Ambedkar photo row: BJP attacks Lalu Prasad, demands apology
Dilip Jaiswal demanded an apology from Lalu and his family, alleging that a photograph of Ambedkar was placed near the feet of the RJD chief during his 78th birthday celebration on June 11.
'Baba Saheb Ambedkar is a messiah of the Dalit community and the entire nation. Lalu Prasad Yadav has insulted him by placing his photo at his feet. The people of this country will never forgive such an act,' Jaiswal said while interacting with the media persons.
Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh echoed the sentiment and escalated the demand for an apology.
'Dr. Ambedkar is revered as a god-like figure in India. What Lalu Prasad Yadav did in arrogance -- placing his photo near his feet -- is shocking. He should apologise by standing in the Ganga river,' Singh said.
The controversy emerged from visuals that surfaced during Lalu's birthday event, where a photograph of Dr Ambedkar was seen placed near his feet. The BJP has taken strong objection to this, terming it an act of disrespect.
Meanwhile, Giriraj Singh also hit back at Tejashwi Yadav, who had recently alleged nepotism in the Nitish Kumar government, claiming that the sons-in-law of leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Ashok Choudhary were given plum positions in various commissions.
'The way Tejashwi Yadav is speaking, it's like a thief accusing someone of theft. He should introspect before making such allegations,' the Union Minister retorted.
The RJD has yet to issue a formal response to the allegations. However, the incident has added a new dimension to the ongoing war of words between the BJP-led NDA and the RJD-led opposition, especially with the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections on the horizon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
CPI(M) Alleges Ties to Abhishek Banerjee, Massive Corruption in Deocha-Pachami Coal Project
Bankura: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a judicial inquiry into the controversial Deocha-Pachami coal mining project in Birbhum district of West Bengal. At a press conference held on July 3 at the party's state headquarters on Alimuddin Street, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim alleged large-scale corruption, environmental violations, and illegal tender procedures, accusing both the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led state government and the BJP-led Union government of complicity. Salim presented evidence alleging that the state government secured environmental clearance for the project fraudulently. He claimed the union environment ministry had granted clearance for a mere 12 acres, despite the project's actual size being over 431 hectares, which would necessitate a mandatory public hearing and full environmental scrutiny as a Category A project. 'This environmental certificate is practically fraudulent and was given under the auspices of the BJP-led Union government. Both the Centre and the state are responsible,'alleged Salim. The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) awarded the mining contract in March 2024 to Trancemarine & Confreight Logistics Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based firm with no prior mining experience, at a 71.05% revenue share. In April, 2025 Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd, a Kolkata-based firm, acquired 60% of Trancemarine for a mere Rs 4.23 crore. Himadri also issued a Rs 150 crore loan to Sturdy Niketan, an obscure entity with no turnover, allegedly for royalty payments. According to a company release, Trancemarine's annual turnover for FY23-24 was Rs 35.69 crore, much higher than what Himadri is paying for its acquisition. 'Once someone is given a tender, it cannot be passed to someone else. This is a direct violation of WBPDCL policy. Sturdy Niketan, which has zero income, is being used as a front for illicit financial flows,' Salim claimed. Interestingly, Himadri Chemicals, now central to the project, had earlier invested in Tidings Media & Communication Pvt Ltd, which acquired the Bengali daily Ei Samay from the Times Group. One of Tidings' major stakeholders is Sanjay Basu, known to be a legal advisor and close confidante of both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, the Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee. In February 2025, CM Banerjee claimed at the Bengal Global Business Summit that coal mining had begun at Deucha-Pachami and promised over one lakh jobs. However, CPI(M) pointed out that WBPDCL has not even submitted the required geological report or mining plan to the Union coal ministry, 66 months after the coal block was allotted in overall project, including basalt mining, is expected to generate over Rs 1,500 crore in profits, raising serious questions about insider profiteering. 'Where is the coal? It was said that above 100,000 people would be employed, where is employment? The fact is that stones will be extracted from that land,' Salim said. Documents indicate that the coal mining lease process remains incomplete, and no private company applied to mine the block even after two deadline extensions in 2025. In November 2023, the state government authorised WBPDCL to mine basalt on 431.47 acres, with an estimated profit of Rs 5,600 crore. In June 2024, Pachami Basalt Mining PrivateLimited was incorporated in Kolkata. Neither Sturdy Niketan nor Pachami Basalt Mining Private Limited has an official website, and their corporate listing links to Basalt mining began in Deucha-Pachami site in February this year, but locals demanded a permanent halt, citing severe environmental and health hazards and alleging that forest land was cleared without informing the resident tribal communities.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
YSRCP made AP a debt-ridden State, asserts Savitha
