Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut seeks apology from Kangana over comments on Mumbai
Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday demanded that actress Kangana Ranaut apologise for her comments against Mumbai and Maharashtra.
Ranaut in a tweet recently compared Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Asked if he would apologise for his remark against Ranaut while reacting to her tweet on a TV channel, Raut told reporters that "anybody who lives and works here and speaks ill of Mumbai, Maharashtra and Marathi people, I would say apologise first".
In a tweet, Ranaut recently asked, "Why is Mumbai feeling like Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir?". She had tagged a September 1 news report where Raut purportedly said she should not come back to Mumbai if she was afraid of the city police.
The Rajya Sabha member on Friday urged the Maharashtra government to take against people defaming the city police. He had also asked Ranaut to tour the PoK first to see the situation prevailing there.
Ranaut, who is currently in her home state Himachal Pradesh, also tweeted that she will be returning to Mumbai on September 9 and dared anyone to stop her.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
