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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Record-holder swimmer drowns while practicing in pool in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: Record-holder swimmer K Chandrashekhar Rai Surikumeru (52), who was known for performing yoga and somersaults underwater, died of drowning in the Mangaluru City Corporation swimming pool on Sunday.
Rai, who was a native of Surikumeru near Kalladka in Bantwal taluk, lived in Kudroli, Mangaluru. He is survived by his wife and a daughter.
He had been employed as a lifeguard at the swimming pool in Udupi under contract-basis and was working as manager of the MCC swimming pool for three years. He also worked as a lifeguard and swimming trainer.
On Sunday morning, Rai is said to have handed the security guard of the pool his mobile phone, saying he would practice for some time, but shortly after diving into the pool, he died of suffocation.
The post-mortem examination of his body was conducted at the District Wenlock Hospital and the funeral rites were held at his native place, Rai’s brother Radhakrishna Rai has said.
Rai, known for his skills in swimming, had entered the Worldwide Book of Records in 2023 by performing 28 front flip somersaults in a single stretch.
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