A day after meeting Amit Shah, four Bengal families join Trinamool
Kolkata, June 29: A day after BJP President Amit Shah reached out to a number of rural families in West Bengal's Purulia district as part of his party's 'Jan Sampark Abhiyan', the members of four such families joined the state's ruling Trinamool Congress on Friday.
Trinamool leaders, who handed them the party flag in front of the media, claimed the innocent villagers were threatened by Shah to join BJP.
Purulia resident Phuchu Rajbhor, whom Shah met on Thursday, said they are not into politics but feel an affinity towards Trinamool and its supremo Mamata Banerjee. He revealed they have come to Kolkata to seek Trinamool's help after Shah went to their house.
"We have come here on our own because we were scared after his visit. No one has forced us to come here. We know Trinamool Congress and Mamata. We want her 'refuge'," Rajbhor said sitting beside Trinamool leader Madan Mitra at a party office here .
Asked whether they were asked by the BJP President to join the saffron party, the youth initially revealed they had no conversation with Shah, but later claimed they were threatened.
Mitra, who accused Shah of trying to mislead the tribal and backward classes in Purulia and thus attempting to foment trouble in the state, handed over the party flags and membership to the families.
"These are poor people who are least bothered about Amit Shah and BJP. People of Bengal have no time for such parties. They felt scared when Shah entered their humble houses and mistook him for a dacoit. So they have come here to take our party's refuge," claimed Mitra, the former Trinamool Congress MLA, who was arrested by the CBI in relation to the Saradha chit fund scam.
"BJP must know that unlike Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh, they will be challenged every inch in Bengal. Their tactics of fomenting trouble and dividing people will not work here," he said.
The state BJP leadership accused Trinamool Congress of using arm-twisting tactics on the villagers and said such "filthy politics" by the state's ruling party will come back to haunt them.
"Shah went to four or five houses in Purulia but did not pick and choose the house of BJP activists there. They have forced the villagers to come to Kolkata and surrender to their party. But they won't be able to tame the people of Bengal in this manner. People are waiting. They would give them a befitting reply at the appropriate time," BJP National Secretary Rahul Sinha said.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
