Hostile BJP minister forces Muslim MLA to scream ‘Jai Sri Ram’ outside Assembly

coastaldigest.com web desk
July 27, 2019

Newsroom, Jul 27: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Jharkhand urban development minister CP Singh yesterday apparently forced a Congress MLA Irfan Ansari to scream ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in the presence of media persons outside the State Legislative Assembly.

It all started when media persons posed questions to Singh and Ansari who were standing outside the Assembly. 

Replying to a question, Ansari said: “Ram doesn’t belong to BJP alone. He belongs to all.” But BJP is using ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan to divert the attention of people from its anti-people policies, he added.

Meanwhile, a visible hostile Singh grabbed Ansari's hands and asked him to him to scream “Jai Sri Ram”. "Ek baar zor se Jai Shri Ram boliye (say Jai Shri Ram vigorously)," Singh told Ansari.

When Ansari tried to distance himself from unhygienic minister, the latter turned hostile and repeated his demand, saying "you also belong to Ram. Babur, Timur Lang, (Mahmud) Ghazni, (Muhammad) Ghori were not your ancestors".

The MLA replied: "Ram ka naam badnaam mat kariye. Ram sabke hain. (Don't bring a bad name to Ram. He belongs to everyone)."

"People need jobs, roads, electricity. They want drains to be cleaned. Go to Ayodhya and see the condition of Ram there," a visibly shocked Ansari said.

As the tussle appeared getting out of hand, the two lawmakers disengaged and went their separate ways.

It could be recalled here that last month, a young Muslim man Tabrez Ansari was tied to a pole and beaten up for several hours by a mob in same Jharkhand's Saraikela-Kharsawan district. His tormentors too forced him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman'. Tabrez later breathed his last. 

Tabrez's death had set off massive public outrage and protests were organised in several cities and towns in the country.

On July 23, forty-nine celebrity filmmakers, authors and others from different walks of life had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi voicing concern over "religious identity-based hate crimes" and noted that "Jai Shri Ram' had become a "provocative war cry" leading to incidents of lynching.

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News Network
December 2,2025

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Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
December 7,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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