Shillong, Aug 24 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday hit out at Karuna Shukla, the niece of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, accusing that she was politicising his death.
The BJP charge came a day after Shukla accused the ruling BJP of politicising the former Prime Minister's death by carrying the ashes across India for electoral gains in 2019 general elections.
"She (Shukla) is with the Congress and had also contested elections on their ticket. She is trying to politicise it (Vajpayee's death). It is unfortunate... We believe this far beyond and above politics," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli told journalists here.
"But we don't see it as a political exercise. Some people have also pointed out why BJP is taking Atal's ashes across the country. This is not the first time this has happened...it's happened with several Prime Minister before Atal -- Nehru's ashes and Indira Gandhi's ashes also went to several states," Kohli said.
"I think that opportunity to people to offer their homage is not a political opportunity but a mark of respect," he said.
Meanwhile, several leaders across party lines and religious leaders of various faith offered floral tribute to the urns containing the ashes of former Prime Minister at BJP headquarters in Shillong.
Kohli said the idea of taking Vajpayee's ashes to different states across the country was an opportunity for those who loved him and wish to pay their respects now that he is no longer with us. "It was opportunity for that."
"Vajpayee was the longest serving non-Congress Prime Minister. He was a person who was loved across party lines," Kohli said.
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.
Bengaluru: In a significant step toward strengthening cybersecurity, Karnataka has established the country’s first Cyber Command Centre. This pioneering initiative aims to address the alarming rise in cybercrime cases across the state.
The newly-formed Cyber Command Centre will focus on a broad range of digital threats, including cyber fraud, hacking, identity theft, online stalking, sextortion, deepfake-related crimes, misinformation, data breaches, among others. It comes as Karnataka, particularly its capital Bengaluru, continues to grapple with a spike in cybercrime incidents—reportedly accounting for nearly 20% of all such cases recorded in India’s megacities. Over the past four years, the state has registered more than 52,000 cybercrime cases, the highest in South India.
The Cyber Command will operate under the leadership of an IPS officer of the rank of Director General of Police.
As part of the restructuring, 43 CEN (Cyber, Economic and Narcotics) police stations across the state will now function as designated cybercrime units.
Headquartered at the CID building on Palace Road, the Cyber Command Centre will serve as a hub for coordinating the state’s cybercrime prevention and investigation efforts. DGP (Cyber Command) will report to the Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department and not the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP), Karnataka State Police.