officer Colonel Sofia Qureshi as he rose to reply to a question in the house. The house was briefly adjourned after Congress members created a ruckus during the Question Hour and demanded the resignation of Mr. Shah, who holds the Bhopal gas tragedy relief and rehabilitation, public assets management and tribal affairs portfolios in the BJP government. As soon as the BJP minister rose to reply to a query of Congress MLA Arif Masood regarding the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, opposition members were up on their feet, demanding the resignation or sacking of Mr. Shah for disrespecting a woman Army officer. They trooped into the well of the house and shouted, Vijay Shah 'istifa do (resign), Vijay Shah ko 'barkhaast karo' (sack him). Speaker Narendra Tomar asked Congress MLAs to maintain calm and take their seats, but the opposition members ignored his advice and continued with their protest. Treasury benches comprising ruling BJP members also raised slogans against the opposition, saying they have disrespected the Army. As accusations flew thick and fast between Treasury and opposition benches, the Speaker tried to maintain order in the House. But when the opposition members did relent, Mr. Tomar adjourned the house briefly amid deafening sloganeering. On Monday (July 28, 2025), the Supreme Court pulled Mr. Shah for not issuing a public apology over his remarks against Col. Qureshi, saying he is testing the court's patience. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the conduct of the minister was making the court doubt his intentions and bonafide. Senior advocate K. Parmeshwar, appearing for the BJP minister, said he had issued an apology, which was online, and would be placed on the court's record. The bench asked the special investigation team (SIT) constituted to probe the statements made by the minister to submit its report by August 13. Mr. Shah came under fire after a widely circulated video showed him allegedly making objectionable remarks against Col. Qureshi, who gained nationwide prominence along with another woman officer, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, during the media briefings on 'Operation Sindoor', India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, in May. Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh High Court rebuked Mr. Shah for passing 'scurrilous' remarks and using 'language of the gutters' against Col. Qureshi and ordered police to file an FIR against him on the charge of promoting enmity and hatred. After drawing severe condemnation, Mr. Shah expressed regret and said that he respects Col. Qureshi more than his sister. The top court on Monday (July 28, 2025) also questioned the apology issued by the minister and said that the word 'apology' has a meaning. The court refused to accept the apology and ordered the state government to form an SIT to investigate the matter.

‘Harassment, false allegations': Meghalaya CM's letter to Chhattisgarh counterpart on arrest of 2 Kerala nuns
‘Harassment, false allegations': Meghalaya CM's letter to Chhattisgarh counterpart on arrest of 2 Kerala nuns

Indian Express

time17 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

‘Harassment, false allegations': Meghalaya CM's letter to Chhattisgarh counterpart on arrest of 2 Kerala nuns

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has written to his Chhattisgarh counterpart, Vishnu Deo Sai, raising concern over the arrest of two nuns from Kerala by the Chhattisgarh Police. The National People's Party president, whose coalition government in Christian-majority Meghalaya also includes the BJP, wrote that the NPP believes this to be a 'case of harassment and false allegations'. The letter asked the BJP-led Chhattisgarh government to consider revoking the case lodged against the nuns. The two nuns, Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis, and another person, Sukhman Mandavi, were arrested last Friday at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh. The FIR, registered under sections of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, was based on a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal worker. The complaint alleged that they converted three women from Narayanpur and were attempting to traffic them. One of the three women had earlier told The Indian Express that she was threatened and assaulted by a woman associated with a right-wing outfit and forced to change her statement. In his letter, Sangma wrote that the nuns were arrested 'under allegedly false charges and pressure from right-wing groups'. 'The situation arose when the nuns were accompanying three girls from Chhattisgarh to Agra. A Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) questioned the girls, who said they didn't have tickets and were travelling at the nuns' request. The TTE alerted local activists, who then alleged the nuns were attempting to take the girls for forced religious conversion. This claim sparked a protest, and the police detained the nuns and girls based on the activists' complaint,' Sangma wrote. He requested CM Vishnu Deo Sai to ensure a fair investigation in the case, safeguard the rights of religious minorities in Chhattisgarh and consider revoking the case lodged against the nuns. 'A case has been lodged against the nuns under serious sections. We believe that this is a case of harassment and false allegations. Hence, we urge you to intervene and ensure justice. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has also requested the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and Hon'ble Home Minister Amit Shah ji to intervene in this matter,' he wrote.

