Mamata slams Modi government over NRC, warns of civil war
New Delhi, July 31 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday attacked the Narendra Modi government over the NRC in Assam, saying people are being victimised to win elections and it would lead to a bloodbath and civil war.
Addressing a conclave by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India here, Banerjee took several digs at the Modi-led Central government and accused it of interfering with the judiciary.
She alleged that names of people having valid documents were not included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the exercise was being carried out with a political motive which will be opposed.
Banerjee also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to divide people. "The situation cannot be tolerated. There will be a civil war, bloodbath in the country," Banerjee said.
Over 40 lakh people were excluded in the final draft list of the NRC released on Monday (July 30).
"What is going on and what can be, it is more alarming. Only to win the election, only to win the battle, people cannot be victimised. Now they say these people cannot vote also. If they don't vote, if their list doesn't exist, don't you think they will lose their identity," Banerjee said.
"Where they will get food, how they will go to school. How they will go for employment, nobody will allow them. Nobody will allow them to go to office. Where will they go, where their children will go. We will not let them die. We want they should survive," she added.
The Trinamool Congress leader said whoever came from Bangladesh up to March 1971 "is very much an Indian citizen".
She said there were also people from Bihar, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu whose names are not in the NRC. The Trinamool Congress leader said the name of a family member of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was not in the final draft of the NRC.
She accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a megalomaniac. "We know India is a secular country. But only I came in power for a few years and I will destroy everything, it cannot be. It is like being megalomaniac," she said.
"I am saying with heavy heart, this situation cannot continue. The judiciary, you know how they interfere. In every institution, you cannot work impartially."
She also referred to St. Stephens College cancelling an address by her and took a dig at the BJP.
"I don't know whether you got threatening or not... that's why Mamata Banerjee is coming. I do not know. Wherever I am going, they are cancelling the programme. I don't mind. Because they think that convention hall is enough for me. For me, the road is better. I can go to the road and meet people," she said.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
