Mob vandalises Bahadur Shah Zafar’s portrait at Ghaziabad railway station claiming it is Aurangzeb’s
Ghaziabad: Members of a Hindutva group blackened with spray paint a portrait of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was the last Mughal emperor, on Friday at Ghaziabad railway station, mistaking it to be of Aurangzeb.
Brandishing saffron flags and chanting ‘Aurangzeb Murdabad' or down with Aurangzeb slogans, members of the Hindu Raksha Dal stormed platform four and sprayed black paint over the 16-feet-tall mural of Bahadur Shah Zafar, as reported by The Times of India on Saturday.
The incident disrupted regular station activities and caused inconvenience to several passengers waiting for their trains.
“Before we could realise what was happening, they climbed atop each other and started smearing the portrait with colour. We tried to convince them, but they thought they were right,” an unidentified station official was quoted as saying by TOI.
The official added that the members also wrote “HRD” on the mural and shouted “Hindu Raksha Dal Zindabad”.
The mural of Bahadur Shah Zafar was painted by the non-profit organisation by CS Disha Foundation in 2016. The NGO had also decorated other platforms with portraits of Tatya Tope, Mangal Pandey and Rani Laxmi Bai, among other historical figures.
“The painting in question is certainly not of Aurangzeb, but of Bahadur Shah Zafar. Historically, Aurangzeb is not even distantly related to the First War of Independence, but Bahadur Shah Zafar definitely is,” TOI quoted Udita Tyagi of CS Disha Foundation, who supervised the art project, as saying.
Aurangzeb has become the subject of controversy in recent weeks after Hindutva groups, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, called for the removal of his tomb from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, in Maharashtra.
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Om Birla attends swearing-in of new B'desh PM, says India stands ready to support BNP govt
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday attended the swearing-in ceremony of new Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka, and said India stands ready to support Bangladesh's endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation.
Separately, the speaker called on the new Bangladesh prime minister and conveyed the wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also handed over an invitation from Prime Minister Modi to Rahman to visit India, officials said here.
“Glad to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka today. India stands ready to support Bangladesh’s endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation,” Birla posted on X.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, said in a post on X, “Prime Minister Tarique Rahman conveys his greetings to India and PM Narendra Modi to the visiting India Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at a courtesy meet following the swearing-in of the new government.
“Speaker Birla conveyed wishes and an invitation to India. Both leaders expressed optimism to work together for the well-being of the people of Bangladesh and India, pursuing a people-centric menu of cooperation.”
Birla also met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and other leaders on the sidelines of the event.
Led by Rahman, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) swept to power with a two-thirds majority with 49.97 per cent votes and 209 seats in the polls held on February 12, results for which were declared on February 13.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, registered its best-ever performance with 31.76 per cent votes and 68 seats.
The National Citizen Party (NCP) secured the third-highest number of seats, six, and 3.05 per cent votes.
Bangladesh had invited Narendra Modi to the ceremony, but the prime minister could not attend the event as he was scheduled to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai on Tuesday.
On reaching Dhaka, Birla said the swearing-in of Rahman was an important moment that would strengthen people-to-people relations and shared democratic values between the two neighbours.
“Honoured to be in Dhaka representing India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government led by Tarique Rahman as the prime minister. It's an important moment that will strengthen people-to-people ties and shared democratic values between our two nations,” Birla said.
Birla was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other officials.
