Party needs to introspect, stop pretending all is well: BJP leader on Arjun Singh's return to TMC
Kolkata (PTI): BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra Monday called for introspection within the party, a day after its MP Arjun Singh returned to the TMC, contending that the saffron camp needs to fix lacunae instead of pretending all is well .
In yet another body-blow to the beleaguered saffron camp in West Bengal, Singh had on Sunday rejoined the ruling Trinamool Congress, calling it his homecoming .
"If someone leaves the party, and you keep on saying it won't have any impact, that is not the right approach. We have to accept that it will have an effect, and should introspect why people are leaving (the BJP)," Hazra tweeted.
Hazra, who has been training his guns at the state leadership for failing to keep the flock together, said at a time when the party is having a tough time winning municipal elections, a person holding a senior position quitting will indeed have an adverse impact.
"We should accept the reality; disregarding it won't serve any purpose. The approach that all is well' is not right," he later told a news channel.
The state BJP unit is yet to respond to Hazra's remarks.
The saffron party in West Bengal has been stung by a string of desertions following the assembly poll results last year, with former Union minister Babul Supriyo and five legislators, including national vice-president Mukul Roy, switching over to the TMC.
Several senior TMC leaders like Rajib Banerjee and Sabyasachi Dutta, who had joined the BJP, too, have returned to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Australian journalist leaves India after govt refuses to extend work visa, says she 'crossed a line'
New Delhi (PTI): An Australian journalist on Tuesday claimed that she was forced to leave India after the government refused to extend her work visa contending that her reportage had "crossed a line".
Avani Dias, the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, said she had to leave India on April 19, the day the Lok Sabha elections started after the government objected to her reporting on the assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
"Last week, I had to leave India abruptly. The Modi Government told me my visa extension would be denied, saying my reporting 'crossed a line'," Dias said on X.
"We were also told my election accreditation would not come through because of an Indian Ministry directive. We left on day one of voting in the national election in what Modi calls "the mother of democracy," said Dias, who had been working in India for the past two-and-a-half years.
She said after intervention from the Australian government, her visa was extended for two months which was conveyed "less than 24 hours before my flight".
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said Dias was informed of the decision by an official from the Ministry of External Affairs, who said her most recent Foreign Correspondent episode "crossed a line".
ABC said YouTube has also blocked access in India to an episode of its news series Foreign Correspondent on the Nijjar killing.