Somandepalli: Minister Savitha on Thursday launched a scathing attack on YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, accusing him of resorting to 'corpse politics' to stay relevant. She stated that under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu, the NDA government is progressing with development and welfare as its two eyes. Participating in the 'First Step Towards Good Governance' programme held at Somandepalli mandal headquarters, the minister visited households to gather direct feedback from citizens on the one-year performance of the NDA-led government. She personally interacted with people to understand whether they received welfare scheme benefits and instructed officials to immediately address any lapses in delivery. She expressed satisfaction at the public's positive response and stated that although there are no elections at present, the NDA leaders are stepping into the public domain to assess the government's impact, following Chandrababu Naidu's directive. 'Unlike the previous YSRCP government, which distanced itself from people after coming to power, we are engaging directly with the public,' she said. Taking a dig at Jagan, she remarked that his 'Recall Manifesto' campaign is merely an attempt to assert his political relevance. 'Corpse politics has become Jagan's habit,' she added, criticising his approach to public issues. She asserted that within just one year, the NDA has brought Andhra Pradesh back on track after the damage caused during the YSRCP regime. She said that Chandrababu's governance gives equal importance to both development and welfare and that all election promises are being fulfilled. She concluded by saying that the only thing Jagan did during his five-year rule was deceive the people. The event was attended by NDA alliance leaders and party workers from Somandepalli mandal.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Environment ministry says committed to tribal rights in forest management
New Delhi: The Union environment ministry on Thursday said the government is committed to ensuring well-being and active involvement of tribal communities in forest management by utilising their traditional knowledge and wisdom and extending all support for enhancing livelihood opportunities for them. Environment ministry says committed to tribal rights in forest management The ministry was responding to a submission made to the Prime Minister against subversion of the Forest Rights Act 2006 by nearly 150 organisations working on various forest fights related matters. The submission among other issues, also refers to an interview of union environment minister, Bhupender Yadav published in HT on June 5. In his response to a question on the fact that India State of Forest report 2023 has captured increase in forest and tree cover but also flagged degradation of primary forests. How do you think we can reduce loss and degradation of primary forests? He responded stating: 'Although there is a net increase in dense forests in the country, there are areas where the dense prime forests have been affected with degradation. This may be due to encroachment, illicit felling and in the northeast region, due to shifting cultivation. And to a lesser degree, due to unregulated grazing, natural causes like storms and landslides, and also titles given under Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006. This may be addressed by taking up stringent protection measures added with effective community involvement, and also by regulating shifting cultivation in the northeastern region. Already degraded areas can be restored by taking up site-specific soil and moisture conservation measures, protection of the area and encouraging growth.' The submission said: This statement (made in his interview) is totally false and misleading; it is legally untenable and is an attempt to subvert the legitimacy of Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 enacted by the Parliament. This statement is part of a consistent series of subversions by the MoEFCC. As a result, FRA implementation has been stiffly resisted and disrupted by the forest bureaucracy as well as the environment ministry, for the last 16 years. Further, the submission also flagged a National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) order dated June 19, 2024 directing eviction of 64,801 families from tiger reserves of India; the India State of Forest report 2023 report while citing the reasons for negative changes in forest and tree cover attributes 'titles given to beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act 2006' as one of the reasons among various other issues which is causing delay in recognition of forest rights. 'The statement of the Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change as quoted in the social media has been grossly misrepresented, distorted, represented in a piecemeal manner and is totally out of context,' MoEFCC said on Thursday. The submission on FRA was earlier quoted by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on X. '150 civil society groups and activists have recently written to the Prime Minister on the systematic and consistent manner in which the Forest Right Act, 2006 has been subverted by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change,' he wrote. 'The context of the statement about increase in forest cover and halting of the degradation of forest through active involvement of the local community alongside Forest Department and other Government Departments following 'Whole of Government' and 'Whole of Society' approach has been totally undermined , overlooked and misrepresented in the tweet. On the other hand, the sincere efforts of the Ministry in ensuring involvement of community in forest management have also been deliberately overlooked. Recently, direct dialogue and interactions were made by the Minister with the Tharu tribal community living around Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Balera village of Uttar Pradesh and also with Soliga tribals in Karnataka ensuring their active involvement in management of tiger habitats and surrounding forest areas, both of which elicited a very good response,' the ministry said. Further responding to allegations that Van (Sansarkhan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam has been amended, subverting the legitimacy of institutional authorities 'has been made without an in-depth knowledge and understanding of its various provisions , the factual position and its implementation,' the MoEFCC said. The amendment of the Act was carried out as per laid down constitutional processes and following the due parliamentary procedures. 'Further, the Rule 11 (7) of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rule 2023, provides that the State government or Union territory administration, as the case may be, after receiving the 'Final' approval of the Central Government under the sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Adhiniyam, and after fulfilment and compliance of the provisions of all other Acts and rules made thereunder, as applicable including ensuring settlement of rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, shall issue order for diversion, assignment of lease or de-reservation (of forests).' This clause ensures that forest rights are indeed recognised, the ministry said.
