Rahul Gandhi's tongue should be singed for his 'dangerous' remarks on quota, says BJP MP; draws flak
Amravati (PTI): BJP's Rajya Sabha member Anil Bonde has said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's tongue should be singed as what he said about reservation was "dangerous".
His remark made on Tuesday invited criticism from the opposition parties. It comes in the wake of Shiv Sena's Buldhana MLA Sanjay Gaikwad kicking up a row by announcing a Rs 11 lakh reward to anyone chopping off Gandhi's tongue for his remarks on scrapping the reservation system.
During his recent visit to the USA, Gandhi told students at the Georgetown University that the Congress would think of scrapping reservation when "India is a fair place", which he said is not the case right now.
Reacting to Gaikwad's statement of chopping off Gandhi's tongue, BJP leader Bonde said at Amravati in Maharashtra on Tuesday, "The language of chopping off tongue is not proper, but what Rahul ji said against reservation is dangerous."
"Hence, if anyone speaks anything absurd in a foreign country, then rather than chopping off his tongue, it should be singed. It is necessary to certainly singe the tongues of such people - be it Rahul Gandhi, Dnyanesh Maharao or Shyam Manav and people who hurt the feelings of the 'bahujan' and majority," he said.
Maharao, an author, is accused of making derogatory comments on Hindu deities recently, while Manav is an anti-superstition crusader.
A video of Bonde's remarks went viral on social media, inviting criticism from the opposition parties. The MP also did not find support from his own party - BJP.
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said he does not support the statements made by Bonde and Gaikwad against Rahul Gandhi, but said the Congress leader should also refrain from giving "anti-India statements" and asked him to clarify his stand on the issue of reservation.
Speaking about these remarks, he said, "I do not support the statements made by Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad and BJP's Rajya Sabha member Anil Bonde. They should refrain from making such statements again."
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut condemned the remarks made by BJP-Shiv Sena lawmakers against Gandhi. He alleged that there was a conspiracy against Gandhi and threat to his life.
He also questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the comments made by Bonde and Gaikwad. He also alleged conspiracy against Gandhi and threat to his life.
Gaikwad kicked up a row by announcing a Rs 11 lakh reward to anyone chopping off Rahul Gandhi's tongue for his remarks on scrapping the reservation system, while Bonde said the Congress leader's tongue should be singed.
Meanwhile, several Congress leaders and workers staged a sit-in protest outside the Amravati police commissionerate demanding action against Bonde.
Amravati MP Balwant Wankhade, Amravati MLA Yashomati Thakur and former minister Sunil Deshmukh along with Congress workers took part in the protest. They demanded that a case be registered against Bonde for his remarks.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
