New Delhi: Welfare Party of India strongly condemned the arrest of Activist Teesta Setalvad and Ex IPS Officer Sreekumar and called it political vendetta by the ruling dispensation and a sad day for Democracy.

Dr. SQR Ilyas National President of the Welfare Party of India said the recent arrest displays the ugly picture of a new India under Modi's rule which is intolerant, vengeful, intoxicated with power, and strongly criticized blatant misuse" of the central agency for "vindictive reasons".

He pointed out that Setalvad was a bold and brave activist who had litigated the case of 2002 anti-Muslim massacres in Gujarat which led to the conviction of prominent BJP leader and former minister Maya Kodnani and called this vendetta murder of justice.

He pointed out that Sreekumar while in service had filed four affidavits before the Justice (retired) G T Nanavati and Justice (retired) Akshay Mehta Commission that had been set up by the Gujarat government to probe the Godhra incident. In the affidavits, he had claimed to have exposed “the alleged collusion of government agencies with rioters” for which he is targeted now.

He said a day after the Supreme Court upheld the clean chit by the SIT to then CM of Gujarat Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) arrested activist Teesta Setalvad and Sreekumar who backed the petitioner, Zakia Jafri.

Dr. Ilyas hailed Teesta Setalvad and Sreekumar for courageously exposing the criminal involvement of BJP leaders in the Gujarat riots and implored the citizens of the country to stand up in unison against this arrest.

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Thane (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for repeatedly targeting him and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and claimed that he is eager to reclaim the PM's post instead of paving the way for the next generation.

Addressing an election rally in Thane to canvass for incumbent MP and his party candidate Rajan Vichare on Thursday, Thackeray called the contest a clash between loyalty and betrayal.

The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has nominated Naresh Mhaske for the Thane Lok Sabha constituency, which along with 12 other seats, including six in Mumbai, will vote in the fifth phase on May 20.

The contest in Thane is a prestige battle for Shinde, an influential leader from the region who split the original Shiv Sena in 2022 and aligned with the BJP.

However, Thackeray mainly focussed on Modi and his policies. He accused Modi of stirring controversies through his rhetoric and claimed that the BJP is shifting its narratives, from pledges of securing a majority to allegations of dynasty politics.

The Sena (UBT) hit out at Modi for repeatedly targeting him and Sharad Pawar. In his recent speeches, Modi had called Thackeray's party "nakli Sena" and described Pawar as a "bhatakti aatma" (wandering soul).

Modi is eager to get back the PM's post instead of paving the way for the next generation, he claimed.

Thackeray defended the coalition model, citing its past successes and contrasting them with the perceived stagnation under single-party rule.

Thackeray said Shiv Sena and Thane share a unique bond as the city gave the party a foothold in its early days, he added.