BJP member in Bihar announces resignation over Manipur violence, party says he wasn't active
Patna, Jul 27: A political activist in Bihar on Thursday put up a poster announcing his resignation from "all posts in the BJP" in protest against the ethnic strife in Manipur.
Vinod Sharma, who identified himself as a spokesman cum media panelist of the BJP, also shared with the press copies of his resignation letter addressed to the party's national president JP Nadda.
However, state BJP spokesperson Arvind Kumar Singh asserted that Sharma, who had joined BJP four years ago, "never became an active member".
"Anybody can become a primary member of the party by giving a missed call. Only those are considered active members who go a step further and deposit the membership fee. I challenge Sharma to show his membership slip," Singh told PTI.
He pointed out that Sharma's name did not figure in the party's authorised list of spokespersons and media panelists.
Interestingly, Sharma was last in the news in the thick of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when he had announced his resignation from the Congress over Rahul Gandhi's stance on Pulwama terror strike.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) chuckled at the development.
"The resignation of senior spokesman Vinod Sharma shows cracks appearing in the BJP's rank and file as a result of the Narendra Modi government's mishandling of the Manipur issue," JD(U) state unit chief Umesh Singh Kushwaha said in a statement.
VIDEO | "I have resigned from BJP with a heavy heart. Manipur situation has defamed India," says BJP leader Vinod Sharma after resigning from the party over Manipur issue. pic.twitter.com/QUwhrG92Tx
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 27, 2023
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India imposes port restrictions on import of select Bangladeshi goods
New Delhi: India has announced new restrictions on the import of certain goods from Bangladesh, allowing them to enter the country only through specific seaports. According to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the new rules take immediate effect.
Under the revised guidelines, products such as readymade garments, processed food items, fruit-flavoured drinks, carbonated beverages, cotton and cotton yarn waste, plastic and PVC finished goods (excluding raw materials like pigments and granules), and wooden furniture can now only be imported via the Nhava Sheva and Kolkata seaports.
The notification explicitly states that these items will not be permitted through any Land Customs Stations (LCSs) or Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) in the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, as well as through LCSs at Changrabandha and Fulbari in West Bengal.
However, the DGFT clarified that these port restrictions will not apply to Bangladeshi goods transiting through India en route to Nepal or Bhutan.
Certain essential goods, including fish, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), edible oil, and crushed stone are exempt from the new restrictions and can continue to be imported through land ports.
The development comes amid rising tensions between India and Bangladesh. Last month, on April 13, Bangladesh halted the export of Indian yarn through land routes. Two days later, it also stopped Indian rice exports via the Hili and Benapole ICPs in West Bengal.
Diplomatic ties further strained after Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, made remarks in China suggesting strategic dominance over India’s northeastern states. “The eastern part of India, known as the Seven Sisters, is landlocked. They have no access to the ocean. We are the only guardians of the ocean in this region,” Yunus said, hinting at regional cooperation with Chinese industries.
