Kolkata, July 18: Terming the Narendra Modi regime at the centre as a "fascist power" that is destroying the country's economy and creating hatred among people by fueling communal unrest, a section of Bengal's civil society on Wednesday appealed to the people to make removal of the BJP and RSS from power as their topmost priority.

Famous Bengali singer, song-writer and social activist Kabir Suman attacked the BJP and RSS, saying they are "honest about hating and loathing" and urged people to defeat them in the next election "at any cost".

"It is not that communalism and differences were non-existent before the BJP came to power. But the BJP and RSS do not have an iota of compassion and honesty to work for the people. But I can say they are honest about hating people. At least they do not try to hide it," Suman said here at an event entitled 'Save Country'.

"We must defeat them at any cost. India will not bow down to theocracy. We have to keep all our misunderstandings aside to fight against these fascist forces," he said.

Criticising the Central government's economic policies, economist Dipankar Dey accused the central agencies of providing distorted data to give false indications about the government's achievements.

"We were doubtful that the data provided by the Reserve Bank of India and NITI Aayog are not providing correct picture regarding the country's economy. It has been found that several data provided by the RBI in the last few years are not matching," Dey said.

"The decision to hike the maximum support price (MSP) of Kharif crops, was also nothing but an eyewash to portray themselves as pro-farmer, because in reality it would only benefit 5-7 percent of the well to do farmers who can sell the crops directly to the government," he added.

Famous singer Pratul Mukherjee took a dig at the Prime Minister's "Acche Din" slogan, claiming that the nation has entered a horrid time people's wishes and rights are getting demolished in the name of religion.

He also said the BJP government's attempt to introduce the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017 and its its current pursuance of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam are serious attempts to violate the human rights.



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Shivamogga: A 38-year-old rowdy sheeter, Rajesh Shetty, was hacked to death in broad daylight by a group of assailants near Bomanakatte on Saturday here.

The attack occurred around 1 PM near a garage close to Marammanagudi on the old Bommanakatte main road.

Sources suggest that the murder was motivated by an old grudge. Rajesh Shetty, a rowdy sheeter listed at the Vinoba Nagar police station with seven cases against him, reportedly died on the spot due to the severity of the assault.

Additional Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar Bhooma Reddy and officers from the Vinoba Nagar police station visited the crime scene and initiated an investigation.

District Defense Officer GK Mithun Kumar informed the media that three special teams have been formed to track down the culprits. He stated, "We have obtained information about the accused, and preliminary findings indicate that the killing was driven by personal reasons."

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