Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan lashes out at UP CM Adityanath for remarks against Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 10: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan on Thursday launched a scathing attack against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his alleged disparaging comments against Kerala ahead of Assembly polls in the north Indian state.
In a video message to the electorate ahead of the UP Assembly polls, Adityanath warned them that the north Indian state could soon become a "Kashmir, Bengal or Kerala" if they commit any mistakes in the election.
Hitting back at Adityanath, Vijayan, who is also a senior CPI(M) leader, said if the north Indian state develops like Kerala, people will enjoy peace and better living conditions.
"If UP turns into Kerala as @myogiadityanath fears, it will enjoy the best education, health services, social welfare, living standards and have a harmonious society in which people won't be murdered in the name of religion and caste. That's what the people of UP would want", the Kerala Chief Minister said in a tweet.
The Chief Minister also tweeted the same in Hindi and tagged his UP counterpart.
Slamming Adityanath for his remarks, Satheesan also urged the people of Uttar Pradesh to choose plurality, harmony, inclusive development to medieval bigotry.
"Dear #UP, vote to be like Kerala. Choose plurality, harmony, inclusive development to medieval bigotry. Keralites, Bengalis and Kashmiris are also proud Indians. #kerala #democracy #religiousharmony #UPElections2022," Satheesan, a Congress leader, tweeted.
In a video message on Twitter, on the eve of Thursday's polling for the first phase of the assembly elections in UP, Adityanath said he was concerned that rioters, whose activities were curbed by his government, are now feeling uneasy. Terrorists are making threats, he added.
"Be alert. If you miss this time, the five-year effort will be washed away. And it will take no time for UP to become Kashmir, Kerala or Bengal," the UP CM had said.
If UP turns into Kerala as @myogiadityanath fears, it will enjoy the best education, health services, social welfare, living standards and have a harmonious society in which people won't be murdered in the name of religion and caste. That's what the people of UP would want.
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) February 10, 2022
मतदान करें, अवश्य करें !
— BJP Uttar Pradesh (@BJP4UP) February 9, 2022
आपका एक वोट उत्तर प्रदेश का भविष्य तय करेगा। नहीं तो उत्तर प्रदेश को कश्मीर, केरल और बंगाल बनते देर नहीं लगेगी: मुख्यमंत्री श्री @myogiadityanath pic.twitter.com/03VUlXOY35
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Prabhsimran fifty, Jitesh cameo lift Punjab Kings to 214/5 against SRH
Hyderabad, May 19: Prabhsimran Singh set the tone with a quickfire fifty before skipper Jitesh Sharma finished it off in style to lift Punjab Kings to an imposing 214/5 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, here on Sunday.
The new look opening pair of Prabhsimran and Vidarbha's Atharva Taide put on 97 runs from 55 balls as PBKS did well to see through the power play without losing a wicket after opting to bat.
Prabhsimran smashed seven fours and four sixes for his 45-ball 71, while Taide will regret missing out on a fifty after being dismissed for a well-made 46 off just 27 balls.
Taide smashed five fours and two sixes and after his departure, Prabhsimran got the company of Rilee Rossouw as the duo put together 54 off 32 balls to keep the momentum going in the middle overs.
It looked a one-way traffic at 151/1 in 14 overs when leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth dismissed the set batter Prabhsimran off a quicker delivery that took a faint edge and Heinrich Klaasen did well to take a one-handed catch behind the stumps.
Cummins (1/36) ended his spell taking the wicket Rossouw one run shy of a half-century in the 18th over that left two new batters at the crease -- Jitesh Sharma and Ashutosh Sharma.
T Natarajan (2/33) then did well to remove the inform Ashutosh Sharma in the penultimate over.
PBKS went on to lose four wickets for 44 runs in five overs before the stand-in skipper Jitesh's last over assault took them to a fighting total.
Jitesh (32 not out from 15 balls; 2x4, 2x6) finished with two sixes against Nitish Kumar Reddy in a 20-run final over.
It was a fearless batting display by the Punjab Kings who had nothing to lose and playing the last match of the season.
There was no Jonny Bairstow or Liam Livingstone -- the English duo who have left home for national duty -- but PBKS batters never felt their absence after they opted to bat.
Following a tidy start by Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar where the duo conceded just 12 runs, Prabhsimran took on the veteran Indian seamer slamming him for consecutive boundaries.
The lefthander Taide then got into the act in Natarajan's opening over, when he dragged one from outside off to through mid-on and followed it up with a mighty pull.
The diminutive Punjab batter Prabhsimran added to their misery, hammering a 145kph delivery from Cummins over deep square leg with sheer timing.
Taide also matched his senior partner Prabhsimran and took on Bhuvneshwar with a six and four, as PBKS cruised to 61 for no loss in the power play and the home side looked desperate in search of a breakthrough.
Natarajan finally broke the opening partnership in the 10th over with a short and widish delivery to dismiss a well set Taide.
But Prabhsimran continued his belligerent batting in the company of Rossouw and raced to a 34-ball fifty, his second this season in the 11th over.
His big assault came in Nitish Reddy's next over when the duo spanked him for 20 runs two sixes and one four as there was no stopping PBKS.
