Rebel BJP MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma joins TMC ahead of West Bengal polls
Kolkata (PTI): Rebel BJP MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma joined the ruling TMC in West Bengal on Thursday ahead of the assembly elections.
Sharma, a first-time MLA from Kurseong, joined the party at its headquarters in Kolkata, signalling a churn in the Darjeeling Hills before the assembly polls, expected to be held in the next two months.
He was welcomed to the TMC by Education Minister Bratya Basu and Industry Minister Shashi Panja
Sharma said he would work for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "development model".
"I was elected by my Gorkha brothers and sisters, but I have not been able to work for them. The BJP made promises but did nothing. There was no real work on the ground," he said.
Sharma had repeatedly voiced support for the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, arguing that the Hills require focused administrative attention and development.
He had also at times raised the pitch for a separate North Bengal state, insisting that regional aspirations were not being addressed adequately.
Sharma had publicly criticised the BJP several times in the past, and staged a demonstration outside the assembly over what he described as inaction on the demand for Gorkhaland.
He contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as an Independent from the Darjeeling seat, projecting himself as the "son-of-the-soil". The bid, however, failed to gain traction, with the BJP's Raju Bista retaining the seat.
Downplaying his joining the TMC, BJP chief whip in the assembly, Shankar Ghosh, said Sharma had no support base in his constituency and had not been in touch with the party for a long time.
"His joining the TMC will have no impact on the BJP in the Hills," Ghosh, the MLA of Siliguri, claimed.
Elections to the 294-member assembly are expected to be held in the next two months, with the term of the present House expiring in May.
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Karnataka School Edu Dept prohibits children from being made to dance to obscene songs
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka School Education Department has issued a circular strictly prohibiting children from being made to dance to obscene songs in educational and cultural programmes.
It stated that such dances would negatively impact students' mental health and moral values. It will create indiscipline and harm the sanctity of education.
"All the Deputy Directors (Administration) of the state's School Education Department have been asked to take strict measures to prevent children or students from dancing to obscene songs in all government, aided and unaided schools in the state," the office of the commissioner of the School Education Department said in a recent circular.
"If it is found that children are being made to dance to obscene songs, appropriate action will be taken against the headmaster or management of such school," it added.
The department also listed certain measures in this regard, which include: strictly prohibiting children from being made to dance to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes; selecting songs that are inspiring, positive, instilling national pride in children and reflecting the greatness, dignity, values, culture, and morality of the state.
Stating that the school headmaster and management are responsible for selecting songs and dances for cultural programmes, it said, they should also ensure that students wear decent clothes in dance or cultural programmes.
