Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje elected new VHP chief
Gurugram, April 14: Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje was on Saturday elected the new President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) brushing aside the challenge posed by the firebrand Pravin Togadia, a VHP official said.
Kokje bagged 131 votes of the VHP National Executive members, while Togadia got a meagre 60, a VHP spokesperson said in a statement.
The election was held in the government-run guest house located in the upscale and high-security Civil Lines area.
Before casting their votes, the assembled VHP members paid tribute to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on the occasion his birth anniversary.
VHP Joint General Secretary Surender Kumar Jain announced the results.
Meanwhile, the election gave harrowing time to the commuters, especially patients, as the Haryana Police had kept all routes leading to a nearby hospital blocked.
Besides, all routes to the offices of top officials, including Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner of Police and Divisional Commissioner of Gurugram, among others, had also been blocked.
"I need to reach the Puspanjali Hospital on the route, but I was stopped... No one is ready to even give us a reason why we have been stopped," said a person heading to the hospital.
Similar was the case with several other patients and attendants, who were stuck in the tailback.
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Mayawati criticises 'hasty' passage of Waqf Bill, says BSP does not support it
Lucknow (PTI): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Friday criticised the central government for "rushing" the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, saying that the legislation should have been introduced only after addressing people's concerns and clarifying doubts.
Her remarks came after the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill late Thursday night, a day after its approval in the Lok Sabha, where the opposition strongly opposed it.
"After listening to both the ruling party and the opposition in Parliament on the Waqf Amendment Bill, the conclusion is that if the central government had given the public more time to understand the Bill and addressed all their concerns before bringing it forward, it would have been better," Mayawati posted on X in Hindi.
The BSP leader further expressed disappointment over what she termed as the government's "haste" in passing the Bill.
"It is unfortunate that the government hurriedly introduced and passed this Bill, which is not appropriate. Now that it has been passed, if governments misuse it, then the BSP will stand firmly with the Muslim community. In other words, the party does not support this Bill," she added.
