Tigress Avni was killed to 'save' Anil Ambani's project: Raj Thackeray
Mumbai, Nov 7: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray claimed Wednesday he had learnt that tigress Avni was killed by the BJP-led Maharashtra government to "save" a proposed project of industrialist Anil Ambani in Yavatmal, a charge denied by the corporate group as well as a district official.
A spokesperson of the Anil Ambani group, when contacted, said the group has no project in Yavatmal district.
A district official in Yavatmal also said the site of the proposed project by the Ambani group is far away from the area where the tigress was shot.
There is no connection between the project and the decision to kill the animal, the official said.
The tigress, which was believed to have turned a man-eater and killed 13 people in the district's Pandharkawada area in the last two years, was shot dead by a marksman hired by the government last Friday.
"I have learnt that Avni was killed to save Anil Ambani's project. The government has sold its conscience to Ambani," Thackeray told reporters here.
"I feel sad about the deaths of people (killed by the tigress). But it happens across the world. When people encroach on forest land and in the periphery of habitats of wild animals, they attack humans," he said.
"There was no need to kill the tigress. She could have been tranquilised. (Forest Minister Sudhir) Mungantiwar is making reckless statements which can cost him his cabinet berth," Thackeray said.
The killing of the tigress, officially known as T1, led to an outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisation. Union minister Maneka Gandhi had lashed out at the Maharashtra government calling it a "ghastly murder".
A source in the Shiv Sena, a BJP ally, claimed that party president Uddhav Thackeray had asked Sena ministers to raise the issue in the next cabinet meeting.
Sena mouthpiece Saamna had slammed the government over the killing earlier this week.
The tigress was killed on November 2 by Asgar Ali, son of famous sharp-shooter Nawab Shafat Ali, in Borati forest in Yavatmal district.
She left behind two ten-month-old cubs.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Anti-poor' Modi govt bent on 'oppressing' MGNREGA workers: Mallikarjun Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday alleged that the "anti-poor" Modi government is bent on "oppressing" MGNREGA workers and reiterated the party's demands that their minimum wage per day be fixed at Rs 400 and that they be provided at least 150 days of work in a year.
Kharge shared on X a media report which claimed that the government is unlikely to raise the daily floor wage under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) substantially, on top of the usual annual hike, despite recommendations by two panels.
"It seems that the anti-people Modi government has refused to increase MGNREGA wages. This is like attacking the rights of MGNREGA workers," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
He pointed out that recently, the Joint Parliamentary Committee had recommended increasing the daily wage of MGNREGA workers to Rs 400 per day.
"Amarjeet Sinha's High Level Committee formed in 2023 had also suggested increasing wages and increasing the budget of MGNREGA. But the anti-poor Modi government is bent on oppressing MGNREGA workers," the Congress chief said.
Be it excluding nearly seven crore registered workers from MGNREGA by imposing the condition of Aadhaar-based payment, or allocating the lowest MGNREGA budget in the last 10 years as compared to the total budget, the Modi government has been negatively impacting MGNREGA, he said.
"MGNREGA - Employment guarantee scheme was brought by the Congress Party for the poorest families of our country. We are firm on our two demands — Minimum wage of Rs 400 per day should be fixed for MGNREGA workers and at least 150 days of work in a year be provided to them," Kharge said.
