New Delhi: Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair has pointed out contradictions within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by referencing a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming a new "calf" into the family. Zubair highlighted this alongside a letter from BJP’s Phek District unit in the state of Nagaland, which condemned the movement to declare the cow as the "Mother of the Nation" as part of the Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra.
In the letter, the BJP Phek District unit criticised the campaign, stating that equating mothers to animals disrespects the revered position that mothers hold in Naga society. The letter further voiced concerns about the imposition of dietary restrictions, which interfere with the food culture of the Nagas, where beef is an essential part of their traditions.
Nagaland’s government has already denied permission for the yatra, invoking Article 371-A to safeguard the state's customs and traditions. Various political and tribal groups, including the Congress and the Angami Public Organisation, have also supported this stance, opposing any attempts to alter the state's food habits or impose external beliefs.
Zubair’s tweet has sparked debate about the BJP’s contradictory stance, where the cow is promoted as "mother" on a national level, while the party’s regional units oppose the very same idea.
Here's what BJP in Nagaland has to say: "In Naga custom, equating our mothers to an animal is outrightly disrespectful and insulting to the honoured and revered position mothers occupy in the family and the society."
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 13, 2024
Hello @amitmalviya, What do you have to say.
Meanwhile… https://t.co/zJyHaaP4gu
हमारे शास्त्रों में कहा गया है - गाव: सर्वसुख प्रदा:'।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 14, 2024
लोक कल्याण मार्ग पर प्रधानमंत्री आवास परिवार में एक नए सदस्य का शुभ आगमन हुआ है।
प्रधानमंत्री आवास में प्रिय गौ माता ने एक नव वत्सा को जन्म दिया है, जिसके मस्तक पर ज्योति का चिह्न है।
इसलिए, मैंने इसका नाम 'दीपज्योति'… pic.twitter.com/NhAJ4DDq8K
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Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.