CPI(M) leader Smitha Sundaresan joins BJP
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): CPI(M) leader Smitha Sundaresan on Sunday joined the BJP, alleging erosion of values in her former party.
Daughter of CPI(M) leader Sundaresan from Thiruvananthapuram district, she was serving as a councillor in the Varkala Block Panchayat and was a member of the party’s Varkala Area Committee.
She was welcomed into the BJP by state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and party’s state in-charge Prakash Javadekar at an event held here.
Speaking to reporters, Sundaresan said she had resigned from her post as Block Panchayat councillor to join the BJP.
"It is value erosion in CPI(M) that prompted me to join BJP. More than that, I was also attracted by the unparalleled development works initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," she said.
She alleged that personal interests and bias have become common within the CPI(M).
"When it comes to cases involving vested interests, CPI(M) does not adhere to its ideology and rules," she added.
There are indications that Sundaresan may be fielded from the Varkala constituency, with the BJP possibly taking over the seat from NDA ally BDJS.
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DRI seizes commercial quantity of psychotropic substance worth Rs 8.3 cr; 3 arrested
Bengaluru (PTI): DRI officers recovered approximately 8.3 kilograms of a psychotropic substance worth approximately Rs 8.3 crore and arrested three persons in connection with the case.
According to DRI, its Bengaluru Zonal Unit officials, acting on specific intelligence, intercepted a 26-year-old male passenger of Mizoram origin upon his arrival from New Delhi at KSR Railway Station in Bengaluru.
Upon examination of his baggage, approximately 8.3 kilograms of a psychotropic substance suspected to be methamphetamine hydrochloride (popularly known as Crystal Meth) having an illicit market value of Rs 8.3 crore was recovered, DRI said in a statement, adding that the quantity recovered falls within the ambit of commercial quantity under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Based on further investigation and follow-up action, two additional individuals linked to the case were identified and intercepted at separate locations in Bengaluru, and both individuals are local residents, aged approximately 25 and 29 years, DRI further said.
In total, three persons have been apprehended and arrested in connection with the case.
Further, a search conducted on the premises of one of the accused persons resulted in the recovery of approximately 200 SIM cards, around 45 debit/credit cards, and multiple mobile phones, which are suspected to have been used in the operation and facilitation of the drug trafficking network.
The seized contraband and other incriminating materials have been taken into custody under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985, the DRI said, adding that, further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other persons involved in the network.
