“He was as if prepared to present a PR speech" Romanian Mayor reveals why he slurred at Scindia
Video of incident went viral after Mayor slurred at Indian Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia
New Delhi: A video of Romanian Mayor Mihai Anghel slurring at Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia went viral during the rescuing of Indian students stranded in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Explain to them when they leave [for] home. I provide the shelter, I provide the food and I helped them, not you,” the Romanian Mayor was seen losing his cool on Scindia while the latter was addressing the students. The Indian students were seen applauding the Mayor for his response to Scindia.
“Let me tell them what I have to tell them,” Scindia retorted.
According to The Quint, they spoke to Mayor Anghel, who said that he wasn’t looking for any political scandal and that all he did was help the Indian students, who wanted to know just one thing – when were they going back home?
Further, he added that the Romanian team did everything they could, including providing food and all the necessities for the 157 stranded Indians. However, Anghel’s annoyance towards Scindia was evident in the video where he was found to have explained details regarding how the Indian government rescued dogs and others, instead of telling them about how they were to go home.
Reacting to Scindia’s speech along with cameras the mayor said, “He was as if prepared to present a PR speech, and not comfort the students who had just fled war and wanted to go home”.
“These kids weren’t treated with dignity at the borders and the speech was an addition to that. It really put me off. He hadn’t provided any of the necessities for these students and came here and disrespected me when I asked him for details about their flight home,” he said.
Reports said that Indian students crossed the Siret border on 27 February and were given refuge inside a school gymnasium of Ghermanesti village at the Snagov commune. The mayor had earlier passed on the information he had received from local Indian authorities regarding the return. However, he retaliated when the questions concerning the journey were left unanswered, despite Scindia’s visit, reported The Wire.
“The students had just made a very arduous journey. There were going to be some apprehensions and some worries, which was what was expressed by the mayor…which is fine. I mean, I’m there to assuage those concerns. As a representative of India, we have to stomach that – get to the solution and get them out,” Scindia said while on a phone call with The Quint.
“I wasn’t angry like a lot of people think. I lost my cool because I was sad for those kids. I heard so much about what they went through at the border and they shouldn’t be used for some PR shoot. I didn’t know that he was the aviation minister. I would have done the same if I knew. I was compelled to call his behavior out. You can’t come to my country, my home, and disrespect us,” the mayor asserted while The Quint asked why he lost his temper.
Moreover, Anghel further let out, “We shook hands and dealt with it like adults. Someone among the students told him that I was the mayor of the region. He didn’t apologise for disrespecting us. I don’t expect an apology and I understand the times are difficult for everyone – for the Indian evacuation teams as well. In the end, when we shook hands, his tone was very cold. Neither firm nor soft, as if he was in a rush. He had no time; finished the address and went away,” he said adding that it was a very “unpleasant exchange”.
Scindia also confirmed to The Quint that the two shook hands saying “that was the end of it”, he said.
Meanwhile, Anghel revealed that he has been receiving hate messages and trolls from Indian citizens and stated that “I am a politician and I can handle all this, but to receive this kind of bombardment from foreign citizens and not my own people, is a first.” he said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
