BJP corporators attend birthday bash before Major Rane's body

BJP Insults Army - The BJP was left red-faced after a video went viral showing its MLA and corporators attending a birthday party in adjoining Mira Road township at a time when people were expecting to receive the body of Major Kaustubh Rane, who attained martyrdom in Kashmir.

The video, telecast by a Marathi TV channel, shows BJP legislator Narendra Mehta and a dozen BJP corporators from the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation celebrating the birthday of party corporator Anand Manjrekar in the township on Tuesday night.

The celebrations happened a day before the body of Major Rane, who was killed in Jammu and Kashmir during an operation to foil an infiltration bid, reached Mumbai.

Mehta was quick to tender an apology on the incident.

"What happened (the birthday bash) is extremely unfortunate. It shouldn't have happened," he said.

"All of us have expressed regret for it. This is not a political issue," he told the channel.

Athawale appeals to people to not participate in Bharat Bandh

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale today appealed to the public to not participate in the August 9 'Bharat Bandh' called by Dalit organisations against the Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST Act.

In a statement issued today, Athawale appealed to the people to maintain peace, harmony and brotherhood in the country.

His appeal comes a day after the Lok Sabha passed The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill 2018 to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrest under the law.

Yesterday, The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017, which grants constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes(NCBC), was also passed by the Parliament.

Athawale said the passage of the two bills was a revolutionary step and alleged that the opposition is defaming the government wrongly over this.

Opposition calls for Tamil Nadu 'bandh' over police killings

Opposition parties on Thursday called for a 'Tamil Nadu bandh' on Friday and sought the resignation of the "BJP's puppet government" in the state over the death of 13 people in police firing in protests against the Sterlite company in Thoothukudi.

DMK leader Kanimozhi accused the Modi government of remote-controlling the Tamil Nadu government and alleged that the Sterlite factory was able to thrive because of the support it received from the central and state governments.

It is important to know who ordered the police firing that killed 13 protesters in Thoothukudi town, the MP said.

The police action followed mass protests against the factory that locals say was depleting the water table in the region and also causing health hazards.

Thoothukudi's new Collector Sandeep Nanduri said that since the government had ordered an inquiry committee to probe the various incidents, it would be improper for him to comment on the issue.