Will join BJP, save honour of Midnapore: Suvendu Adhikari's father TMC MP Sisir Adhikari
Kanthi (WB), Mar 21: Ending weeks of speculation, disgruntled TMC MP Sisir Adhikari said on Sunday that he will join the BJP, following in the footsteps of his two sons Suvendu and Soumendu, and put up a formidable fight against the Mamata Banerjee camp to "save the honour of Midnapore".
The patriarch of the Adhikari family -- which wields considerable influence in Bengal's Purba Medinipur district -- said that he was forced to switch camp, as the leaders of the ruling party left him with no other option.
Earlier, too, the TMC MP had accused the ruling party of "humiliating" him and son Suvendu, who is locked in a fierce battle with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the district's Nandigram constituency.
"They (TMC leaders) forced me to join the BJP. Let them (TMC) do what they want, and I will do what I can," Adhikari told reporters here before leaving for Egra, where he is set to attend Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally.
He asserted that Suvendu Adhikari will bag the Nandigram seat by a comfortable margin.
"Suvendu will win the polls by a huge margin. The TMC will be wiped out of East Midnapore," the Lok Sabha MP added.
Sources in the BJP said his other son Dibyendu, a TMC MP from Tamluk, may also follow suit.
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Conspiracy afoot to 'tarnish' image of Dharmasthala: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Aug 14 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said there was a “conspiracy” to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala.
His comments come amid an ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into serious allegations of mass burials in the revered temple town in Dakshina Kannada district.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy hundreds of years of legacy. It is not correct to tarnish someone just like that. It has all happened due to one complainant,” he said.
Noting that some Congress MLAs have called for action against those involved in the slander campaign at the legislature party meeting, he said, “ I have told them that action must be taken against those who are indulging in a slander campaign. The CM has also said that action must be taken against such people.”
“I have information on this case. Religious feelings should not be hurt in any manner. Culprits must be punished,” he told reporters, according to a release from his office.
Responding to a question, Shivakumar said the Congress party will not allow the image of any religious place to be tarnished.
“We see everyone equally when it comes to religion,” he added.
The SIT, formed by the state government, is probing claims of mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
The complainant, a former sanitation worker whose identity has not been revealed, alleged that between 1995 and 2014 he was forced to handle bodies—including women and minors—and that some showed signs of sexual assault. He has given a statement before a magistrate.
As part of the probe, the SIT has been conducting exhumations at multiple locations identified by the complainant-witness in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains have been found at two sites so far.
