Mayawati says BSP won't field 'bahubali', mafia candidates; no Mukhtar Ansari from Mau
Lucknow (PTI): The BSP will make efforts to not field 'bahubali' (strongmen) or mafia candidates in next year's Uttar Pradesh polls, party supremo Mayawati said Friday, announcing that jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari will not be given a party ticket from Mau again.
She said BSP state president Bhim Rajbhar will contest from Mau seat, currently represented by Mukhtar Ansari who is lodged in a jail in Banda, with several criminal cases pending against him.
Mayawati's announcement comes days after Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sigbatullah Ansari joined the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party.
"In upcoming assembly polls, the BSP's effort will be to not field 'bahubali' and mafia elements. So, the name of Bhim Rajbhar, the BSP UP president, has been finalised from the Mau assembly seat in place of Mukhtar Ansari," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
Mukhtar's another brother, Afzal Ansari, is a BSP MP who represents the Ghazipur seat. He had defeated the BJP's Manoj Sinha, who is now the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mayawati said the decision to not field criminal and mafia elements has been taken to meet people's expectation as she appealed to party leaders to keep this in mind while choosing candidates. "So that there is no problem in taking strict action against such elements once the government is formed."
She added, "Alongside ensuring 'a rule of law, by law', the BSP's resolve is to also change Uttar Pradesh's image now."
She said the BSP's should be known as the government that follows the philosophy of 'Sarvajan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay' (universal good).
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China confirms its support to Pakistan during four-day conflict with India
Beijing (PTI): China, for the first time, has confirmed that it provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during the four-day conflict with India last year, official media reports here said.
China's state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday aired an interview with Zhang Heng, an engineer from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China's (AVIC) Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, a key developer of China’s advanced fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle design.
Zhang had provided technical support to Pakistan during the four-day war last May, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported, quoting CCTV.
Pakistan's air force operates a fleet of Chinese-made J-10CE jets, produced by an AVIC subsidiary.
"At the support base, we frequently heard the roar of fighter jets taking off and the constant wail of air-raid sirens. By late morning, in May, the temperature was already approaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a real ordeal for us, both mentally and physically,” Zhang said.
What drove his team was the "desire to do an even better job with on site support” and to ensure their equipment could “truly perform at its full combat potential”, Zhang told CCTV.
“That wasn’t just a recognition of the J10CE; it was also a testament to the deep bond we formed through working side by side, day in and day out,” he said.
