Sena chief targets BJP over Rafale deal, recent assembly poll results
Pandharpur (Maha), Dec 24 : Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday targeted senior ally BJP by raking up the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and said the party's perception of being a "world winner" had been shattered with the results of the just-held state assembly polls.
Thackeray, who had visited Ayodhya last month to push for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in the holy town, said he may soon visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.
The Sena leader, whose party is a constituent of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and state, was addressing a public rally in Solapur district here.
Thackeray, who has consistently attacked the Modi government on a range of issues, said he has already taken the decision on whether to form an alliance with the BJP for the upcoming General Elections.
The Sena chief in January had announced his party would contest all future Lok Sabha and assembly elections on its own.
In the last six months, the BJP leadership has been consistently stressing on an alliance with the Sena for the upcoming polls.
The Amit Shah-led party has regularly insisted that the Maharashtra-based outfit is its natural ally and they will resolve their differences amicably.
However, at the Pandharpur rally, Thackeray appeared to be in no mood to spare the lead NDA constituent.
"The BJP's perception of a 'world winner' has been shattered by the results of the assembly elections in the five states.
"The outcome of Mizoram and Telangana assembly elections has given a clear message that voters have rejected national parties and chosen strong regional options," he said.
In the just-held polls, the BJP was ousted from power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh by the Congress, while regional parties did well in Mizoram and Telangana.
"The Chhattisgarh assembly election has also given a strong message against the BJP. People were fed up with the BJP government and hence they rejected it," said Thackeray.
He also took on the Modi government over issues like allegations of irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal and implementation of crop insurance scheme for farmers.
"There have been several allegations over the Rafale fighter jet deal and I do not know how the Supreme Court has given a clean cheat. But I know the Modi government has refused pay hike for jawans," the Sena chief said
Commenting on the finalisation of seat-sharing in Bihar between the JD(U), the LJP and the BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he asked chiefs of the two regional parties to clarify their stand on Ram mandir and Hindutva.
"Nitish Kumar (the JD-U chief) and (LJP president) Ram Vilas Paswan should declare their views on Ram mandir and Hindutva," the Sena leader said.
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Search operations intensify across prisons in Karnataka to curb contraband
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka DGP (Prisons) Alok Kumar on Friday said search operations against contraband inside prisons across the state have been intensified, leading to a number of seizures.
In the last 36 hours, mobile phones and SIM cards have been recovered following search operations inside prisons, including Kalaburagi, Mangaluru and Shivamogga.
"Our search operations against contraband items inside the prison premises continues all across the state. In the last 36 hours, 10 mobile phones, four SIM cards at Kalaburagi, six phones at Mangaluru, four phones at Ballari, three phones and four SIM cards seized at Shivamogga prisons. This drive will continue," he said in a post on 'X'.
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He further said that in the largest haul in the history of Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru, 30 mobile phones were seized in a late Thursday night operation.
"Appreciate the good work done by SP Anshu Kumar and Jailer Shivakumar, who led the search team. 30K reward for the search team," he added.
The 1994-batch IPS officer, Kumar, was promoted to the rank of Director General of Police and posted as DGP, Prisons and Correctional Services recently.
Ever since he has taken over as DGP Prisons, Kumar has intensified search operations against contraband items inside prisons across the state and made several seizures, including narcotics substances, knives and other items.
