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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bandi Sanjay slams ‘Marwadi Go Back' slogans, warns of ‘Rohingya Go Back' agitation
Hyderabad In a blistering attack on Congress, BRS and MIM, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar accused them of 'conspiring to divide Hindus under the guise of 'Marwadi Go Back' campaigns'. Participating in the Har Ghar Tiranga rally in the city on Friday, along with BJP State president N. Ramchander Rao, Mr. Sanjay questioned the rationale behind 'targeting' Marwadi businessmen. 'Marwadis have never fought for political power, nor have they looted Telangana. They have generated wealth through business and contributed significantly to GDP while upholding the Hindu Sanatana Dharma. Why should they leave Telangana?' he asked. He added that the real threat was from Rohingyas, and those targeting the Hindus should speak about Rohingyas. He warned that people would intensify the 'Rohingya Go Back' movement to safeguard Hindu traditions. He also alleged that butcher shops and dry cleaning shops, which are traditionally run by some communities among Hindus, were now taken over by people from minority communities. 'This is part of a conspiracy to divide Hindus,' he claimed. On allegations of vote theft, Mr. Sanjay dismissed any BJP involvement. 'The Election Commission is a constitutional body. If BJP could manipulate votes, why do we have only 240 MPs instead of a full majority? Wouldn't we have won Telangana and Karnataka too?,' he asked.
Hindustan Times
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
BMC collects ₹68k from pigeon feeders, 32% of this from Dadar Kabootarkhana
MUMBAI: Even as the tussle between obdurate pigeon feeders and the BMC continued at the Dadar Kabootarkhana, the civic body was more successful at other kabootarkhanas in the city, collecting ₹68,700 from 142 persons till Sunday. At the GPO Kabootarkhana at CSMT, barely a handful of pigeons were seen fluttering about on Monday evening, pecking at the non-existent grains at the feeding spot. The BMC covered the Dadar Kabutarkhana with a plastic sheet after the Bombay high court banned feeding pigeons in Mumbai. (Raju Shinde/ HT Photo) Unsurprisingly, the most fines—51—were collected from the Dadar Kabootarkhana, amounting to a whopping ₹22,200, 32% of the total fines collected. Nevertheless, a large crowd, featuring many women, congregated at the kabootarkhana in the afternoon to pursue their goal of getting the space to remain open for pigeons and pigeon feeders. While the plastic sheet thrown over the Grade II heritage structure and the BMC staff on site inhibited people from throwing grain, the nearby Jain temple arranged for water for the pigeons. This attracted the birds there, and a few were even ritually worshipped by the pigeon feeders. 'Around 980 innocent pigeons have died at the Dadar Kabootarkhana,' claimed Sandeep Desai, a member of the Dadar Kabootarkhana trust. Desai went on to throw a warning at the BJP. 'The party has come to power everywhere where there are Jains, Gujaratis and Marwadis,' he said. 'Now they are backtracking and stabbing us in the back. If the government had the will, they would reverse the court order.' The Bombay high court order, which came last week, ordered the BMC to register FIRs against individuals found feeding pigeons. Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor expressed frustration at the continued violations despite their earlier refusal to grant interim relief to pigeon feeders. 'If they don't want to follow the rule of law, then the law should catch up with them,' the bench remarked, adding that such acts constituted a public nuisance and endangered human life. The BMC said it was following the affidavit submitted to the court, which stated the medical science-backed fact that pigeon droppings contribute to serious respiratory illnesses such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). Uncontrolled public pigeon feeding has allegedly increased the population of the birds and led to a rise in respiratory illnesses in the city. After Dadar, the H West ward collected the second-largest tranche of fines for the kabootarkhana near Bandra Talao— ₹7,500 from 15 persons. T ward collected another ₹6,500 from 13 offenders. ₹6,000 was collected from P East ward, featuring five kabootarkhanas in Malad East. P South, in Goregaon West, collected ₹5,500 in fines from 11 persons. A ward, home to the GPO kabootar khana, fined eight people and collected ₹4,000. Even as a user of social media site X complained about the persisting kabootarkhana outside Jogeshwari East station, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that he would hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the subject along with the issue of the Supreme Court-mandated transfer of an ill elephant from a Kolhapur Jain shrine to a rescue and rehab centre in Jamnagar, which the Jain shrine was demanding back. The Jain community has threatened to hold a peaceful protest at the Dadar Kabootarkhana, followed by a peace rally on August 10 and an indefinite hunger strike if the court verdict is not in their favour. The next compliance hearing is scheduled for August 7, where the court will review medical data from KEM Hospital and enforcement reports from the BMC and Mumbai police.
Hindustan Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Traders protest MNS slap politics in Mira Road
MUMBAI: Hundreds of shopkeepers and traders in Mira Road took to the streets on Thursday to protest an assault by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers on the owner of a sweet mart, for not speaking in Marathi. Shops in large parts of Mira Road were also shut as part of the protest. Traders protest MNS slap politics in Mira Road The assault on Babulal Khimaji Chaudhary, 48, owner of Jodhpur Sweet Mart, took place on June 29. Protesting traders on Thursday assembled in the Shanti Park area, fearing they would be targeted next as many of them are Gujaratis and Marwadis, and are not conversant in Marathi. The traders said that even though their home state was not Maharashtra, they had been living in Mira-Bhayander for decades. 'It is not that we do not respect Maharashtra and Marathi,' said Karan Rajput, member of the local shopkeepers' association. 'We want justice for the victim and an assurance that we will be able to stay and continue our business without fear,' said Rajput. The protest, which lasted two hours, ended when Prakash Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police, assured the shop owners that action would be taken against the accused in the assault. The Incident At around 10:35 pm on June 29, seven men walked into Babulal Chaudhary's shop. Well-built, bearded and 20-30 years old, they were sporting a scarf bearing the MNS symbol and name. The men asked the cashier for a bottle of water. When he couldn't converse in Marathi, the men verbally abused everyone in the shop. They said, 'If you don't know Marathi, don't live in Maharashtra. If you don't speak in Marathi, we will beat everyone and drive them away, and we will break and burn down your shop.' Chaudhary demanded to know what government rule required people to speak in Marathi. In response, the men asked Chaudhary what language was spoken in Maharashtra. When he replied, 'All languages,' they grew very angry and slapped and punched Chaudhary in the face, head and neck. 'They threatened to wreck my shop, and burn me along with it,' he said. 'When a crowd began to assemble, seven or eight more people from the MNS party arrived and took away the men who had assaulted me,' said Chaudhary. He said one of the goons recorded the incident on his mobile phone and that the video was widely circulated allegedly by MNS party workers. The Law Kashimira police have charged the accused with voluntarily causing harm and unlawful assembly under the BNS. Later, CCTV footage helped identify the goons. Notices have been to all the accused. Two of them have previous cases of assault pending, and their cases will be escalated to the DCP level, police said.
