Politics

Nitish declines to comment on NDA ‘face’ issue

JDU

A day after the JD(U) demanded that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar be projected as the BJP-led NDA’s face in Bihar, the Janata Dal (United) president today declined to comment on the issue over who will be the ‘face’ of the NDA in the state when Lok Sabha polls are held next year.

Earlier in the day, Deputy CM and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said Nitish Kumar is the ruling alliance’ leader in the state and the NDA will seek votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in the name of the JD(U) chief and that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s works.

“This is a special occasion when I would like to see happiness on all faces. Please do not ask about any other face right now,” Kumar quipped in response to queries by reporters.

The journalists gathered at his official residence of the chief minister to attend the Iftaar party organised by him.

When pressed further, he said, “All your queries would be answered at an appropriate time. Right now, let us pray that the holy month of Ramadan brings peace and prosperity to Bihar.”

The JD(U) has asserted that the chief minister is the face of the NDA in the state, which is being speculated as an indirect demand for greater share of seats in the parliamentary polls.

Out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, the BJP has 22 in addition to nine others held by allies like the LJP and the RLSP. The BJP and JD(U) fought separately in the 2014 general election.

The JD(U) registered victories in only two seats but has the largest number of MLAs among all coalition partners in the state Assembly.

“May the followers of all religions live together in peace and may mutual respect flourish. Let us also pray that our state, which suffers the wrath of nature almost every year, does not face drought or floods”, Kumar added.

A host of dignitaries, including state Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council Haroon Rashid, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and cabinet ministers Nand Kishore Yadav and Mangal Pandey attended the Iftaar party.

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National

Ceremony honours Lankesh, Bhaumik among 18 journalists killed in 2017 in the line of duty

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Two Indian journalists Gauri Lankesh and Sudip Dutta Bhaumik were among the 18 fallen members of the media added to the Journalists Memorial by the prestigious Newseum at a ceremony today.

Each year, the Newseum, a museum here dedicated to the understanding of the importance of a free press, selects a representative group of journalists whose names are added to the memorial and whose deaths illustrate the dangers faced by journalists around the world.

This year eight of the 18 journalists added to the memorial are women.

“Gauri Lankesh, 55, was known throughout India for her outspoken articles against the caste system and Hindu fundamentalism,” Newseum said in its brief description about her.

Lankesh was steps away from her front door of her house on September 5, 2017, when a gunman on a motorcycle pulled up and fired, hitting her in the chest and abdomen, it said, adding that she died instantly.

“An activist and editor of her own weekly magazine Gauri Lankesh Patrike, Lankesh frequently criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist agenda. Lankesh’s assassination set off nationwide protests. One man has been charged in her death,” the Newseum said.

About Sudip Dutta Bhaumik, the Newseum said he had investigated “police corruption” for local daily newspapers in Tripura.

On November 21, 2017, Bhaumik was asked to meet with Tapan Debbarma, the head of the local paramilitary force. A week earlier, Bhaumik had published an article about “corruption” within the force. The men argued and Debbarma allegedly ordered his bodyguard to shoot Bhaumik, who was killed at the scene, it said.

Quoting Bhaumik’s editor, the Newseum said, “Sudip’s only crime was that he had exposed a number of financial irregularities and corruption cases in which Debbarma was involved”.

Debbarma and the bodyguard were charged in Bhaumik’s death, it said.

Yameen Rasheed from The Daily Panic in Maldives is the other South Asian journalist added to the list.

“All the journalists recognised on this memorial this year faced unprecedented dangers as they worked to report the news, often in countries where press freedom is imperiled or nonexistent,” said Cathy Trost, Executive Director of the Freedom Forum Institute.

The soaring, two-story glass memorial bears the names of 2,323 reporters, editors, photographers and broadcasters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Of these include more than 80 Indian journalists.

The gallery also features photographs of hundreds of the journalists whose names are etched on the memorial’s glass panels, as well as kiosks, where information on every journalist on the memorial can be accessed.

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