BJP picked Ritu Tawde as Mumbai mayor due to Marathi backing for Sena (UBT) and MNS: Raut
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed the BJP was forced to choose a Marathi mayor for Mumbai due to the overwhelming support of Marathi people to his party and the MNS in the BMC polls.
Speaking to reporters, Raut also took a dig at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after actor Salman Khan was seen interacting with its chief Mohan Bhagwat here on Saturday at an event to mark the RSS's centenary.
"Was it a welcome for Bollywood star Salman Khan or (a message that) Muslims are also welcome in the Sangh and its shakhas?" the Rajya Sabha member asked.
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Bhagwat should have clarified about it because of the way Hindu-Muslim hatred and vindictive propaganda is being spread and the Sangh is also part of it, he charged.
On the BJP fielding Ritu Tawde (53) for the Mumbai mayor's post, Raut said she is originally from the Congress. The BJP does not have anything original of its own, he claimed.
"The way Marathi people overwhelmingly voted for the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS, the BJP had to make a Marathi mayor in Mumbai," he stated.
Tawde is all set to become Mumbai's mayor and the party's first in four decades after Sena (UBT) decided against fielding a challenger, making the contest unopposed and ending the Thackeray family’s 25-year dominance over the richest civic body.
The Mumbai mayoral election is scheduled for February 11, which is the last day to withdraw the nominations.
The Sena (UBT) had raised the emotive "Marathi identity" plank in last month's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, where the party had allied with MNS. The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 227-member BMC by bagging 89 seats, while its ally Shiv Sena won 29 seats.
In the Opposition camp, the Sena (UBT) secured 65 seats, while its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) won six and one seat, respectively.
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Kerala woman on trek at Tadiandamol hills goes missing, search operations on
Bengaluru (PTI): A 36-year-old woman, who went trekking at Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu district, has gone missing inside the forest. Additional personnel and drone cameras have been deployed to search for her, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.
He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressing concern about the young woman's disappearance, instructed that search operations be intensified.
G S Sharanya had come alone from Kerala for the trek and stayed at a private homestay in Kakkabe village.
She had gone to the high mountain range of Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu with a guide and 15 other trekkers on April 2. She went missing that afternoon. As soon as the matter was known, five teams of 50 people, including police, the anti-Naxal squad, a dog squad and forest personnel were formed, and are conducting searches, the minister's office said in a statement.
According to Khandre, CM Siddaramaiah expressed concern about the disappearance of the young woman who went on a trek and instructed that additional personnel be deployed for the search.
"Four additional teams of 40 personnel have been deployed today. A total of 9 teams are conducting the search operation. Honest efforts continue to find the missing young woman," he said.
Further noting that, as per reports, the young woman last contacted the homestay by phone on Thursday, stating she had lost her way, the minister said, "Search is being conducted based on her phone location. Local tribal people have also rushed to help, and sophisticated thermal drone cameras have been obtained with an additional team deployed starting today."
