BJP all set to sweep polls in Odisha in 2019: Shah
Bhubaneswar, July 1: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Sunday said that his party is all set to sweep the Odisha polls in 2019 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah, who has set a target to win 120 plus seats in the 147-member house, on Sunday held closed door meetings with the state leaders to fine tune poll strategies.
"Addressed a meeting with Shakti Kendra incharges and co-incharge in Bhubaneswar. With such energy and enthusiasm among Odisha BJP karyakartas, the BJP is all set to sweep Odisha in 2019, under the leadership of the Prime Minister," tweeted Shah.
Shah's visit to Odisha follows his tour of West Bengal and Manipur.
During his address to poll booth workers, Shah targeted the Odisha government over the missing keys of the Jagannath temple's Ratna Bhandar, saying that if it cannot safeguard the hopes of Hindus, how could it protect the state's interests.
The BJP chief also asked the party workers to reach out to booth-level supporters within 15 days and highlight the welfare work of the union government and raise the issue of the alleged failure of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in the state, said a BJP leader.
Shah also held meetings with two leaders from each of the panchayats in the 21 Assembly segments in Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack Lok Sabha constituencies.
He also held closed door meetings with the party 'prabharis' of parliamentary and assembly constituencies and social media team separately.
"Shah's guidance will surely inject new enthusiasm and energy among BJP workers and will strengthen the party at the booth level," said Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The party has focused on Odisha, which will witness both general and Assembly elections in 2019. The party hopes it has a chance to come to power in the state by riding on Modi's popularity and prevailing anti-incumbency against the BJD, which has been in power for the last 18 years.
The BJP had fared better in the panchayat polls last year, relegating the Congress to the third position. However, the ruling party remained on top.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
