People should back 'Bharat Bandh' in support of farmers: Shiv Sena
Mumbai, Dec 7: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said farmers' call for a 'Bharat Bandh' on Tuesday is apolitical and people of the country should willingly take part in it to express support to cultivators.
Talking to reporters here, Raut also reiterated the Shiv Sena's support to the bandh.
Apart from the Shiv Sena, the NCP and Congress two other constituents of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra have declared support to the bandh.
Various parties, including many regional outfits, have come out in support of the 'Bharat Bandh' on December 8 called by farmer unions which have been protesting on Delhi's borders for over 10 days, demanding the repeal of the Centre's new agri-marketing laws.
"People should willingly take part in the bandh. This will show true support to the farmers. This is not a political bandh though several parties have decided to take part in it," Raut said.
"This is not the bandh for raising demands of a political party, but to strengthen the voice of farmers of the country," the Rajya Sabha member said.
He further said farmers are protesting for 12 days now on Delhi's borders "without worrying about the cold weather and the oppression by the government".
"Hence, it is the duty of each citizen to support the farmers," he added.
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Trump sues BBC for USD 10 billion, alleges defamation over edited Jan 6 speech
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking USD 10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 US presidential election.
It accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump's speech on January 6, 2021” in order to ”intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”
The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, seeks USD 5 billion in damages for defamation and USD 5 billion for unfair trade practices.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The broadcaster apologised last month to Trump over the edit of the Jan. 6 speech. But the publicly funded BBC rejected claims it had defamed him, after Trump threatened legal action.
BBC chairman Samir Shah had called it an “error of judgment,” which triggered the resignations of the BBC's top executive and its head of news.
The speech took place before some of Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.
The BBC had broadcast the hourlong documentary — titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — days before the 2024 US presidential election. It spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
Trump said earlier Monday that he was suing the BBC “for putting words in my mouth.”
“They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with Jan. 6 that I didn't say, and they're beautiful words that I said, right?" the president said unprompted during an appearance in the Oval Office. "They're beautiful words, talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said. They didn't say that, but they used terrible words.”
The president's lawsuit was filed in Florida. Deadlines to bring the case in British courts expired more than a year ago.
Legal experts have brought up potential challenges to a case in the US, given that the documentary was not shown in the country.
The lawsuit alleges that people in the US can watch the BBC's original content, including the “Panorama” series, which includes the documentary, by using the subscription streaming platform BritBox or a virtual private network service.
The 103-year-old BBC is a national institution funded through an annual license fee of 174.50 pounds (USD 230) paid by every household that watches live TV or BBC content. Bound by the terms of its charter to be impartial, it typically faces especially intense scrutiny and criticism from both conservatives and liberals.
