BJP looks to capitalise on Shah's visit to Dakshina Kannada
Mangaluru (PTI): The ruling BJP in Karnataka has made all arrangements to capitalise on the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the communally volatile Dakshina Kannada district on Saturday.
Though his visit is official in his capacity as the first Union Minister for Co-operation, the BJP sees an opportunity to turn his visit into a campaign for the Assembly elections in the state due in May.
The official function of Shah is the inauguration of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative limited (CAMPCO) in Puttur.
Later, he is scheduled to inaugurate the Bharat Mata Mandir built by Dharmashree Pratisthan at Hanumagiri, which is the second temple in south India for Bharat Mata after the one in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
Dharmashree Pratisthan sources said the temple has been constructed at a cost of Rs 3 crore with the objective of inculcating a sense of patriotic feeling among the people.
The BJP plans to ensure the participation of at least one lakh people for the function, party sources said.
Shah will garland the statue of Bharat Mata and later pay floral tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in Puttur. He will also visit Hanumagiri temple at Ishwaramangala and offer worship.
The BJP is planning to use the visit as the start of their election campaign in the district, often described as the party's 'Hindutva laboratory' in Karnataka. One of the most communally polarised districts in the state, Dakshina Kannada had last year witnessed murders along communal lines.
The murder of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Praveen Nettaru in July last year, followed by the killing of Fazil at Surathkal had further fuelled the communal conflict in the region.
As Shah had not visited the district in the recent past, the BJP wants to extract maximum political mileage out of the visit of the party's top leader.
In the last Assembly elections, BJP had won seven out of eight seats in Dakshina Kannada. The lone winner for Congress was U T Khader in Mangaluru segment. The party had also won the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha seat through its present state president Nalin Kumar Kateel.
The seats from the district are crucial for BJP to retain its hold in the coastal belt, while the opposition Congress is struggling hard to regain its lost glory in the region.
Congress leader and former MLC Ivan D'Souza has asked BJP leaders to apprise the Union minister about the pathetic condition of roads in the district. "We want the minister to talk about development instead of conducting road shows," he said at a press meet here on Thursday.
All official arrangements are being made to ensure security for the Union Home Minister's visit. ADGP (law and order) Alok Kumar, IGP (western range) Chandragupta and district superintendent of police Vikram Amathe are overseeing the security arrangements.
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NIA registers case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal
New Delhi (PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday registered a case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal, officials said.
The move came following a directive by the Union Home Ministry in this regard, they said.
In pursuance to the home ministry's order, the anti-terror agency on Sunday registered a case, which was originally filed at Uttar Kashi police station, Bhangar division, Kolkata on Saturday, and took up the investigation, an NIA spokesperson said in a late night statement.
"The case pertains to recovery of 79 crude bombs and other incriminating materials by Kolkata police, which were being stored at a spot, thereby endangering human life and property," the spokesperson said.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission had directed the West Bengal Police to launch a special drive to arrest those involved in illegal manufacturing of crude bombs in the poll-bound state, an official said.
It asserted that all cases related to the making of any such explosive would be probed by the National Investigation Agency, the official said.
The directive came after the police recovered a large number of crude bombs from the house of a person, allegedly a TMC worker, at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, days ahead of the second and final phase of the assembly polls in the state.
The explosives were recovered during a search at the residence of Rafikul Islam following specific inputs, the official said.
The poll panel also issued a warning to senior police officers across the state over any lapse in maintaining law and order before the April 29 polling.
The first phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal was held on April 23, while the second phase will take place on April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
A record 93.19 per cent turnout has been recorded in the first round of polling. Bhangar will vote in the second phase.