‘Supari To Kill Me…Time To Bring Out Sudarshan Chakra': UP Energy Minister AK Sharma's Power Tussle
‘Supari To Kill Me…Time To Bring Out Sudarshan Chakra': UP Energy Minister AK Sharma's Power Tussle

News18

time30 minutes ago

  • News18

‘Supari To Kill Me…Time To Bring Out Sudarshan Chakra': UP Energy Minister AK Sharma's Power Tussle

Last Updated: In his headlong clash with power sector employees, AK Sharma has alluded to a 'supari' being taken out to finish him and invoking the 'Sudarshan chakra' Once a powerful bureaucrat of the nation, Energy and Urban Development Minister AK Sharma seems powerless in his political avatar. In his headlong clash with power sector employees first over controlling line losses, corruption and then proposed privatisation of discoms, Sharma has in recent days alluded to a 'supari" being taken out to finish him and invoking the 'Sudarshan chakra" to deal with his alleged conspirators. His anger against top officers and engineers burst out on July 24, when at the end of a high-level meeting in Lucknow he said that officials had lost touch with the problems people face on the ground and he was not there to listen to their false data and 'bakwaas". He said that officials were neck-deep in corruption and sending inflated bills to customers and then reducing them after taking bribes, malfunctioning transformers were not being replaced for weeks on end, vigilance raids were being carried out on small defaulters sparing the bigger ones and manpower deployment had become a source to extort money. 'You all don't realise the kind of resentment on the ground that I have to face. People are constantly complaining to me and other politicians but there is no effort to deal with their problems. It seems some people have taken a supari to tarnish my image. I know where you are being instigated from" Sharma had lashed out. ऊर्जा मंत्री श्री ए के शर्मा की सुपारी लेने वालों में विद्युत कर्मचारी के वेश में कुछ अराजक तत्व भी हैं …कुछ विद्युत कर्मचारी नेता काफ़ी दिनों से परेशान घूम रहे हैं क्योंकि उनके सामने ऊर्जा मंत्री जी झुकते नहीं हैं। ये वही लोग हैं जिनकी वजह से बिजली विभाग बदनाम हो रहा… — AK Sharma Office (@AKSharmaOffice) July 28, 2025 Who is AK Sharma? A Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1988 batch, Sharma enjoys the reputation of a 'doer' and ensuring 'fast delivery'. He worked closely with Narendra Modi when he was the CM of Gujarat and was credited with orations the 'Vibrant Gujarat" summit and later moved into the PMO when Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014. He served in the PMO till suddenly taking a VRS at the start of 2021 and was shortly afterwards made the Vice President in the state BJP and an MLC. When the BJP rode back to power in 2022, he was made a cabinet minister and given the two big departments of Power and Urban Development. His troubles seem to have started when the UP government proposed Privatisation of power distribution companies (discoms). This had thousands of engineers and linemen up in arms who protested the move and struck work. In a social media post put out by Sharma's official account on Monday, it is stated that 'the move to privatise Discoms has been taken collectively by the government at the highest level. When officials are aware that AK Sharma cannot transfer a Junior Engineer, how can he take such a big decision as to privatize discoms all alone. Frequent protests and strikes are being carried out and inappropriate language has been used against me and my family at one such protest outside my residence. There is a planned effort to tarnish the image of the power minister and it seems all those who are jealous of me have come together". Sharma's outbursts have come after weeks of being pilloried on social media where he is seen by heckled by people for power cuts while on visits to to districts and reports of power outages while he has been holding meetings. Sharma's social media account has blamed 'some anti-social power department employee union leaders are conspiring to show the minister in bad light. This is because the minister refuses to bow to their wishes. Their union leaders did not resort to such protests when the Agra discom was privatized during the Mayawati government. They were silent as they were obliged and sent on foreign tours". Sharma has been vocal against union leaders for the last few weeks. In a public meeting held in Mau recently, he said, 'I have been trying to reason and motivate the power employees to improve their functioning for the last three years but to no avail. Now the time has come to weild the Sudarshan Chakra like Lord Krishna did against the Kauravas. But I am showing restraint. Those who think that the minister holds no power and cannot discipline them let me tell them that if like Lord Ram release the arrow nobody will be able to save them from here to the Rashtrapati Bhawan (President's House). Sharma has been in the offensive over the past few days and his office social media account recently released an audio clip of a former MLA and an Executive Engineer, where the later refused to heed to the former legislators complaint over a 12 hour power outage in the city and repeatedly telling him to seek redressal from the helpline number. Sharma was quick to reprimand officials taking out a press release to state 'helpline numbers are only a secondary form of receiving complaints. Engineers will have to take complaints directly and solve them. This has been clarified earlier also but some officials deliberately hide behind official procedures to avoid work and are sabotaging the department". With Sharma being in the offensive, senior officials have pulled their socks up but clearly it seems that it is not the end of the chapter yet. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : news18 specials view comments Location : Lucknow, India, India First Published: August 01, 2025, 18:06 IST News india 'Supari To Kill Me…Time To Bring Out Sudarshan Chakra': UP Energy Minister AK Sharma's Power Tussle Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store