‘Savarkar is our God; won't tolerate his insult’: Uddhav Thackeray’s response to Rahul’s ‘not Savarkar’ remark

News Network
March 27, 2023

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Mumbai, Mar 27: Upset by Rahul Gandhi's "My name is not Savarkar, won't apologise" comment after his disqualification as an MP, ally Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday warned of "fissures in the Maharashtra opposition alliance" if the Congress leader didn't stop "insulting our God".

"I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that we have come together, that's right, we have come together to save democracy and constitution in this country. But do not make any statements that will create fissures. They (BJP) are trying to provoke you, if we miss this timing, then our country will surely go towards autocracy," Uddhav Thackeray said.

The Congress and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, along with the NCP, have been in an alliance since they formed a coalition government in Maharashtra in 2019. They stayed in the alliance even after a coup in the Shiv Sena brought down Uddhav Thackeray's government and rebel Eknath Shinde took power in an alliance with the BJP.

Rahul Gandhi's criticism of Hindu ideologue Vinayak "Veer" Savarkar during his Bharat Jodo Yatra last year had sparked a rift between the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray's party. The allies had smoothed over differences at the time, with Mr Thackeray's top aide Sanjay Raut joining Rahul Gandhi's march.

On Saturday, when Rahul Gandhi was asked about his refusal to apologise for his comments on democracy in the UK or for the "Modi surname" remark that led to his conviction in a court, he said: "My name is not Savarkar. My name is Gandhi and Gandhi doesn't apologise."

In a sharp reaction, Uddhav Thackeray said he considered Savarkar his idol and the Congress leader should refrain from insulting him.

"Savarkar suffered unimaginable torture in the Andaman cellular jail for 14 years. We can only read the sufferings. It is a form of sacrifice. We will not tolerate the insult of Savarkar," Uddhav Thackeray said.

"I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that you walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Sanjay Raut walked with you, we are with you. But I want to tell Rahul Gandhi openly that this fight is for saving democracy. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that Savarkar is our God, we won't tolerate his insult. We will not tolerate this at all."

An editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna doubled down on his condemnation of Rahul Gandhi's remarks.

"What happened with Rahul Gandhi in defamation case is injustice, but by insulting Savarkar, he can't win the battle of truth. Gandhi is born into a family who sacrificed their lives for the country and that is the truth, but even Savarkar and his family has worked for the country. Insulting Savarkar will reduce sympathy for Rahul Gandhi," the editorial said.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP after a Surat court sentenced him to two years in jail in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

Uddhav Thackeray urged Rahul Gandhi to "not get provoked and to come together to save India's democracy".

"Modi is not India. Did our freedom fighters lay down their lives for this? Questioning Modi is not about insulting India," he said.

Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi have decide to meet to sort out their differences, state Congress chief Nana Patole, as quoted by a news agency said on Monday.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon has warned that the “picture of life in Lebanon remains grim,” highlighting an "alarming" level of human suffering and significant humanitarian consequences due to the ongoing Israeli carnage.

Imran Riza, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), provided a stark overview of the Arab country's dire circumstances in a statement released on Monday.

“The current picture of life in Lebanon remains grim. Yesterday, airstrikes reportedly killed 23 people, including seven children, in the village of Aalmat in Mount Lebanon,” Riza said on X.

An airstrike in the city of Tyre on the same day resulted in the tragic deaths of five siblings from a single family, all of whom had special needs, according to his statement.

He added that in the last week, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 241 individuals and left 642 others injured in Lebanon, as reported by the Ministry of Health.

“In the past month, more than 185,000 people have fled their homes in their search for safety within the country, bringing the total to over 870,000 people internally displaced,” Riza said

The UN official highlighted that numerous individuals, including the elderly and those with health issues, are staying behind while witnessing the ruins of their ancestral homes.

He urged for the swift safeguarding of civilian people and infrastructure, emphasizing the necessity to uphold international humanitarian law and end the ongoing violence.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces bombed a house in the town of Maydoun in Bekaa on Monday night, killing three people and destroying the house.

Earlier, Israel bombed the northern town of Ain Yaaqoub, killing at least 14 people.

The killings came as Israeli military continued to pound Lebanon, bombing shops selling electrical appliances in the southern city of Tyre and carrying out air raids on the towns of Shamshtar in eastern Baalbek and Roumine in southern Nabatieh.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Israeli attacks killed at least 54 people across the country on Monday.

Israel’s merciless attacks continue despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Lebanon, at least 3,243 people have been killed and 14,134 others wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after the Israeli regime unleashed its genocidal war on the besieged territory.

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News Network
November 11,2024

Udupi, Nov 11: A traveller reportedly lost ₹4.1 lakh after attempting to book a cab online in Udupi. 

At around 1:30 PM on November 7, the man from West Bengal searched for car rentals on Google and selected a website named "Shakti Car Rentals." Shortly after, he was contacted by someone claiming to be "Rohit Sharma," who directed him to pay a registration fee of ₹150 on the site.

After unsuccessful payment attempts via both his Canara Bank debit card and SBI credit card (without receiving an OTP), "Rohit Sharma" instructed him to pay the driver directly. But at 1:47 PM, he received messages showing deductions of ₹3.3 lakh from his SBI credit card and ₹80,056 from his Canara Bank debit card, totaling ₹4.1 lakh.

The complainant alleges fraud through a deceptive link disguised as a booking token fee. A case has been registered at Udupi Town Police Station.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says its fighters have killed at least 20 Israeli soldiers in northern parts of the besieged Gaza Strip in just two days, in retaliation for the occupying regime’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

In a statement on Monday evening, Hamas said that fighters of its military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, “killed at least five occupation soldiers” in northern parts of the coastal territory earlier in the day.

It added that Hamas fighters also killed 15 Israeli soldiers in the war-ravaged region on Sunday.

The resistance movement’s “qualitative operation … confirms once again the failure of the criminal Zionist entity to suppress and eradicate the Palestinian resistance, which continues to direct qualitative strikes against its terrorist soldiers,” Hamas further said on its Telegram channel.

Palestinians have increased their resistance operations in the face of intensified Israeli aggression in northern Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 over the past weeks.

“Our valiant resistance is waging a war of attrition with the criminal enemy, inflicting daily losses on its soldiers and vehicles, and all of [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bets and dreams of achieving any of his goals are failing,” the Gaza-based resistance movement added.

Hamas also vowed that Israel’s ongoing crimes and aggression against Gaza would be met with increased resistance and painful strikes, which will continue until the aggression against Palestinians ends and the regime fully withdraws from the blockaded territory.

As the war in Gaza enters its 14th month, the Health Ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed at least 43,603 Palestinians and wounded 102,929 others.

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