External Affairs Minister Jaishankar files nomination papers for Rajya Sabha poll
Gandhinagar: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Tuesday filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha poll from Gujarat, scheduled on July 5.
Jaishankar reached Ahmedabad Monday evening, hours after he officially joined the BJP in the presence of BJPs working president J P Nadda in Delhi.
Jaishankar, 64, had served as the Foreign Secretary in the previous Modi-led government. He was inducted into the Union cabinet in Modi's second term.
Gujarat BJP OBC cell president Jugalji Thakor also filed his papers for the second Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat. The two seats were vacated after BJP leaders Amit Shah and Smriti Irani were elected to the Lok Sabha last month.
As per norms, a minister who is not a member of Parliament has to be elected to either House within six months of his or her swearing in.
Thakor is from Mehsana district and belongs to the dominant Thakor community in the state.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani were present as Jaishankar and Thakor submitted their nomination forms to the returning officer C B Pandya.
The last date of submitting nomination papers is June 25, while scrutiny of papers would be conducted on June 26, and the last date of withdrawal is June 28.
Given its strength in the Assembly, the BJP is set to win both the seats, especially as the election will be held separately as per the Election Commissions notification.
Upset over the Election Commissions notification, the Congress had moved the Supreme Court seeking its direction to the poll body to hold the elections to the two seats together, as this gives a chance to the opposition party to win at least one seat.
The apex court refused to entertain the plea. The Congress has fielded Gaurav Pandya and Chandrika Chudasama for the two Rajya Sabha seats.
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Family of injured driver in murder of Suvendu's aide seeks exemplary punishment
Kolkata (PTI): The family of Buddhabeb Bera, the driver injured in the shooting that killed BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's close aide Chandranath Rath, demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible and urged the new government to ensure such incidents do not happen in West Bengal.
Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram near Kolkata on Wednesday night, triggering a political storm in the state. Bera, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, sustained gunshot wounds and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Family members said they learned about the incident through television and immediately left for Kolkata.
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"We came to know from TV reports that my nephew had been shot. We still do not know who carried out the attack or why it happened," Buddhabeb's uncle Biswajit Bera said.
"Our only wish now is that he recovers and returns home safely," he added.
Buddhabeb, 25, hails from Majnaberia village in the Chandipur police station area in Purba Medinipur district.
According to family members, he mostly stays in Kolkata for work and visits home occasionally during weekends.
Besides his parents, his younger brother, sister-in-law and several relatives have also travelled to Kolkata following the incident.
Demanding strict action against the perpetrators, the uncle said, "We want the government to conduct a proper investigation and identify those directly involved in the crime. They should be given exemplary punishment so that such incidents do not happen again in West Bengal and no other family has to go through this grief."
A neighbour, Ranjana Ghorai, also sought stringent punishment for those behind the attack.
"In our neighbourhood, we call him Sona. We want exemplary punishment for the people responsible for this incident," she said.
Rath's family members have demanded life imprisonment for the accused, while Adhikari has called for capital punishment for those involved in the killing.
