80 Muslim leaders resign from Madhya Pradesh BJP over CAA
Indore, Jan 24: Around 80 Muslim leaders of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh on Friday resigned from the primary membership of the party in protest over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, calling it a "divisive" measure.
One of the leaders, Rajik Qureshi Farshiwala, said around 80 Muslim partymen have resigned from the BJP's primary membership after writing to the newly-appointed national president, J P Nadda, on Thursday.
These leaders, who dubbed the CAA "a divisive provision made on religious grounds", include several office- bearers of the BJP's minority cell, he said.
"It was becoming increasingly difficult for us to participate in our community's events after the CAA came into existence (in December 2019).
"At these events, people used to curse us and ask us how long we plan to keep quiet on a divisive law like the CAA?" he said.
"Persecuted refugees of any community should get Indian citizenship. You cannot decide that a particular person is an intruder or a terrorist merely on the basis of religion," Farshiwala added.
In their letter, the Muslim leaders stated, "Citizens have right to equality under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. But the BJP-led Central Government is implementing the CAA on religious grounds.
"This is an act of dividing the country and against the basic spirit of the Constitution."
Some of the leaders who have resigned are considered close to BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
When asked about the development, Vijayvargiya on Thursday evening said, "I am not aware of the matter. But we will explain (about the CAA) if a person is being misled."
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Pune airport runway restored after IAF aircraft snag; ops resume
Pune (PTI): The runway at Pune airport, which was temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, has now been restored and declared operational, the Air Force said on Saturday.
The authorities at the Pune International Airport had earlier said that around 10.25 pm on Friday, a fighter aircraft experienced an undercarriage failure during landing, causing the runway to be blocked.
As many as 91 flights of airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa, and Air India Express, were affected due to the incident, they said.
Earlier on Friday night, the Air Force had stated that the runway at Pune airport was temporarily unavailable following an incident involving one of its fighter aircraft. The aircrew are safe, and there is no damage to civil property, it had said.
"The runway at Pune Airport, which was temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an Indian Air Force aircraft, has now been restored and declared operational. All necessary safety inspections and clearances have been completed. Operations are resuming in a phased manner," it said in a post on X.
Flight operations at Pune airport are being gradually restored. The situation has been brought under control with the highest priority given to the safety of citizens, a Defence PRO said.
