BJP suspends Nilgiris candidate
Chennai: In a disciplinary action, BJP on Monday suspended its lok Sabha candidate for Nilgiris (SC) seat S Gurumurthy for failing to submit mandatory forms during his nomination. BJP State unit president Radhakrishnan announced that besides Gurumurthy, his agent Varadarajan has also been placed under suspension, following a report by a three-member committee headed by senior leader KN lakshmanan.
“BJP lost the opportunity to contest from Nilgiris (SC) due to Gurumurthy’s failure to submit the documents relating to symbol allotment on time.... Gurumurthy and Varadarajan are (therefore) suspended from the party,” he said in a statement. Gurumurthy had created a flutter in party circles following rejection of his nomination papers for not submitting mandatory A and B forms earlier.
KA Paul supports Modi, Naidu
Vijayawada: Evangelist Dr KA Paul on Monday said he is supporting TDP and BJP in the ongoing elections. Talking to reporters here, Paul said he had met several BJP leaders including its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, party chief Rajnath Singh and others, and he was satisfied about their stand on communalism. Safety of Dalit-Christians was an important issue and he was satisfied by BJP’s stand in this regard, he added.
‘Modi can’t be blamed for Assam violence’
Mumbai: Shiv Sena slammed the Congress for holding Narendra Modi responsible for the violence in Assam, saying those levelling such charges are the ones who have “divided” the country and should practice meditation at Ramdev’s ashram as they have “lost their mental balance”. BJP’s oldest ally also targeted Congress leader Kapil Sibal, saying it has never seen him “taking up the cause of Hindus in Kashmir as he did for Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam”. “Those who are saying that India will break into pieces because of Modi are the ones who have divided the country. Instead of abusing Modi, Congressmen should introspect,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said. “Those in Congress who are making such allegations should either do vipassana (meditation) in Ramdev’s ashram or else they will have to be admitted in a mental hospital after May 16 poll results as they have lost mental balance,” the Sena said.
EC seeks report on Modi’s Faizabad rally
lucknow: Within hours of Narendra Modi’s address to a rally in Faizabad where he invoked lord Ram, the EC sought a report from the district authorities about his speech and the stage backdrop.”I have sought a report on Modi’s speech and backdrop of the stage at the rally from District Magistrate, Faizabad,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said. Modi addressed a rally in Faizabad where the stage had pictures of lord Ram and the proposed Ram Temple model in backdrop.
Polls halt lok Sabha aspirant’s marriage
Kolkata: The date and venue of his marriage was fixed but now the young lok Sabha candidate of Trinamool Congress is waiting for the elections to be over so that he can enter into wedlock with his beloved. In March, when Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee announced the candidature of 34-year-old Soumitra Khan from Bishnupur seat, he felt his hard work had paid off but was a little disappointed as the polls clashed with his marriage date. “I didn’t know that my name figured in the list. We had made all arrangements for the marriage but then it had to be postponed,” Khan said. He was a Congress MlA from Bankura’s Kotulpur who had switched sides to the ruling Trinamool Congress last December.