Meetings with Uddhav will continue to take place, says Raj
Mumbai (PTI): Amid the buzz of an alliance between their two parties, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Thursday said meetings with his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will continue to take place.
Addressing party workers here, Raj Thackeray targeted the Election Commission over discrepancies in the voters list.
Slamming the poll body for denying CCTV footage to political parties, Thackeray said the answer given by the EC is difficult to digested.
"What is happening in the country is an insult of an honest voter. Results are an insult to the votes the voter casts. Elections should take place in a transparent manner," Thackeray said, adding no developed country has EVMs.
On his frequent meetings with his cousin Uddhav, Thackeray said, "Meetings and interactions with Uddhav will continue to take place."
Although the two parties have given enough signs of rapprochement, they are yet to officially announce an alliance.
Targeting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the state tourism department's decision to have NaMo tourist centres on four forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Thackeray asked whether there was any limit to mortgaging one's self-esteem.
The NaMo tourist centres were announced by the tourism department headed by Shiv Sena's Shambhuraj Desai on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 75th birthday.
How desperate can one be to become chief minister, Thackeray said targeting Shinde.
The MNS chief said the tourist centres will be vandalised.
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Annpurna Devi expresses anguish over girl's rape in TN, urges NCW to act
New Delhi (PTI): Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi on Tuesday expressed her anguish over the alleged gang rape of a girl in Tamil Nadu and urged the National Commission for Women to take immediate cognisance of the matter.
In a post on X, Devi said, "Deeply anguished by this horrific incident. I urge the NCW to take immediate cognisance and act swiftly in coordination with the concerned authorities to ensure the strictest action against all culprits."
Devi said, "Justice must be swift and unsparing — the accused must be brought to book without delay," adding, "the safety, dignity, and justice of every daughter of India remain our highest priority."
"We stand firmly with the survivor and her family in this difficult hour," she said.
Reacting to a post by former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, who flagged concerns over the law and order situation in the state, Devi said such incidents "expose grave concerns" under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government.
Annamalai, in his post, alleged that a 15-year-old girl from Kanchipuram, who had come to participate in a temple festival near Seyyaru in Tiruvannamalai district, was gangraped.
He said the incident was "deeply shocking and enraging" to him and alleged that such crimes point to a "complete failure" of law and order in Tamil Nadu.
Annamalai demanded immediate arrest of all those involved and the "harshest punishments" for the accused.
He also called for full protection and mental health counselling for the survivor and her family.
