Arrest crabs under section 302, NCP says after Sawant's claim
Thane: A Nationalist Congress Party leader Friday handed over a few crabs to the police here after a minister claimed that the crustaceans were responsible for a dam breach in coastal Maharashtra.
NCP workers led by party general secretary Jitendra Awhad walked into the Naupada police station with crabs in hand, and urged the cops to `arrest' them.
Water resources minister Tanaji Sawant said Thursday that the breach in the Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district, which claimed 18 lives, was caused by crabs which had hollowed out its wall.
Speaking to reporters, Awhad said the BJP-led state government was shameless, and Sawant was trying to protect the contractor who was responsible for the tragedy.
"23 people were washed away, some are still missing, but the minister claimsthat crabs had weakened the dam," he said.
In Kolhapur, the NCP's youth wing presented a memorandum to Shahupuri police station, demanding registration of a 'case' against crabs.
"If the minister think crabs caused the breach, then a case should be registered against the crabs under section 302 of IPC for murder," NCP state youth wing chief Mehboob Sheikh said.
The Tiware dam near Chiplun, 250 km from Mumbai, breached Tuesday night following torrential rain.
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Everything in my life began from here: Mamata after filing nomination for Bhabanipur seat
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday filed her nomination papers as the TMC candidate for the Bhabanipur assembly seat, and said everything in her life began from here.
Amid a sea of supporters raising slogans of 'Mamata Banerjee zindabad' and 'TMC zindabad', Banerjee led a roadshow from her Kalighat residence to the Alipore Survey Building, where she filed the nomination papers.
She walked nearly 800 metres with folded hands and her trademark smile, greeting party workers lined up on both sides of the road.
"I was born and brought up here in Bhabanipur only. Everything in my life began from here," Banerjee told reporters after filing her nomination papers.
Seeking support for the TMC beyond the Bhabanipur contest, she said, "I would appeal to the people, not just in Bhabanipur but across all 294 seats, to ensure the victory of our candidates. We will win with a bigger mandate."
The TMC had won 213 seats in the 2021 assembly polls.
Banerjee, however, expressed concern over the deletion of names from the electoral rolls and said her party would again move a court against the freezing of the voter list.
"I am really pained that so many names have been deleted from the electoral rolls. I fail to understand why the voter lists have been frozen. We will again move a court against it," Banerjee added.
The three-time MLA from Bhabanipur is set to take on BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari in the high-profile contest.
Those who accompanied her during the nomination filing included Rubi Hakim, wife of Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, TMC block president of Ward 71 Bablu Singh and Miraj Shah of the Bhabanipur Education Society.
Her family members also accompanied her.
The TMC projected Banerjee's roadshow and nomination filing as a message of Bengal's pluralist ethos in Bhabanipur, a constituency where Gujarati businessmen, Bengali families, Punjabi households and Muslim residents have lived side by side for decades.
The ruling party sought to portray Bhabanipur as a "mini-India" and a symbol of West Bengal's inclusive identity.
The elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
