Blow to YSRCP, boost for BJP as Andhra’s first woman Muslim MLC Zakia Khanam switches sides
Amaravati: In a political shift, Mayana Zakia Khanam, the first Muslim woman member of the Andhra Legislative Council, has resigned from the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Though her move caught many in the YSRCP off guard, the Andhra Pradesh BJP unit turned out in full strength to welcome Zakia Khanam into the party. Among those present were state BJP president and Rajahmundry MP Daggubati Purandeswari, state Health Minister and BJP MLA Y Satya Kumar, along with several other senior leaders, as reported by The Indian Express on Thursday.
Purandeswari stated that Zakia Khanam was inspired to join the saffron party by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She emphasised that the BJP is committed to “delivering welfare beyond the lines of caste and religion” with a focus on uplifting the underprivileged and marginalised. "Khanam’s induction reflects a major shift and strengthens our commitment to inclusive leadership, while signaling a growing trust for the party among minorities,” TIE quoted Purandeswari as saying.
With her exit, the total number of MLCs who have resigned from YSRCP has risen to six. The other MLCs who have resigned from the party so far include Karri Padmasri, Pothula Sunitha, Jayamangala Venkataramana, Balli Kalyan Chakravarthy, and Marri Rajasekhar.
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7 held for running fake call centre in South Kolkata
Kolkata (PTI): Seven people were arrested from the Parnashree area in the southern part of the city for allegedly running a fake call centre, a police officer said on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house on Netaji Subhas Road on Friday night and found the fake call centre operating from the ground floor, he said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had set up a bogus company using forged documents and posed as employees of an antivirus firm to call citizens in the US, the officer said.
"The callers would gain the trust of victims and then use remote access to take control of their phones or other digital devices. The accused allegedly siphoned off large sums of money, running into millions of dollars, from victims' accounts," he said.
Five laptops, two WiFi routers, six mobile phones and four headsets were seized from the accused, he said, adding that the seven are being questioned to ascertain the full extent of the racket and to identify others involved.
