Yusuf Pathan slammed over 'Tea' post amid Murshidabad violence during Anti-Waqf Act protest
Murshidabad: Clashes broke out across parts of Murshidabad district on Friday following protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, leaving three people dead and dozens, including police personnel, injured. Calcutta High Court stepped in following the violence and ordered the deployment of central forces in the affected areas.
The unrest began in Suti, Samserganj, and Dhuliyan, where mobs took to the streets, setting vehicles ablaze, vandalising homes, and clashing with security forces. More than 138 arrests have been made so far as authorities attempt to restore order.
Amid the violence, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan, who represents Baharampur, came under fire for an Instagram post he shared on Saturday. The post featured him sipping tea and relaxing, captioned: “Easy afternoons, good chai, and calm surroundings. Just soaking in the moment.”
The timing of the post drew widespread criticism on social media, with users questioning his awareness and involvement amid the crisis in his constituency. One user wrote, “Murshidabad is burning and you’re travelling?” Another asked, “Do you even know what’s going on in your constituency?”
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also attacked the ruling TMC and Pathan, saying on X:
“Bengal is burning. HC has said it can’t keep its eyes closed and has deployed central forces. Mamata Banerjee is encouraging such state-protected violence as police stay silent! Meanwhile, Yusuf Pathan, MP, sips tea and soaks in the moment as Hindus get slaughtered… This is TMC.”
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Bengal is burning
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) April 13, 2025
HC has said it can’t keep eyes closed and deployed centra forces
Mamata Banerjee is encouraging such state protected violence as Police stays silent!
Meanwhile Yusuf Pathan - MP sips tea and soaks in the moment as Hindus get slaughtered…
This is TMC pic.twitter.com/P1Yr7MYjAM
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Rupee strengthens past 90/USD level in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 24 paise to 89.96 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, supported by corporate dollar inflows and easing crude oil prices.
Forex traders said the gain in the USD/INR pair follows the rupee’s string of record lows in recent weeks on likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, crude oil prices hovering around USD 59 per barrel level supported market sentiment.
ALSO READ:Rupee trades in narrow range against US dollar in early trade
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.19 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.96 against the US dollar, registering a gain of 24 paise over its previous close.
In initial trade it also touched 90.22 against the American currency. On Thursday, the rupee appreciated 18 paise against the US dollar to close at 90.20 against the greenback.
The rupee sank to a fresh record low, breaching the 91-a-dollar mark for the first time on Tuesday.
"Since the speculators are out of the market the buying of US dollar syndrome has come down a bit though intra-day we could see spikes," said Anil Kumar Bhansali Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
The US CPI came lower than expected but was also due to non-collection of sufficient data and therefore, the next month’s CPI becomes more important, Bhansali said, adding that "Rupee remains in a range of 90-90.50".
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 98.46.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.27 per cent at USD 59.66 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 375.98 points to 84,857.79, while the Nifty was up 110.60 points to 25,934.15.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 595.78 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal on Thursday said he is not concerned about the rupee at all, arguing that even China and Japan witnessed exchange rate weaknesses during their high growth phases.
Speaking at 'Times Network's India Economic Conclave 2025', Sanyal said since the 90s, the rupee has mostly been allowed to find its own level, but the RBI uses its reserves to intervene in either direction to stop excessive volatility.
"I am not concerned about the rupee at all... Let me say that the rupee and its current weakness should not be necessarily conflated with some economic worry, because historically, if you go over time, you will see that economies that are in their high growth phase very often go through a phase of exchange rate weakness," he said.
