Shoot at sight anyone destroying rail property: Suresh Angadi
Bengaluru, Dec 17: Amid nationwide protests over the amended Citizenship Act, Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi on Tuesday said that he has asked authorities to "shoot at sight" anybody who causes damage to Railway property.
"If anyone is destroying railway property, then I ask the chief minister of the particular state to initiate stringent action just as Sardar Vallabhai Patel had taken to merge Hyderabad with India," he said at Hubballi.
This was in response to questions by reporters who asked him about the steps taken to prevent damage to Railway property due to CAA related protests.
Hyderabad merged with the Union of India after police action under the leadership of India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which forced the Nizam and his army to surrender.
Recently, railway services were badly affected in West Bengal as anti-CAA protesters blocked railway tracks, ransacked some stations and set fire on railway tracks.
When asked what he meant by stringent action, Angadi said, "Stringent action means to shoot at sight..."
Stating that the CAA will not cause any trouble to Indian citizens, the union minister said "the CAA shows how courageous Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are. "
However, he was peeved at protests turning violent and blamed the opposition for fanning the disturbance.
"Today the opposition parties opposing the Act should introspect. They are playing politics on this issue.
The opposition parties are destroying public property.
I request the states concerned to initiate stringent action against them," Angadi said.
He insisted that the CAA will not cause any trouble to the citizens of India as it is aimed at giving citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh so that they can make a living here.
The minister was in Hubballi to inaugurate the Railway Recruitment Board Satellite Office for the benefit of unemployed youths in the southern region.
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BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
