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Time of India
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
After admitting ‘2nd wife', ex-BJP MLA now claims she's film co-star
Haridwar: Former BJP MLA from Jwalapur constituency, Haridwar, Suresh Rathore, on Wednesday refuted claims that he married Saharanpur-based actress Urmila Sanawar, a week after publicly introducing her as his second wife. He said the widely-shared images of what appeared to be his wedding were actually scenes from a film he is producing. The assertion followed a disciplinary notice from BJP's state unit, asking him to explain how this public display squared with the state's Uniform Civil Code , which criminalises polygamy (Rathore hasn't divorced his first wife). At a press event in Saharanpur just days earlier, the Rathore had declared, "Urmila's love has won," and described her as part of his family. The moment was captured on video and shared widely on social media, prompting Congress to accuse BJP of shielding its own leaders from UCC provisions while using them against others. The actress, too, updated her social media profile to "Urmila Suresh Rathore" and posted visuals of Rathore acknowledging their relation. Rathore now insists the entire episode was cinematic. "There is no certificate, no vermilion, no garland. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending Local Enterprise Accounting Software [Click Here] Accounting ERP Click Here Undo The visuals of the marriage are from 'Bhabhi Ji Vidhayak Hain', a film I am producing," he told TOI. Sanawar, however, maintained that they were married in Nepal. The dispute traces back about a year, when Rathore, presenting himself as a self-proclaimed religious leader of Dalits, introduced Urmila as his disciple. Shortly after, she claimed they had wed. Rathore filed a complaint of blackmail; she responded with allegations of assault. Rathore now says those issues have been "settled". Uttarakhand Congress spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasauni criticised BJP's inaction. "He accepted the woman, now says it was a film. Is this a joke?"
The Hindu
28-04-2025
- The Hindu
U.P. police summon T.N. trans rights activist Grace Banu over ‘assault' charges in Lucknow
The Uttar Pradesh police have summoned prominent Tamil Nadu-based transgender rights and anti-caste activist Grace Banu in a case registered against her earlier this year based on a complaint of alleged assault filed by Devika Devendra S. Manglamukhi, Member, UP Transgender Welfare Board. Ms. Manglamukhi had filed the police complaint after she was accused of harassing transgender rights activists of marginalised caste groups who support horizontal quota for transgender people in a separate caste-atrocity complaint before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. In the summons to appear before the Talkatora Police Station in Lucknow, the U.P. police have asked Ms. Banu to cooperate with the investigation against her which has to do with 'serious allegations of assault, robbery, etc.' The UP Transgender Welfare Board Member had alleged in her complaint that she was accosted by a group of people 'wearing facemasks' on December 22, 2024, in Lucknow, who allegedly robbed her off her purse, and threatened her with 'sharp weapons'. Ms. Banu, along with other trans activists, was named in this complaint. At the time of the FIR being registered, Ms. Banu and other accused denied the charges, adding they were nowhere near Ms. Manglamukhi on the day of the alleged incident. Ms. Banu told The Hindu, 'I received a phone call on Friday, informing me of the FIR filed against me and the summons. At first, the police personnel was speaking to me in Hindi. When I said I didn't understand Hindi and would be able to cooperate if he switched to English, he got irritated and became a bit rude.' Ms. Banu added that when she asked the police for a copy of the FIR registered against her, she noticed that too was in Hindi. 'I said I will not be able to read the FIR. To which, he just asked me to use a translation app.' She also informed the police that she had never been to Lucknow, that she had never spoken to Ms. Manglamukhi and that the allegations against her were 'without any basis in facts and are hence false'. Ms. Banu further noted that being a transgender, she does not have the means to travel to Lucknow from Tamil Nadu and offered to cooperate with the probe through video conferencing. Other complainants named by Ms. Manglamukhi in her complaint, included Saharanpur-based Dalit trans rights activist Yashika, Delhi-based activist Jane Kaushik, and Ritwick Das, another activist based out of Lucknow and Delhi – all transgender activists who support horizontal reservation. She had also accused Yashika of 'damaging' Constitutional values. Yashika was the complainant in the caste-atrocity complaint filed against Ms. Manglamukhi before the NCSC, weeks before. The NCSC complaint and the subsequent police complaint had put the spotlight on the friction between transgender activists who demand horizontal reservation and those who favour vertical reservations. While vertical reservation would translate into a separate quota category to cover all trans people irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds, many trans activists across the country have stressed that horizontal reservations are the need of the hour as vertical reservation ignores the layered nature of discrimination trans people from marginalised castes face. They say horizontal reservation would ensure a percentage of opportunities for trans people under each socio-economic category. In the complaint before the NCSC, Ms. Yashika had alleged that Ms. Manglamukhi, a 'prominent upper caste transgender' and a strong proponent of vertical reservation for trans people, would 'routinely' call and harass trans activists who advocated for horizontal reservations instead. She added that in one such call, the Transgender Welfare Board Member directed casteist and transphobic slurs at her. Ms. Devika has denied these allegations.
