logo
Assam: Six detained after plastic bottle hurled at CM's convoy

Assam: Six detained after plastic bottle hurled at CM's convoy

Hans Indiaa day ago
Guwahati: A day after a plastic water bottle was hurled at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's convoy during his visit to Golaghat, police on Tuesday detained six individuals, including Congress workers, sparking a political clash between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
Among those detained are Pallab Chetia, secretary of the Golaghat District Congress Committee, and Rahul Phukan, son of a former Block Congress Secretary.
Both are reportedly associates of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi.
Golaghat MLA Biswajit Phukan (BJP) linked the act to the Congress's "politics of disruption," citing historical references like the Emergency and the 1983 elections.
"The Chief Minister came with a development agenda, but Congress cannot tolerate his popularity," he said.
The incident, captured on video, shows the bottle being thrown at the convoy, though no injuries or damage were reported.
Assam Power Minister Prasanta Phukan called it a "serious security breach" and demanded a security review, alleging an "attempt on the Chief Minister's life."
The BJP also staged protests in Dibrugarh, condemning the act. The Congress, however, dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.
Congress spokesperson Rituporno Konwar claimed four Youth Congress members were "illegally detained" an hour before the incident during a separate protest against cattle theft.
"If they weren't present, how could they have thrown the bottle? This is a tactic to suppress dissent," he said.
Sarma downplayed the incident with sarcasm, but the opposition accused the BJP of exaggerating the event to target Congress workers. The case has intensified scrutiny over security lapses and political vendettas in Assam.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Bhupen Borah has condemned the incident of attack on Himanta Biswa Sarma and said, 'It is very unfortunate that someone threw a bottle on his convoy. The act is condemnable. Congress believes in democratic agitation and protest.'
Dhubri Congress MP Rakibul Hussain said, 'I was also attacked by a few miscreants on the road; however, at that time, the Chief Minister took a potshot at me.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Sanjeev Arora to be inducted into Punjab Cabinet Thursday
Sanjeev Arora to be inducted into Punjab Cabinet Thursday

Indian Express

time16 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Sanjeev Arora to be inducted into Punjab Cabinet Thursday

Newly elected Ludhiana West MLA Sanjeev Arora will take oath as minister in Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's cabinet on Thursday, it is learnt. Governor Gulab Chand Kataria will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Arora at 1 pm in a brief ceremony at the Raj Bhawan. AAP leader and industrialist, Arora, resigned from the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. He submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, who accepted it. Arora, a first-time MP, was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab on April 10, 2022, and his tenure was to end on April 9, 2028. With his induction into the Cabinet, Mann will have 17 ministers, including himself. As per rules, Mann can have 18 ministers, including himself, but he is likely to keep a berth vacant. In the run-up to the by-election, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal had announced that Arora would be made a minister after his victory. Sources said the party wanted to fill all Cabinet berths, but with the by-election necessitated in Taran Tarn after the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal last week, the party decided to fill only one seat and leave another vacant. 'A Cabinet berth has been kept vacant so that the party can promise the electorates of Tarn Taran that if they elect the AAP candidate, their representative will be inducted into the Cabinet,' a party leader said. Arora was sworn in as the Ludhiana West MLA on last Friday, but his induction is taking place a week later as the Governor was away in Udaipur for a couple of days. Kataria returned to Chandigarh on Wednesday. Arora secured a decisive victory in the recently concluded by-election, defeating Congress's heavyweight Bharat Bhushan Ashu by 10,637 votes, helping the AAP to tighten its grip over the urban Ludhiana West Assembly constituency, where a bypoll was necessitated after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi. Arora secured 35,179 votes, increasing AAP's vote share to 39.02%, an upswing of more than 4% over the party's 2022 performance. Before entering politics, Arora was a well-known businessman and philanthropist. He heads Ritesh Industries Ltd, a textile export firm, and Hampton Sky Realty Ltd. He also founded Femella Fashions, a women's apparel brand, and Teneron Ltd, a manufacturing unit supplying non-ferrous alloys to firms like Suzuki. In 2005, he established the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust in memory of his parents, both of whom succumbed to cancer. The trust has since supported hundreds of patients. Arora also contributed extensively to Covid-19 relief efforts and medical institutions like Dayanand Medical College. Sources said owing to his interest in the field of healthcare, he may be handed the Department of Health, a portfolio held by Dr Balbir Singh.

