BJP MLA Raja Singh felicitates lawyers representing Gauri Lankesh, Narendra Dabholkar murder accused
Telangana: BJP MLA Raja Singh has felicitated the advocates representing the accused in the murder cases of journalist Gauri Lankesh and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. The event, organized by the Hindutva group Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, took place during the Vaishvik Hindu Rashtra Mahotsav in Goa between June 24 and 30.
The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, considered an offshoot of the extremist Hindutva group Sanatan Sanstha, hosted the event where Singh honored four advocates: P. Krishnamurthy, Umashankar Megundi, Divya Megundi, and Avinash Masuti. These lawyers represent the main accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case. Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017. The primary accused, Amol Kale, a former leader of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, allegedly orchestrated the murder plot. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) found that 18 individuals were involved in the crime.
Singh, who has faced 101 cases in Hyderabad, 18 of which are communal in nature, also honored advocates Prakash Salsingkar, Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, Mrunal Wyavahare Sakhare, and Smita Desai. These lawyers represented the accused in the murder of Narendra Dabholkar, a rationalist and founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, who was shot dead near the Omkareshwar Temple in Pune on August 13, 2013. In May 2024, a special court in Pune convicted Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar for Dabholkar's murder. Kalaskar is also an accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case.
The Karnataka state spokesperson of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti shared images of the felicitation on social media. The event reportedly saw the attendance of around 800 delegates from across the country, according to the Samiti's website.
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Doesn't appear to be much scope for Cong-AAP alliance for polls in Haryana, Delhi: Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi, Jul 4: There does not appear to be much scope for an alliance between the Congress and the AAP for the assembly polls in Haryana and Delhi but the INDIA bloc will fight elections together in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.
In an interview with PTI, Ramesh said there is no one formula the INDIA bloc will follow for state elections. The grouping will fight together in states where Congress leaders and other alliance partners agree to such an understanding, he said.
Asked whether the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will fight the assembly polls together going forward, Ramesh said the alliance will do so in Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
"There is no INDIA 'janbandhan' in Punjab. In Haryana, we had given one seat to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Lok Sabha polls but I don't think that INDIA janbandhan will be there for assembly polls. In Delhi, the AAP itself has said that INDIA janbandhan will not be there for assembly polls," Ramesh said.
The Congress and AAP had fought the Lok Sabha polls together in Delhi, while they contested separately in Punjab.
Ramesh said, "In the context of West Bengal also, I had said that the INDIA bloc is for Lok Sabha polls but in states where the circumstances are such that our leaders of the state and leaders of our alliance partners want, the alliance will remain. In Maharashtra, the alliance will be there with Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SCP). In Jharkhand, we have an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morch."
Where state Congress leaders and the respective alliance parties agree, there will be an alliance, he said, adding there is no one formula on which the alliance will be done for assembly polls.
Asked specifically as to whether there would be an alliance in Haryana and Delhi, Ramesh said, "There does not appear to be much scope (for alliance) in Delhi and Haryana."
Last month, Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi state convener Gopal Rai had said his party's alliance with the Congress was only for the Lok Sabha elections and hinted that the ruling party in the city will go solo in next year's Assembly polls here.
Ramesh asserted INDIA bloc partners are united in Parliament and augmented by the BJD in Rajya Sabha.
"The YSRCP has its compulsions. Their soul is with INDIA but their body is with Mr. Narendra Modi. We are going to be aggressive, we are going to be proactive, we want a debate, we want a discussion but we will not be allowed to be bulldozed like the way we have been over the last 10 years," Ramesh said.
Jharkhand, Haryana and Maharashtra are slated to go for polls later this year, while assembly elections in Delhi will be held early next year.
