BJP comes down heavily on 'stubborn' Rahul Gandhi for visiting Manipur
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New Delhi: The BJP termed as "irresponsible behaviour" of Rahul Gandhi after he visited Manipur on Thursday, and said a person is reported to have lost his life in the strife-torn state due to the Congress leader's "stubbornness". Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, BJP national spokesperson and Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra said the local administration had asked Gandhi to visit Churanchandpur in a chopper in view of the prevailing tension in the state, but he refused and went on to visit the area by road.
Several civil society organisations, including the All Manipur Students Union, were protesting for the last two to three days since the news about the Congress leader's visit appeared in media, he said. "It is very sad that with that stubbornness, Rahul Gandhi went to Manipur, it was not right. Sensitivity is far more important than stubbornness when there is such a situation," Patra said, slamming the Congress leader. "Rahul Gandhi's behaviour was highly irresponsible. Rahul and responsibility never go together. He has again proved it today," the BJP leader charged.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi in Manipur: Visits relief camp after reaching Churachandpur
Patra said there was no incident or reports of loss of life in Manipur since June 13.
"But very sadly...there is news about loss of a life today," he said.
The former Congress chief should have been "more responsible and sensitive" towards the issue of Manipur and should have paid heed to the local administration's advice.
"I want to request with folded hands… the situation is coming under control in Manipur. Let us not fight for petty political gains...," Patra added.
Gandhi's convoy remained stuck at Bishnupur for hours after his convoy was stopped by the Manipur police, amid allegations by the Congress that the BJP-led government was trying to thwart its leader's visit to the ethnic strife-torn state.
BJP’s Manipur incharge Patra alleged that the prevailing situation in Manipur is the result of "many legacy issues" in which the Congress had “a big hand”.
"Rahul Gandhi and the Congress... there are many legacy issues in Manipur. The situation that we are witnessing in Manipur today is because of some legacy issues in which the Congress party has a big hand," he charged.
"I do not want to revisit those issues because of the sensitivity attached to them," he said, adding, "We will have to understand that every word we say affects the situation in Manipur". Patra further claimed that the All Manipur Students Union had called for boycotting Gandhi’s visit and enumerating “the legacy issues” at a press conference ahead of the Congress leader's visit to the state.
Several civil society organisations had also appealed to Gandhi to not visit the northeastern state and thus refrain from “inciting” people there, he said.
Keeping all these in mind, Patra claimed, the government had requested the Congress leader to take a chopper to visit Churanchandpur after he landed at Imphal airport.
“He (Rahul) was specifically told that nobody will stop him from visiting Churanchandpur... he was requested to take a helicopter because some people were protesting against him,” he told reporters.
“But Gandhi does not listen to anyone... Without consulting anybody, he left for Churanchandpur in his stubbornness by road and what was anticipated happened,” the BJP leader added.
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Leopard that killed 8-year-old boy caught after weeks in Thane
Thane (PTI): Forest officials on Sunday captured a leopard that mauled an eight-year-old child to death nearly a month ago in Shahapur of Maharashtra’s Thane district.
The predator walked into one of the cages set up in the area late Saturday night, ending weeks of panic in several villages in the region, an official from the Dolkhamb division of the forest department said.
"The captured leopard will undergo a thorough medical examination before any further decision is taken regarding its relocation or release," he said.
Senior inspector Suresh Gavit from the Kasara police station confirmed the development, stating that the forest department had successfully secured the animal.
Following the news of the capture, a video surfaced on social media showing a large crowd of villagers, including children, cheering and following the vehicle carrying the caged leopard.
The capture comes as a major relief to the area, which had been on edge since April 16, when the big cat killed an eight-year-old boy.
Krishna Bhaga Agiwale, a resident of Kalbhonde in the Kasara range, had ventured into a forest patch near his house to collect wild fruits when the leopard pounced on him, dragged him into the thicket and killed him on the spot.