No hesitation in wiping out terrorists, wherever they are: Rajnath Sigh
No hesitation in wiping out terrorists, wherever they are: Rajnath Sigh

Time of India

time23 minutes ago

  • Time of India

No hesitation in wiping out terrorists, wherever they are: Rajnath Sigh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asserted that the Narendra Modi government will not hesitate to eliminate terrorists, wherever they are, and that no distinction will be made between masterminds and the regimes which sponsor them. The former BJP president's stern message to Pakistan , without mentioning the neighbouring country by name, came in his address to the party's state executive meeting in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year. Singh said that under Modi, the country's policy on security has turned a new leaf with steps like surgical strikes and Balakot airstrikes . Referring to the military operation that followed the Pahalgam terror attack, he said, "Operation Sindoor marked the first time when we struck at terror hideouts 100 km beyond our borders. Of course, we hit only those who had hit us, a reason why no civilians nor any military installations were targeted". "Under Modi, our policy has been not to hesitate in eliminating terrorists wherever they are. And we shall do so without making a distinction between masterminds of terror attacks and regimes which sponsor them," said the defence minister. Live Events He added that the country's defence exports have seen a sharp rise, thanks to Modi's thrust on "swadeshikaran" (production at home) and " Aatma Nirbhar Bharat ". "The Modi government works with a long-term road-map, in marked contrast with Congress-led governments of the past, which lacked direction and were driven by vote bank concerns," said the Union minister. Singh also made an oblique reference to the controversy over RSS second in command Dattatreya Hosabale's remark that the words "secular" and "socialist" be dropped from the preamble of the Constitution, as those were inserted during the infamous Emergency. "I would like to ask fake secularists, after the word secular was added to the country's Constitution, why was it not added to the separate Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir? Should the state, where minority Hindus were being oppressed, not have been secular? Jammu and Kashmir became secular only after Article 370 was abrogated," he said. The BJP leader claimed that the party is the only political organisation in the entire world to have raised a voice against atrocities against minorities in neighbouring countries and taken a concrete step, in the form of CAA , upon coming to power. He said, "India has always believed in treating all faiths with respect. Parsis were accepted with open arms. We have one of the world's oldest churches in Kerala. Ours is the only land where all 72 sects of Islam are recognised." In contrast, even Ahmadiya Muslims are facing persecution in Pakistan, and one should not speak about minorities, Singh said. "The situation is horrifying in Bangladesh as well. The treatment meted out to Hindus there is a blot on humanity," said the defence minister.

‘What will owners of 40 lakh two-wheelers do?': AAP's Atishi flays Delhi fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles, alleges BJP nexus with vehicle makers
‘What will owners of 40 lakh two-wheelers do?': AAP's Atishi flays Delhi fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles, alleges BJP nexus with vehicle makers

Indian Express

time39 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

‘What will owners of 40 lakh two-wheelers do?': AAP's Atishi flays Delhi fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles, alleges BJP nexus with vehicle makers

Written by Drishti Jain The Delhi government's fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles (ELVs)—diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years—has drawn criticism from the AAP, with MLA Atishi calling it 'illogical' and alleging a nexus between the ruling BJP and vehicle makers. According to Atishi, 60 lakh vehicles—40 lakh two-wheelers and 20 lakh large vehicles—will be removed from the national capital's roads because of the fuel ban. 'The common people of Delhi use two-wheelers to go to work. What will the owners of 40 lakh two-wheelers do? How will they go to work?' the former chief minister said. Calling the fuel ban 'archaic and baseless', Atishi said the BJP was causing trouble to the residents of the capital, 'There are many senior citizens in the city who use secondhand vehicles just to get groceries from the market and come back. What will they do now?' Atishi questioned the rationale behind the fuel ban. 'There is no proven relation between the age of the vehicle and the levels of pollution caused. If vehicles are maintained properly, they won't cause pollution,' she said. Alleging a nexus between the BJP and big vehicle manufacturers, Atishi said, 'Today I challenge the BJP to inform the people about the amount of donation they received from these companies.' On the first day of the fuel ban, 350 teams, including from Delhi Police, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and the transport department, were stationed 24×7 across the 498 petrol pumps in the capital on Tuesday. While 80 vehicles were seized, 98 people whose vehicles could not be impounded were issued notices on Tuesday, an officer from the Delhi transport department stated. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras have been installed to scan number plates of vehicles and instantly cross-check their details against data registered in the Union government's VAHAN portal. If the vehicle is flagged as an ELV or lacks a valid pollution under control certificate, an audio alert is sent to the petrol pump operator.

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