BJP will give Bharat Ratna to Godse as well: Owaisi on RSS chief’s remarks
Hyderabad (PTI): AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday slammed the BJP-led Centre and the RSS over the Sangh chief’s remarks seeking the conferment of the Bharat Ratna on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, saying the saffron party would even give the country’s highest civilian award to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse.
Addressing a rally at Mahabubnagar during the campaign for the municipal polls in Telangana, Owaisi said Maulvi Alauddin, the then imam of Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad, was arrested for attacking the British Residency during the First War of Independence in 1857 and was sent to the ‘Kala Pani’ jail in the Andaman Islands, where he later passed away.
The Hyderabad MP, without naming Savarkar, said the RSS was seeking the Bharat Ratna for a person who had written six mercy petitions to the British.
He asked the RSS who the first prisoner in ‘Kala Pani’ was—whether it was a Sangh member or a Muslim—adding that Maulvi Alauddin was the first prisoner in the Cellular Jail in the Andamans.
Referring to the J L Kapur Commission report on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, Owaisi further asked whether Justice Kapur had not stated that Savarkar was a conspirator in Gandhi’s assassination.
“A person who conspired in Gandhi’s assassination—you are seeking the Bharat Ratna for him. Congratulations. A time will come in this country when the BJP will give the Bharat Ratna to Godse as well,” the AIMIM chief claimed.
On the long-pending demand for the Bharat Ratna for Savarkar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said the prestige of the award would rise if it were conferred on him.
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345 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran return home via Armenia
New Delhi (PTI): A group of 345 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India via Armenia on Saturday, officials said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in return of the Indian nationals.
The Indian nationals arrived in Chennai this evening, the officials cited above said.
The circumstances that led to them being stranded in Iran were not immediately known.
"Thank FM @AraratMirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," Jaishankar said on social media.
Over 1,500 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago.
"A group of Indian fishermen, stranded in Iran, are returning home via Armenia today; their flight is expected to reach India this evening," a government statement said.
It said the Ministry of External Affairs continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in the West Asian region, with the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community being accorded the highest priority.
It also made a mention of five Indians being injured in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
According to Abu Dhabi authorities, the Indian nationals were among the 12 people injured by debris from an intercepted missile.
"In an attack in Abu Dhabi, five Indian nationals were injured; four have been discharged, one remains under treatment," the Indian government's statement said.
It said the Indian mission in Abu Dhabi is extending "full" assistance and coordinating with local authorities, adding that their flight is expected to reach India this evening.
