BJP stages protest over dengue outbreak in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal BJP unit on Tuesday staged a protest rally outside the Swasthya Bhawan - the health department office - over the menace of dengue outbreak in the state and alleged that the steps taken by the TMC government are just an "eyewash" to hide its "failures".
Led by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari and 22 BJP MLAs on Tuesday afternoon went to Swasthya Bhawan to submit a deputation regarding the dengue outbreak.
But as Adhikari and BJP MLAs were about to enter the state health department office they were stopped by the police, citing security concerns.
A heated argument broke out between the two followed, and BJP MLAs resorted to shouting slogans against the state government over its "failure" to control the dengue outbreak.
"We just wanted to submit a deputation. The police are saying they will only allow me into the building. Why are other BJP MLAs not allowed? The state government is busy stopping us but has failed to control the dengue situation," Adhikari told reporters.
Speaking on the steps the state government took to control the situation, the BJP leader dubbed it "eyewash".
"The state government is in denial mode and dubs it an unknown fever. The state government is trying to hide the real situation, and the steps taken are just eyewash," Adhikari said.
Reacting to the allegations, the TMC asked the BJP to refrain from politicising the issue.
"The state government is doing everything possible to address the issue. The BJP is just trying to politicise the issue. Public awareness is needed most to combat the situation," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
The West Bengal government on Monday directed the districts to immediately clean all dengue hotspots, based on entomological alerts, amid the increase in such cases in the state, officials said.
They said the state also asked the central government offices in West Bengal to ensure cleanliness and adequate preventive measures at under-construction projects, including those of the Kolkata Metro.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
