Oil tanker released by pirates
Kasargod: An oil tanker that went missing off the coast in West Africa has been released, and all 22 sailors including Shri Unni of Kasargod on board are safe, said sources in the company.
Sree Unni (25), a resident of Perale Hittil, Uduma called his family members after release. The family which has been spending sleepless nights for the past one week is much relieved and is eager to see Unni.
Pirates had hijacked the vessel owned by Mumbai-based Anglo-Eastern Ship Management on February 1.
Sources in the company have confirmed that the vessel has reached the coast of Nigeria and is expected to reach Mumbai within ten days. Shree Unni is expected to reach his native place soon after the arrival of the vessel in Mumbai.
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BJP has always insulted Dalits: Cong leader Ajoy Kumar
Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) (PTI): Amid ongoing protests over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar, senior Congress leader Ajoy Kumar alleged that the BJP, which "adheres to the principles of Manusmriti", has always "insulted" Dalits.
The AICC executive committee member, in a statement issued here on Sunday, said that the "true character of the BJP, which practices Manusmriti, was exposed" with Shah's comments in the Rajya Sabha.
"BJP leaders' mindset has always been anti-Dalit, which often gets reflected in their statements intentionally or unintentionally," Kumar alleged.
Shah's remark on Ambedkar was not only an 'insult to him but also to crores of Dalits of the country who consider him God", Kumar, the AICC in-charge of Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, claimed. The Congress leader alleged that the "BJP was against caste-based census because of its anti-Dalit approach".
"This was not the first time when the BJP's anti-Dalit character came to the fore... there are many past instances," Kumar, who lost to BJP's Purnima Das Sahu in Jamshedpur East seat in the recent Jharkhand assembly elections, claimed.
"It was Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru's Congress which has always given respect to Dalits," Kumar said.
He demanded that Shah apologise publicly to the nation.
During a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha last week, Shah had said, "Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai - Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar Bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If they had taken God's name so many times, they would have attained heaven for seven lifetimes)."
On Wednesday, Shah held a press conference in which he accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed constant protests from treasury benches and opposition members over the alleged insult of Ambedkar until both the houses were adjourned sine die on Friday.
