‘Are you the prime minister of India or the ambassador of Pakistan?’: Mamata asks PM
Siliguri, Jan 3: Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "frequently comparing India with Pakistan", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wondered if he was an "ambassador of Hindustan or the neighbouring country".
Banerjee, while addressing an anti-citizenship law rally in Siliguri, said it was a shame that people were being asked to prove their nationality, even after 70 years of Independence.
"India is a big country with a rich culture and heritage. Why does the PM regularly compare our nation with Pakistan? Are you the prime minister of India or the ambassador of Pakistan?
"Why do you have to refer to Pakistan in every issue? You (Modi) should rather speak of Hindustan. We don't want to be Pakistan. We love Hindustan," she said.
Modi had on Thursday dared the Congress and its allies to raise their voice against Pakistan's atrocities on its minorities for the past 70 years.
Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, said the prime minister and his party spoke of Pakistan every now and then to divert attention from the prevailing economic crisis and unemployment in India.
"If someone says give me job as I have no work, PM says go to Pakistan. If someone says we don't have any industries, he says go to Pakistan. Pakistan can talk about themselves as much as they want, we should talk about India, this is our motherland, all of us were born here..." she said.
The TMC boss vowed to continue her protests till the amended citizenship Act was repealed.
She accused the BJP of "deliberately" creating confusion over the implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying its leaders have been making contradictory statements on the issue.
"On one hand, the prime minister says there will be no NRC; on the other, the union home minister and other BJP ministers claim the exercise will be conducted across the country," she added.
Talking about recent clashes over the citizenship law in Uttar Pradesh, which claimed several lives, Banerjee, in a veiled attack on her counterpart Yogi Adityanath, said, "Those that cannot rule are governing major states."
Dubbing her fight against the amended law as the "second war of Independence,'' she said, "They (BJP) just know how to divide the nation on the basis of religion. But my religion is to defend the freedom of people. We have to save the country from bigotry," she added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pak police registers case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on LeT co-founder
_vb_37.jpeg)
Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab Police on Friday registered a case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder Amir Hamza, who suffered bullet injuries in the attack in Lahore.
On Thursday, two unidentified gunmen riding on a bike opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Peco Road in Lahore near the TV channel's office.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries.
"The FIR has been registered against unidentified gunmen, but it is sealed forthwith," a senior police officer told PTI.
He said the intelligence agencies have taken over this case from the police, and they are currently investigating the matter.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle when it was attacked. Hamza was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Punjab police on Friday said that "upon receiving information about the incident, the SSP Operations immediately reached the scene and a high alert was imposed in the area. SSP Operations Tauqeer Naeem also met the affected individuals. Thankfully, all present in the vehicle remained safe during the firing."
It further said senior police officers of the Township and Chung, along with a heavy police contingent, were present at the scene.
"Police collected evidence from the site and initiated an investigation. Efforts to arrest the suspects are underway using CCTV footage and geo-fencing techniques. Search and sweep operations are being conducted at various locations, with scrutiny of suspicious individuals ongoing," police said.
It added that those involved in the incident will be traced and arrested soon.
The police sources said that Hamza has been shifted to his residence in Jauhar Town, Lahore, where police and agency personnel met him.
The leadership of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), including Hafiz Saeed's son Hafiz Talha Saeed, also called on him.
TV host retired Justice Ghazi, who remained unhurt in the attack, remained a legal counsel for Hafiz Saeed, they said.
The PMML has strongly condemned the attack on Hamza and demanded that those involved in the incident be arrested immediately.
Hamza is regarded as LeT's second most important leader after its chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after getting convicted for several years in terror financing cases.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
_vb_22.jpeg)
_vb_35.jpeg)
