BJP MLAs 'purify' Ambedkar statue at assembly with 'Gangajal' after TMC protest led by Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): BJP MLAs on Friday washed the statue of BR Ambedkar on the West Bengal assembly premises with 'Gangajal' to "purify" it after TMC legislators led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee staged a demonstration there, demanding central funds for the state.
Over 30 BJP legislators, including leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari, took turns in pouring water from the Ganga on the statue, and the spot where the TMC MLAs demonstrated over two days.
"The MLAs of a party that is looting the state and murdering democracy tainted the holy statue of Ambedkar with their presence. They have already been rejected by the people of the state, and are clinging to power with the help of the police," said Adhikari.
Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay said he would ask the House's marshalls to seek Adhikari's response about such an activity.
"I would like to know why such an activity was undertaken. We will ask everyone not to use the assembly premises for demonstration without the consent of the speaker's office," he said.
The assembly campus witnessed a shouting match over the last two days with TMC and BJP MLAs holding demonstrations, often calling each other "chor" or thief.
TMC's deputy chief whip in the assembly Tapas Roy said that by washing the statue of Ambedkar, BJP atoned its sins "of atrocities committed on Dalits".
He said that his party took permission from the speaker for the two-day agitation.
Meanwhile, the ruling TMC also announced that it will hold protests on Saturday against alleged atrocities against the weaker sections of society under the "saffron ecosystem".
"Did the BJP ever show respect to Dalits? A BJP leader even made disparaging comments against a popular tribal leader such as Birbaha Hansda. Now, they are raising the outrageous claim that BR Ambedkar's statue was sullied by the presence of our legislators, who include women, tribals and OBCs. This is an insult to them," state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said.
Reacting to the charges, BJP chief whip Manoj Tigga told PTI that people know how TMC looks down upon tribals.
"This was evident from the offensive comments made by a TMC leader against the country's first tribal president, Droupadi Murmu. Also, crimes against women and deaths of Dalits are on the rise in West Bengal," he claimed.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
