Congress candidate Mithun Rai wearing saffron shawl during campaigning stirs discussion
Mangaluru: Right ahead of the Lok Sabha Election, Dakshina Kannada Congress Candidate Mithun Rai has stirred a discussion among the people, as the Youth Congress leader was spotted wearing saffron shawl (generally accredited to BJP, Sangh Parivar and organisations bearing Hindutva ideologies) instead of the Congress shawl.
On Thursday, Mithun shared pictures of his campaigning activities in Bantwal on Facebook, which caught attention of the people. One picture of party workers’ bike rally and workers' convention in Vamadapadavu in Bantwal Taluk particularly was the talk of the town as all his supporters were seen wearing Saffron shawl, confusing people if it was a Congress candidate’s rally or BJP’s.
However, when Mithun was campaigning in Melkar, he and his party workers and supporters were all seen wearing the Congress shawl.
The photos are widely being shared and discussed on popular social media applications Facebook and WhatsApp. While some criticized Mithun for being a soft Hindutva leader, others defended him saying it is individual choices to wear any color which is not important.
Some BJP workers have added that merely wearing a Saffron shawl will not get Mithun votes of Hindus, while some have added that Mithun chooses his shawl according to the locality he is campaigning and whichever religion dominates that particular area he wears the shawl accordingly.
In the run up to the elections, this shawl debate is only expected to get more intense and can turn out to be a deciding factor during the election.
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4 militants arrested in Manipur
Imphal (PTI): Four militants belonging to two banned outfits have been arrested in Manipur for possession of firearms and involvement in extortion, a police statement said on Saturday.
Three militants belonging to the Kangleipak Communist Party (Peoples' War Group) outfit were arrested on Thursday for possessing firearms and extorting people, it said.
They have been identified as Chongtham Shyamchandra Singh (23), hailing from Imphal West district, and Maibam Suraj Khan (32) and Boghimayum Sahid Khan (30), who hail from Imphal East district.
Three 5.56 mm INSAS live cartridges, an empty case of .32 ammunition and three mobile phones were seized from their possession.
In another incident, a militant belonging to the banned United National Liberation Front (Ningon Macha group) was arrested on Thursday for illegal possession of firearms.
The arrested militant was identified as Sangomshumpham Warish (25), who hails from Lilong Haorou in Thoubal district. A .32 pistol and ammunition were seized from his possession, it added.
Meanwhile, security forces seized arms and ammunition during an area domination exercise in S Mongpi ridge in Kangpokpi district on Thursday.
A .303 rifle, a 9mm pistol, two SBBL guns, a 5.56mm INSAS LMG magazine, two hand grenades, two detonators, 16 cartridges and three tear smoke grenades were seized, it added.
