Shiv Sena targets Modi for attacking opposition's show of unity
Mumbai, Jan 21 : Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Shiv Sena Monday wondered why the coming together of 22 opposition parties gave him "shivers" and asked him not to live in an illusion that his government is "immortal".
Referring to the opposition's show of unity at a rally organised by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, the Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamna', said the West Bengal chief minister was taking the Modi-Shah combine head-on.
"Most of the leaders who attended the rally, including Banerjee, were once allies of the BJP under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership and there is no need to ridicule them. Modi's government is not an enemy of the country but he should not live in an illusion that his government is 'amar' (immortal)," the publication said.
Distancing itself from the coming together of several regional parties on one platform, the Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, however, defended their right to criticise the party in power.
Banerjee had invited Uddhav Thackeray to the rally, but the Shiv Sena was the first to sound the poll bugle from its "own field" Maharashtra, it said.
"All those present on Banerjee's platform were secularists. The Sena is not pseudo-secularist. Our ideology is 'hindutva' and we are firm on our stand on the issues of Ram temple and uniform civil code. The Kolkata rally could not have digested Shiv Sena's stand," the editorial said.
It said recently the prime minister gave a speech while boarding a tank (at L&T's gun-making facility in Gujarat). "Why did he (then) get shivers from the coming together of 22 opposition parties," it wondered.
It said the way the BJP has the right to stay in power by contesting polls, the opposition also has the right to expose the government and defeat it.
NDA partners like Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar and Ramdas Athawale are against the construction of Ram temple and implementation of the uniform civil code, but they are happily sharing power with the BJP and are called "good" and "honest", it said in remarks laced with sarcasm.
Many faces in the current opposition, including Mamata Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu, DMK, Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Yadav, Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and Gegong Apang, have been in an out of the BJP-led coalition, it noted.
"Even (BSP chief) Mayawati had once shared power with the BJP. None of them were then anti-nationals, but today they are referred so," the Sena said.
The prime minister should tolerate the opposition's questions on his governance, it added.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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