Campaigning hots up for Jharkhand Assembly bypolls
Ranchi, May 21:Campaigning gained momentum on Monday for the two Jharkhand Assembly seats -- Gomia and Silli -- where bypolls are scheduled on May 28.
BJP Chief Minister Raghubar Das is campaigning for the Gomia assembly seat, which is currently held by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). A united opposition has been rallying for JMM candidates on both seats.
Das has been campaigning for the last four days for BJP candidate Madavlal Singh in Gomia.
Attacking the Congress, Das said: "Congress party which has ruled the country for more than 60 years has now been reduced to a regional party's status.
"In Karnataka Congress is carrying the Janata Dal-Secular on its shoulders while in Jharkhand it was doing the same with the JMM."
JMM President Shibu Soren, former Chief Minister and executive president of the party Hemant Soren, and former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay are also busy canvassing in the bye-elections.
Soren said: "The Raghubar Das government has failed on all fronts. It is involved in plundering the state. Time has come to teach the Bharatiya Janata Party a lesson."
In Gomia, the ruling National Democratic Alliance partners -- the BJP and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) -- are fighting separately.
BJP has fielded former Minister Madavlal Singh and AJSU has fielded Lambodar Mahto, who was a state government employee.
The JMM has fielded Babita Devi, wife of Yogendra Mahto, who was disqualified as a legislator after being convicted and awarded a two-year jail term in a case.
In Silli, there is a direct fight between JMM candidate Seema Mahto and AJSU president Sudesh Mahto. Seema Mahto is the wife of Amit Mahto, who lost his assembly seat after being convicted and awarded a jail term.
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Prime organiser of Messi event in Kolkata arrested over ‘mismanagement’ after stadium chaos
Kolkata (PTI): The police on Saturday arrested Satadru Datta, the prime organiser of the Lionel Messi football event at Salt Lake Stadium here, following widespread chaos at the venue, which prompted the Argentine World Cup-winning captain to leave the field early.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the stadium unrest, Datta was held by the Bidhannagar Police for “mismanagement” of the event from the Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi and his entourage on their way to Hyderabad.
"We are looking into whether there was any mismanagement from the organiser's side, which led to the chaos at the stadium. He has been detained, and the police have now brought the situation under control," West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar said at a press conference.
A senior police officer later confirmed that Dutta has been arrested. Till reports last received, the police were interrogating him and his manager inside one of the departure lounges of the airport.
The organiser has given in writing that he will refund the prices of tickets he sold to the disappointed spectators, Kumar said.
What was supposed to be a marquee football spectacle turned into widespread violence and disorder at the stadium after Messi’s brief and tightly ring-fenced appearance, his first at the venue since 2011, left large sections of the crowd frustrated, as they failed to catch a glimpse of their superstar despite having travelled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.
Police said they were also investigating how organisers allowed sale of bottled waters and beverages inside the stadium premises, which are banned items during such events.
Thousands of water bottles were used as missiles and lobbed inside the pitch by angry spectators, who also uprooted bucket seats from the gallery and used them as ammunition inside the field against the defending police and security personnel.
Spectators alleged that water bottles were being sold at a massive premium inside the stadium despite police disallowing such items from outside at the entry gates.
Police agreed there was an underlying tension in the galleries on account of Messi not showing his footballing skills on the field, which only got aggravated after a bunch of VIPs, including State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and unidentified people, blocked the football icon’s view during the limited time he spent on the ground.
“We are on the job, and will ensure that whoever is responsible for what happened today at Salt Lake Stadium will be punished, and action will be taken against the authorities concerned,” said Jawed Shamim, ADG, Law and Order.
