Ajit Pawar, Prakash Ambedkar pay tributes at Koregaon Bhima war memorial
Pune, Jan 1: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and other leaders on Monday paid tributes at the 'Jay Stambh' (victory pillar) near here on the 206th anniversary of the Koregaon Bhima battle.
Every year, lakhs of people congregate at the 'Jay Stambh' to offer tributes on the anniversary of the battle, which was fought on January 1, 1818, between the British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy.
Speaking to reporters, Pawar, while citing the BJP's victory in the recent assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, said there is no alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country.
"Under him (PM Modi), the country's name, fame and pride is increasing," he said.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar, NCP MP from Shirur (in Pune district) Amol Kolhe were also among those who paid tributes at the victory pillar.
Elaborate security arrangements were made around the memorial, located near Perne village on Pune-Ahmednagar road.
A Pune police official said they are anticipating more than 10 lakh visitors at the memorial.
Pawar said, "All the departments, be it police or local administration, have made good arrangements for the people who are coming to offer tributes on the (Koregaon Bhima battle) anniversary. I appeal to people to cooperate with the administration."
On the 200th anniversary of the Koregaon Bhima battle on January 1, 2018, violence broke out in and around the village in which one person was killed and several others injured.
Wishing everyone on the New Year, Pawar said it is the year of elections.
The Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra assembly polls are due later this year.
Asked about reports of submarine projects shifting out of Maharashtra, Pawar said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has already clarified that there is no truth in such reports.
"How will the projects move out of Maharashtra? As CM, deputy CMs, will we stay silent? There is an attempt to spread misinformation," he said.
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Dalit outfits call state-wide hartal over dental student’s death
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Various Dalit organisations on Monday announced a state-wide hartal seeking justice in the death of Kannur Dental College student Nithin Raj.
The hartal will be observed on Tuesday from 6 am to 6 pm.
As many as 52 Dalit organisations, including Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council, have announced the strike.
Organisations requesting cooperation for the strike said that no vehicles will be forcibly stopped and that all essential services are exempted.
Raj, a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakkandy in Kannur district, was found critically injured after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case against two faculty members on charges of abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following allegations by the student’s family that he was subjected to caste- and complexion-based harassment.
Kerala Pinnokka Samudaya Munnani (KPSM), one of the organisations supporting the hartal, alleged in a statement that police had shown apathy in the investigation and were attempting to protect the accused in the case.
KPSM state president K V Padmanabhan and general secretary S Anwar alleged that the probe into Raj’s death was being deliberately misdirected and delayed.
While the family has firmly alleged that caste discrimination and mental harassment by faculty members led to the student’s death, police were attempting to divert the investigation towards loan app borrowings, they claimed.
The organisation alleged that this was a planned move to shield the real accused.
KPSM further alleged that by deliberately delaying the arrest of the accused teachers, police enabled them to secure anticipatory bail.
They said there was no confidence in the present police investigation and demanded that the case be handed over to an independent agency at the earliest.
