Jaipur (PTI): The situation in Rajasthan's Tonk district, where an Independent candidate in the recent bypolls was arrested following a high drama and escalating violence, has stabilised and was under control, a senior official said on Friday.

A mob assaulted a PTI reporter and video cameraperson and burnt their camera on Thursday, a day after Congress rebel and Independent candidate Naresh Meena slapped Malpura SDM Amit Chaudhary outside a polling booth in front of hundreds of people.

The attack came while the PTI crew was covering a protest following Meena's arrest.

The Independent candidate will be produced before a court on Friday. Police have made tight security arrangements with heavy deployment of personnel in Tonk and the surrounding areas.

Tonk District Collector Soumya Jha said, "During polling on November 13, a candidate slapped the SDM while on election duty. The SDM filed an FIR then, but we did not disturb the candidate."

"After the polls ended and the polling party was leaving, the candidate tried to stop them. That's when the police intervened. The police attempted to resolve the situation, but the candidate initiated an assault," she told PTI.

"Some supporters caused disturbances in different areas, but now the situation has stabilised and everything is under control," the district collector added.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Wellington: New Zealand’s youngest Member of Parliament Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke has once again grabbed the headlines after a video of her staging the traditional Maori dance and ripping up a copy of a contentious bill during a House session went viral on social media.

A viral footage of the vote on the Treaty Principles Bill shows the 22-year-old Te Pati Maori MP interrupting the session by tearing apart a copy of the controversial bill before performing a haka. She is then joined by the people in the public gallery, prompting Speaker Gerry Brownlee to briefly suspend the House.

The ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the centre-right coalition government unveiled the Treaty Principles Bill last week. It proposes changes to some principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The bill has sparked strong opposition from many Maori groups.

The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs, established the framework for governance between the two parties. It remains a foundational document in New Zealand, with its clauses continuing to influence legislation and policy to this day.

The bill is being seen as undermining the rights of the country’s indigenous people by many Maori and their supporters. Notably, Maoris make up around 20% of New Zealand’s 5.3 million population.

As the proposed bill passed its first reading, hundreds of demonstrators embarked on a nine-day march, or hikoi, from New Zealand's north to the national capital of Wellington to voice their opposition.