New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) In the wake of the assault on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal, Delhi Lt Governor V.K. Saxena on Tuesday said that if such an incident happened in any other Chief Minister’s residence, external forces with vested interests, inimical to India, would have unleashed a scathing global narrative around women safety in the country.

“I have been deeply distressed over the unfolding media narrative over the last few days on the issue of alleged assault on AAP MP Maliwal at the residence of the Chief Minister, when she went there to meet him all alone. Yesterday, she called me out of sheer anguish, describing at length her traumatic experience, and the subsequent intimidation and shaming that she is being subjected to by her own colleagues. She also expressed concerns over reported tampering of evidence and coercion against her,” he said.

Saxena said that although Maliwal has been “vociferous, hostile and blatantly partisan” towards him and his office, often criticising him unjustifiably, any physical violence and hounding perpetrated on her is inexcusable and unacceptable.

“It is most disturbing to note that the alleged scene of the crime was the drawing room of the Chief Minister, even while he was present in the house, and the same was carried out by his closest aide on a lady who was alone,” he said.

The LG said that her fellow Rajya Sabha member confirmed her narrative in full media glare, and assured that the CM would take firm action against his aide – the culprit.

“Subsequently, a total U-turn was done in the matter, apparently at the behest of the highest functionary. This too is inexplicable and baffling. I would have expected that at least for the sake of propriety, my CM would have come clean, rather than being evasive and dodgy. His deafening silence speaks volumes of his stance on the safety of women,” he said, adding that such shameful incidents and the insensitive and conspiratorial contemptuous government response, on an issue of women’s safety, tarnishes India’s image worldwide.

“Delhi Police is investigating the matter and I assure that the matter will be brought to its logical conclusion,” the LG added.

Responding to the LG, AAP leader and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj raised the issue of the women wrestlers who were protesting against then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

“Saxena Saab (Delhi LG) Perhaps you have forgotten, the wrestler daughters who won medals for the country were sitting on a ‘dharna’ at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. They were sitting in the sun and rain”, he said in a post in Hindi on X.

“They had to file an FIR that BJP MP Brij Bhushan had repeatedly sexually exploited them. Then the Delhi Police under you did not even register an FIR. Tell me why it was not registered? The FIR was only registered after the orders of the Supreme Court…”

“But despite the case under Section 354, the BJP MP was not arrested even for a day. Delhi Police is under you, tell me why he was not arrested? Why did you remain silent on the whole issue? Why didn’t you go to meet him? Then were you not worried about the international image of Delhi and India? The police under your command brutally beat these daughters at midnight. Tell me what action you took? The same night Swati Maliwal was also dragged on the road by the police. Tell me what action you took? ‘Thoda girebaan mein jhankiye’ (Introspect on your actions),” he added.

–IANS

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Bhubaneswar, May 21 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party is putting all its might into breaking the winning streak of ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha. Senior party leaders from various places in the country continue to address rallies and hold road shows across the state.

BJP state Vice President Golak Mohapatra on Tuesday told reporters that BJP President J P Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and veteran cine actor Arun Govil who played the character of Lord Ram in the Ramanand Sagar’s famous Ramayan TV serial, will hit the campaign trail in different constituencies of the state during the next two days.

Arun Govil aka ‘Ram’ will visit the state on May 22 and address three public meetings at Champua and Telkoi in Keonjhar district and Jaydev assembly segment of Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency. He is also scheduled to hold a roadshow in Dhenkanal constituency on Wednesday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is also scheduled to visit Odisha on May 22. He will first hold a roadshow at Deogarh constituency and later attend three poll rallies at Barbil in Keonjhar, Choudwar and Baramba in Cuttack district.

BJP’s President J P Nadda will also be visiting Odisha again on May 23. He is scheduled to attend four election meetings at Karanjia in the Mayurbhanj district, Dhamnagar in the Bhadrak district, Barchana in the Jajpur district and Balikuda in the Jagatsinghpur district.

One of the star campaigners of BJP and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is scheduled to visit Odisha on May 23 and address two public gatherings at Chilika and Mahanga constituencies on Thursday.

Notably, voting for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections is being held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases from May 13 to June 1.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, May 21 (IANS) The leader of opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Tuesday accused the Congress government in the state of being involved in phone tapping.

“If this is not true, the matter should be immediately handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and taken to a logical conclusion,” the BJP leader said.

Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka said that former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy spoke about phone tapping and he must have been informed by some police officers.

He also said that the equipment required for phone tapping can be purchased from China.

“A probe should be carried out to find out how many such equipment were bought and where they were used. I have been informed by the police that the phones of opposition leaders are being tapped. The government should conduct a probe,” Ashoka said.

“Those involved in phone tapping must be sent to jail. The government should hand over the case to the CBI. If the government claims it is not tapping phones, then it should allow the CBI to investigate the matter,” he added.

On Monday, JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy accused the state government of tapping the phones of the family members of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in connection with the alleged sex video scandal involving the veteran JD-S chief’s grandson Prajwal Revanna.

“Our phones are being tapped. The phones of 40 people in my close circles are also being tapped. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar knows everything about this. The new phones can also be tapped within 24 hours. The phones of all my family members are being tapped,” Kumaraswamy claimed.

–IANS

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Jaipur, May 21 (IANS) The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Rajasthan Police has seized a large consignment of opium seeds weighing around 30 quintals smuggled in from Ranchi in Ajmer district.

The police have arrested the accused truck driver named Ramnarayan Bishnoi (55) from the spot. The seized drugs are valued at around Rs 5 crore.

With the latest seizure, the AGTF has seized opium extract worth about Rs 12 crore in the past week and arrested two smugglers, said Dinesh M.N., ADGP, Anti-Gangster Task Force.

On May 17, 22 quintals of illegal opium powder worth Rs 3.50 crore were seized in Bhilwara, which were being smuggled from Madhya Pradesh to Marwar under the guise of a cement container.

On May 19, over 21 quintals of opium extract, smuggled in a truck under the guise of rice carts, were seized in Sikar district. The consignment was valued at around Rs 3.50 crore.

–IANS

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Noida, May 21 (IANS) After the Noida Police, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will now take forward the investigation into the case involving YouTuber and former Bigg Boss OTT winner Elvish Yadav and his eight associates for organising a rave party in Noida, where snakes and snake venom were reportedly found.

The Noida Police have already submitted a 1,200-page charge sheet in the court naming Elvish Yadav and his associates as accused. The police also submitted electronic evidence, a forensic report, besides the statements of 24 witnesses in the case.

The ED will now collect information related to this case from the Noida Police and take the investigation forward with the help of the evidence recorded in the charge sheet.

The Noida Police have also sent the mobile phones of Elvish Yadav and two other accused to the forensic laboratory for examination.

The ED is likely to question Elvish Yadav soon, sources said.

According to police sources, the three phones that have been sent to the forensic lab contained videos and chats related to rave parties and the use of snake venom.

–IANS

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