Kurmi protests continue to rock parts of Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): Protests by Kurmi community members in various districts of West Bengal were unabated on Saturday, the fifth consecutive day of their stir for ST status, as they blocked railway tracks and a stretch of National Highway-6, officials said.
Train services in a few divisions of South Eastern Railway (SER) were affected as the agitators squatted on the tracks, leading to cancellation, short-termination and diversion of several trains, they said.
Around 250 mail/express and passenger trains have been cancelled since Tuesday, the officials said.
The protesters also blocked a portion of NH-6 in Khemasuli in Paschim Medinipur district, leaving hundreds of goods carriers and buses stranded, and leading to long traffic snarls.
During the day, district administrations of Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram and Purulia held meetings with Kurmi community leaders to persuade them to withdraw the ongoing agitation, but the talks did not bear fruit, the officials said.
Meanwhile, Purulia administration sources claimed that the protests were withdrawn in the district following the talks, but the Kurmis continued with their stir in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram.
The rail blockade at Khemasuli station in Paschim Medinipur is still underway, and so is the agitation on National Highway-6, Kurmi Samaj state working committee member Tapas Mahto told PTI.
Hopefully, we will withdraw the ongoing protests. But, no final decision has been taken as of now, he said.
Mahto, however, said the road blockade on State Highway-5 in Jhargram's Lodhasuli was lifted later in the day.
The Kurmis, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the community and inclusion of the Kurmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, launched the agitation at various railway stations in West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand at 4 am on Tuesday.
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“Mistake owing to communication gap,” MLA Yatnal clarifies over alleged derogatory speech on Prophet
Vijayapura: Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has denied making any derogatory statement about Prophet Muhammad, clarifying that there was a misstatement during his speech at a Ram Navami event in Hubballi. "I did not speak about Prophet Muhammad. I meant to refer to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, but there was a mistake in the speed of speech," he said addressing reporters on Monday.
He alleged that members of the Congress, frustrated by their hooliganism and failure to collect their hafta (extortion) in Vijayapura are using the Prophet as an excuse to speak against me. “There is no culture of denigrating another religion in Hinduism. Our gurus and elders have not taught us that,” he said.
Responding to another controversy involving an audio clip in which he was allegedly threatened, Yatnal said the police are investigating the matter and that those behind it will soon be exposed. “No one can finish me. The Hindus of Karnataka are with me. If someone tries to finish me, the whole state will rise in protest,” he warned.
