Kolkata, June 28: Dismissing BJP President Amit Shah as an "empty vessel that sounds much", West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday called him a "rioteer" and said the people would give him a "befitting reply" for trying to foment lawlessness in the state and making wild allegations against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"He is an empty vessel that sounds much. He is being fed wrong information about Bengal's politics, and he is indulging in big talk. All his enthusiasm will come to an end after the 2019 general elections," Trinamool Secretary General Partha Chatterjee told reporters here.

Chatterjee was responding to Shah's all out attack on the Trinamool from a public meeting in Purulia, where he claimed the BJP will win 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal in next year's general election.

Shah ridiculed Baneree's efforts to cobble up an anti-BJP alliance ahead of the general elections, and advised her to first concentrate on Bengal, as ground was slipping from under her feet.

He also lambasted the Trinamool government for committing atrocities on BJP activists, failure to curb infiltration, cross border smuggling of drugs, rise of 'Syndicate raj' in Bengal and the violence during the Panchayat polls.

The Trinamool fielded heavyweight ministers, who used strong language, to respond to Shah's charges.

Countering Shah, Chatterjee said: "First they should take care of Delhi and Gujarat and then think about Bengal".

"The language they are using to woo people, that will have nil effect on the public. In Bengal, you cannot divide the state on the basis of religion or race," he said.

Going a step further, state Finance Minister Amit Mitra called BJP a "terrorist type of organisation", and accused it of establishing a "neo-emergency" in various parts of the state.

"He is a rioter leader. He has taken part in a riots," he said.

Mitra also pilloried Shah for "belittling" Banerjee's 34 year struggle as an opposition leader.

"What he has said is very shameful. He has compared between Rabindra Sangeet played out at traffic signals in the state and bombs. What is he trying to say? Does he want to say Mamata Banerjee is throwing bombs?" he asked.

"The way Amit Shah is trying to foment lawlessness in Bengal, people will respond in 2019. BJP will be thrown out of power at the centre," said Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim.

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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.

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