The Canadian Parvasi - issue 47

The International News Weekly india
May 25, 2018 | Toronto
09
TN CM blames parties, anti-socials
for Thoothukudi violence
Indo-Asian News Service
Thoothukudi/Chennai :
Thoothukudi remained tense for the
third day as the death toll in police firing
climbed to 13 while Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister K. Palaniswamy on
Thursday accused political parties and
anti-social elements of "deliberately
instigating and misleading" innocent
people leading to violence and loss of
lives.
Selvasekar (43), who suffered serious
injuries in police lathicharge on
Tuesday, succumbed to injuries in hospital.
More than 70 people, including
police personnel who were injured in
the clashes and violence, were undergoing
treatment in the Government
General Hospital. Meanwhile, an uneasy
calm prevailed in Thoothukudi
after two days of riots, arson and firing
and the situation continues to be tense
across the district. Shops and commercial
establishments were shut for the
third consecutive day while government
offices witnessed thin attendance.
Chief Minister Palaniswamy, who
met reporters in Chennai, said his
government would continue to take
steps legally for closure of the Sterlite
copper smelter plant against which
the local people have been protesting
and said electricity to the plant was
cut on Thursday. "Some political parties
and anti-social elements have wantonly
instigated the innocent people
who have been protesting peacefully
all along and took them on the wrong
path, leading to unfortunate incidents,"
Palaniswamy said without naming any
political party.
Replying to a question on who had
given permission for the firing, he said
there was nothing like permission.
"It was natural that somebody
would act in self-defence when attacked
and the action was not pre-meditated.
The police used tear gas shells,
resorted to lathi charge and then only
opened fire when mobs set on fire vehicles
near the district collectorate and
stormed the residential quarters in the
plant and the district collectorate," he
said.
Usualy the police make preventive
arrests but this time there was sudden
violence compared to the peaceful
protest that had been going on. The
protesters had met the district administration
16 times in the past and their
grievances had been addressed. "We
express deep condolences and a sense
of sorrow over the loss of lives," he said.
Appealing to the people to maintain
peace and calm, he said all efforts were
being taken to ensure return of normalcy
in Thoothukudi. Asked about the
charge by DMK leader M.K. Stalin that
he refused to meet him on the issue, the
Chief Minister accused him of enacting
a drama outside his roon in the Secretariat
by doing a dharna when he was
not there.
Replying to a question about the
criticism that he did not visit Thoothukudi
to meet the relatives of the victims
and the injured, he said prohibitory
orders had been imposed and people
should respect law by not holding protests
or taking out processions.
Modi accepting fitness
challenge invokes attack
by rivals on poll promises
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi : The fitness challenge by Minister of Information
and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore on
Twitter turned political after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi accepted the gauntlet thrown by cricketer Virat
Kohli, with the opposition
parties daring him to reduce
the spiralling prices.
Soon after Rathore appealed
to the people to get fit
and fitter and posted photos
and videos on his exercise
regime on the social media to inspire others to follow
his advice, the #fitnesschallenge went viral on social
media with many celebrities from Bollywood, sports
and politics including Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and tennis player Sania
Mirza accepting the challenge. While the sports and
film fraternity accepted the challenge and further dared
others, the opposition leaders like Congress President
Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took on
the government on issues like oil price and job creation.
Modi on Thursday accepted the fitness challenge thrown
by cricketer Virat Kohli a day earlier saying he will soon
post a personal fitness video.
"Challenge accepted, Virat! I will be sharing my own
#FitnessChallenge video soon. @imVkohli #HumFit-
TohIndiaFit," Modi tweeted.
Over 300 pc increase in
cross-border this year
New Delhi : There has been
over 300 per cent increase in
the incidents of cross-border
firing along the India-Pakistan
border in Jammu and
Kashmir this year so far,
leading to maximum deaths
and injuries to BSF personnel
in the last five years, an
official data said.
According to the data
accessed by PTI, over 300
unprovoked firing incidents
have taken place this year
till now, leading to the killing
of five Border Security
Force (BSF) personnel and
injuring 34 of their colleagues
who were deployed
along the frontier areas of
the international border in
Jammu region.
In comparison to this,
a total of 111 unprovoked
cross-border firing instances
took place last year along
this front while the figures
were 204 incidents (in 2016),
350 (in 2015) and 127 during
2014. Two personnel of the
border guarding force were
killed and seven injured due
to sniping and mortar shelling
last year while three BSF
personnel were killed and 10
injured in such incidents in
2016.
Similarly, a BSF jawan
was killed and five were injured
in 2015 and two of its
men were killed while 14
were injured in 2014 at this
border front in Jammu and
Kashmir.
The BSF had launched
three special operations --
Rustam (2016), Arjun (2017)
and Bheem (2019)-- as part of
the government mandated
'befitting reply' policy for
retaliation of such firing incidents.
The latest spell of these
incidents began when Pakistan
Rangers and their other
units started shelling areas
along the IB from May 15
and till now 11 people including
9 civilians and 2 jawans
have been killed and over 60
people, including over 48 civilians
injured.
The guns were relatively
silent today along the IB in
Jammu after nine days, a senior
official said.