About 2 dozen BJP leaders granted central VIP security cover in UP, Punjab
New Delhi(PTI): The Union government has accorded the central VIP security cover of armed paramilitary commandos to close to two dozen BJP leaders in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, including the "Z" category security cover to Union minister S P S Baghel, the party candidate against SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday.
Some candidates in these two states have been provided security till the poll process ends, they added.
Some of the protectees will have the central cover over and above their state police security.
The Union home ministry has tasked the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to render the task. Both the paramilitary forces have their exclusive VIP security wings of commandos, who possess sophisticated close-protection weapons.
Besides Baghel, the other prominent name among those accorded "Z" category security is BJP MP from Delhi and singer Hans Raj Hans.
Baghel is contesting the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls against the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief from the Karhal seat. The BJP had alleged on Tuesday that Baghel's convoy was attacked by "SP goons" in Mainpuri district of the state.
Also, BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi Lok Sabha seat Ramesh Chand Bind has been granted the smaller "X" category of CISF cover in his state.
The CRPF has been asked to provide security to at least 20 politicians or candidates in these two states.
From Punjab, the names include Sukhwinder Singh Bindra, SAD (Sanyukt) leader and party candidate Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Avtar Singh Zira.
They have been accorded smaller categories of security ranging from "Y" to "Y+", sources said.
They said these latest security extensions will be reviewed after the counting of votes on March 10.
Punjab will vote in a single phase on February 20, while Uttar Pradesh will see seven phases of polling, the last phase being on March 7.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
