Rahul Gandhi writes to Karnataka CM to save injured baby elephant
Mysuru (PTI): "Anguished" by the plight of an injured baby elephant in the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve near here, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday urged Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to help the animal, saying it is in need of urgent medical care.
Rahul and Sonia Gandhi had on Tuesday visited the reserve where he saw the baby elephant.
In his letter to Bommai, Gandhi said he and the Congress president briefly visited Nagarhole Tiger Reserve where they happened to come across the painful sight of the injured baby elephant, with its mother.
The little calf has a severely injured tail and trunk, and is fighting for its life, he said.
"I understand and appreciate that there is a view that nature must be allowed to take its own course. However, in the case of endangered and iconic species, exceptions are often made depending on the severity of the situation. The aforementioned calf is undoubtedly in need of urgent medical care," he said in his letter.
"Therefore, I wanted to cross political boundaries and appeal to your sense of compassion to intervene and save the little elephant.
"I am confident that it will survive if given proper treatment. I hope you will extend timely assistance to save the iconic little elephant," Gandhi told the chief minister.
The former Congress chief earlier tweeted a picture of the baby elephant with the mother.
"A mother's love. I felt so sad to see this beautiful elephant with her injured little baby fighting for its life," he said on Twitter.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also tweeted Gandhi's letter to Bommai.
"On the day of rest for Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul Gandhi visited the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and was anguished by what he saw. Here is his letter of concern on India's national heritage animal, just sent to CM of Karnataka," Ramesh said.
A mother’s love.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 5, 2022
I felt so sad to see this beautiful elephant with her injured little baby fighting for its life. pic.twitter.com/65yMB37fCD
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Kangana Ranaut shown black flags in Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti, BJP files complaint with CEO
Shimla, May 20: Actor Kangana Ranaut, BJP candidate from the Mandi parliamentary constituency, was shown black flags by local people and Congress workers at Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti on Monday.
The Himachal Pradesh BJP filed a complaint with the state chief electoral officer (CEO) demanding transfer of election officials and an investigation into the incident as both the BJP and the Congress were given permission to hold rallies adjacent to each other.
The Congress workers raised anti-Kangana slogans - "Kangana, go back, Kangana Vangana nahi chalegi". They were apparently enraged over her remarks on Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in April last year.
Ranaut had tweeted a meme featuring the Dalai Lama that said, "The Dalai Lama receives a warm welcome at the White house". The photoshopped picture in the tweet showed the Dalai Lama sticking his tongue out with US President Joe Biden with a comment - Both of them have the same illness, definitely they could be friends.
Following this, a group of Buddhists staged a dharna outside her office in Mumbai.
Later she apologised saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone, and it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with the Dalai Lama.
Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur, who had accompanied Ranaut to Kaza to campaign for the BJP, on Monday alleged that the Congress workers tried to disturb the meeting of the BJP and pelted stones on their carcade while they were returning.
Talking to reporters, he said, "It is unfortunate that for the first time, permission was given to hold a parallel rally at the venue to the Congress where prior permission was already granted to the BJP to hold the rally.
Efforts were made to disturb our rally and the Congress workers raised shameful slogans, stopped our carcade and pelted stones, injuring one person."
Thakur added that they go for campaigning all over the state but such things have happened for the first time, which shows "frustration" of the Congress and they would take up the issue with the Election Commission.
Later, in a complaint filed with the Himachal Pradesh CEO, BJP state office secretary Parmod Kumar Thakur said the Congress workers allegedly tried to illegally restrain the political procession and even pelted stones and demanded an investigation into the incident.
"The district administration granted permission for organising a political meeting to the Congress adjacent to the place already scheduled to hold a political meeting of the BJP at Kaza under undue influence of the state government in utter violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)", he said.
In the complaint, the BJP demanded the immediate transfer of election officials from Lahaul and Spiti and said giving permission to both the parties at the same location at the same time was a "big lapse" on the part of the Election Commission "in spite of the fact that permission to the BJP was provided first and the officers involved in this act are biased against the BJP, and free and fair elections are doubtful under the circumstances."
Lahaul and Spiti SP Mayank Chowdhary told PTI that workers of both the BJP and the ruling Congress came face to face but there was no clash and no person was injured. However, one worker sprained his leg, he added.
Bhishan Shashni, Congress election coordinator for Lahaul and Spiti claimed that the Congress workers were peacefully protesting but a large number of people, who were hurt by Ranaut's remarks about the Tibetan spiritual leader, joined the protest.
Earlier, Congress candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat Vikramaditya Singh had asked why Ranaut did not visit Spiti and returned from Reckong Peo alleging that she was afraid she would be shown black flags for her remarks against the Dalai Lama.
