Now, Tejashwi Yadav faces criminal defamation complaint for calling Gujaratis 'thugs'
Ahmedabad, Apr 26: A criminal defamation complaint was filed against Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in a court here on Wednesday over his alleged remark suggesting "only Gujaratis can be thugs in the current situation".
The complaint was filed against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader by social worker and businessman Haresh Mehta, 63, under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500 (dealing with criminal defamation) in the court of additional metropolitan magistrate DJ Parmar.
"We submitted the complaint along with proof in form of a pen drive containing the statement. The court has accepted the complaint and will verify it on May 1," Mehta's lawyer P R Patel said.
The complaint stems from 33-year-old Yadav's statement made before the media in Patna on March 21.
"Only Gujaratis can be thugs in the present situation, and their fraud (crime) will be forgiven. Who will be responsible if they run away with the money belonging to LIC or banks?" the Bihar Deputy CM had allegedly said.
The complainant said the statement, calling the entire Gujarati community as "thug", was made before the media. It defames and humiliates all Gujaratis in public.
A "thug" is a rogue, sly and a criminal person, and such a comparison with the entire community will cause non-Gujarati people to look at Gujaratis with suspicion, Mehta said while seeking issuance of summons against Yadav and maximum punishment for him under the law.
The complainant said he is also a Gujarati, and when he came across the news on a digital platform, he realised such a defamatory statement will make a non-Gujarati look down upon a resident of the state as a 'thug'.
It may be noted that a court in Gujarat's Surat city in March convicted and sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail over his "Modi surname" remark. After the conviction, the former Congress president lost his Lok Sabha membership.
Separately, a court in Ahmedabad has issued summonses to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh in a criminal defamation case filed by the Gujarat University over their remarks on the institute.
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Taj Mahal top earning ASI monument through ticket sales from FY19-20 to FY23-24: Govt
New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI): The iconic Taj Mahal in Agra earned the "highest income" through the sale of tickets among the ASI-protected monuments from FY19-20 to FY23-24, according to data shared by the government.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat shared the data in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha.
He was asked the amount that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has received from selling entry tickets to various monuments in the last five years, year-wise and monument-wise; and the monuments that have received the highest income through selling entry tickets in the last five years.
In his response, the minister shared the data in a tabular form for cycles of financial years ranging from FY19-20 to FY23-24.
According to the data, Taj Mahal earned the top slot for all five years.
The Mughal-era architectural wonder was commissioned by Emperor Shah Jehan in the 17th century and it is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
In FY19-20, the Agra Fort in Agra and Qutub Minar in Delhi were in the second and third positions.
In FY20-21, the Group of Monuments Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu and Sun Temple, Konark were in the second and third positions. In FY23-24, Qutub Minar and Red Fort of Delhi were in the second and third positions.
