Congress must sack leader for statement on Kathua probe: BJP
New Delhi, April 15: The BJP on Sunday asked Congress President Rahul Gandhi to sack his party's Jammu and Kashmir President Ghulam Ahmed Mir for saying that the investigation in the rape and murder of a young girl in Kathua was motivated.
Addressing the media here, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said: "Mir had made a statement that the local population thinks that the culprits in the Kathua rape case are still out and the investigation is motivated and they are trying to dilute the case."
Javadekar showed a video of Mir to reporters in which he was heard saying: "Somewhere or the other, someone is being protected and hands are being waved here and there. Local population believe that investigation is motivated, the real culprit is being let go and they're trying to fulfil their political criteria."
The Union Minister questioned Gandhi: "We want to ask Rahulji, our two ministers had resigned for joining the rallies in support of the rape accused. So when will he sack his own leader?"
BJP ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga resigned on Friday following outrage after they attended rallies to support the rape accused.
Taking a jibe at the Congress President, Javadekar said, "Rahulji had led a candlelight march at night but why don't he take action against his own leader?
"Raising fingers at the leaders of other parties and protecting their own leader is the character of the Congress."
The BJP leader also questioned why Gandhi did not take out any march after the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape. "Why was he silent on the atrocities on Dalits and women in an inter-caste violence in Mirchpur village of Haryana during Congress rule?"
He said that the Congress was trying to defame the BJP.
"The Congress had done nothing in 10 years when it was in power. They are trying to defame the BJP. They can't compete with us in election, so they are using these tricks," he said.
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India submits nomination of Meghalaya's living root bridges for UNESCO World Heritage site
Shillong (PTI): India has submitted to UNESCO in Paris the nomination dossier of Meghalaya's living root bridges for consideration to include in the World Heritage list 2026-27, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Thursday.
The dossier was handed over by India's Ambassador Vishal V Sharma to UNESCO's World Heritage Centre Director Lazare Assomo Eloundou, a statement said.
"We are hopeful that the living root bridges will be inscribed this year, ensuring that the indigenous communities, the true guardians of this living heritage, receive the global recognition they so richly deserve," Sangma said on X.
While submitting the dossier, Sharma, the Permanent Representative to UNESCO, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Meghalaya CM for their support to the nomination, the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO said in a statement.
Sharma also acknowledged the role of Meghalaya Principal Secretary Frederick Kharkongor, officers of the Archaeological Survey of India, the Ministry of External Affairs, experts and the local communities in safeguarding the property and preparing the nomination.
Located across the southern slopes of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of the northeastern state, the nominated property represents a living cultural landscape shaped over centuries by indigenous Khasi and Jaintia communities.
"The landscape reflects a deep-rooted and harmonious relationship between people, nature and spirituality, embodied in traditional systems of land use, governance and ecological stewardship," the statement said.
The indigenous worldview underpinning the cultural landscape is anchored in principles of respect, reciprocity and responsibility towards Mei Ramew (Mother Earth), it said.
"The submission of this nomination underscores India's commitment to recognising and preserving living cultural traditions and indigenous knowledge systems, and to advancing global heritage conservation efforts through UNESCO," the statement added.
