JD-U blames fuel price hike for Bihar bypoll defeat
Patna, June 1: After the Rashtriya Janata Dal wrested the Jokihat Assembly seat from the ruling JD-U in Bihar, a senior Janata Dal-United leader blamed rising prices of petrol and diesel for the drubbing.
A day after Shahnawaz Alam won the seat by over 41,000 votes, JD-U General Secretary K.C. Tyagi on Friday said: "Rising price of petrol and diesel mainly angered people that led to our defeat in Jokihat and NDA elsewhere" in the bypolls held on May 28.
Tyagi said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre should take measures to control and check the price hike which is "directly impacting rural economy and common man".
He said the BJP "should go for more coordination and meetings with its allies before taking any decision". The JD-U is an ally of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre, besides operating an alliance in the state.
Another BJP ally Lok Janata Party also said that rising prices of petrol and diesel is bad sign and main cause behind growing anger among people.
LJP state president Pasupati Kumar Paras, who is also a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, said the BJP should take spiralling price hike seriously.
Two months ago that RJD had defeated JD-U in bypolls to Jehanabad assembly seat and the Araria Lok Sabha seat.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
K'taka HC criticises BJP MLA Yatnal for "half pakistani" remark, refuses to stay defamation case
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday expressed its disapproval of a statement made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, in which he referred to the State Health Minister, Dinesh Gundu Rao, as "half Pakistani."
A single-judge bench led by Justice M. Nagaprasanna declined to stay defamation proceedings initiated by Rao's wife, Tabbasum Dinesh Rao, under s. 499 and s. 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The court noted, “The statement directly attracts these provisions, contributing to the rise of defamation cases.”
During the hearing, the judge questioned the MLA’s counsel, stating, “Why make such statements? You cannot label a community this way; this is not the right approach.”
Yatnal's counsel, Venkatesh Dalwai, argued that his client’s statement was a response to one made by the minister in the public domain. However, Rao's wife contended that the remark was directed at her.
The court further observed, “Just because someone's wife is a Muslim, can you call him 'half Pakistani'? This is unacceptable.”
Dalwai also argued that the magistrate court had not followed proper procedure when taking cognizance of the complaint, as no notice was issued to Yatnal. The High Court agreed with this argument and indicated that it would instruct the Magistrate to reconsider the case, noting a procedural lapse.
The court is expected to release its order on Monday.
