The 61st birthday of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde was celebrated in Mumbai on Sunday in presence of leaders from across all parties. Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani felicitated Mr Munde in the function organised at Shanmukhanand Hall.
The function started on a note of political controversy as none of the Shiv Sena leaders were present.
Television news channels had started flashing “breaking news” about the “strained” relationship between the Sena and the BJP because of which all Sena leaders kept away from the function.
However, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, who had been present at another function in the morning at Dombivali, arrived at the hall and ended all speculations, saying, “I am proud to have associated with a leader like Mr Munde.”
BJP president Nitin Gadkari, while speaking at the function, admitted that there were differences of opinions between him and Mr Munde.
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Nitish upset by rising Bihar crime
AGE CORRESPONDENT
patna
Dec. 12: A sudden jump in Bihar’s crime graph in the days immediately after the Assembly polls has threatened the NDA government’s hard-earned popularity that hinged mainly on a noticeable control over crime, prompting chief minister Nitish Kumar to find solutions by making the police more active and accountable. Even as Mr Kumar held a second high-level meeting of top police officials and bureaucrats in Patna on Sunday afternoon to understand the reasons behind the spurt in abductions, murders and robberies, news came about the finding of a schoolboy’s body in the northern town of Valmikinagar six days after his abduction. Santosh Kumar, 12, was abducted from his home on December 6 like about 20 other victims of abduction in the past fortnight. After his body was found with its throat slit, hundreds of angry villagers gheraoed the police station.
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Villager hurls shoe at Hooda
AGE CORRESPONDENT
chandigarh
Dec. 12: A Haryana villager who was angry after security personnel prevented him from meeting chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda gave vent to his indignation by flinging a shoe at the dais as the CM was addressing a backward castes rally in Hisar on Sunday.
Though the shoe fell short of the podium, Ajit Singh of Hisar’s Kirmara Village was bundled away by the police and released after prolonged interrogation and only after the CM’s function was over. Police officials refused to disclose any details.
This is the second instance of a shoe being thrown at a public rally where the chief minister was present. Some months ago, a young man upset over not being granted employment he had been promised, had similarly hurled his slipper towards the stage at a rally in Mahendergarh.
This was preceded, in April last year, by a retired school teacher also protesting by chucking his shoe while Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal was addressing a public meeting.