Non-BJP CMs likely to meet in Mumbai to discuss political situation: Sanjay Raut
The Hindu
Sanjay Raut alleged that recent attacks on Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti processions were "politically sponsored" to polarise voters
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said a conference of non-BJP chief ministers is likely to be held in Mumbai soon to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the chief ministers of States where the BJP is not in power underlining the need to discuss the current situation in the country, he told reporters.
"NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) president Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray have discussed this and efforts are on to hold such a conference in Mumbai," Mr. Raut said.
He said various issues including unemployment, inflation, the "misuse" of Central probe agencies, attempts to create communal discord etc. will be discussed in the upcoming meeting.
Notably, leaders of 13 Opposition parties on Saturday expressed deep concern over the recent incidents of hate speech and communal violence in the country and urged people to maintain peace and harmony.
In a joint statement, the leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and her Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand counterparts M.K. Stalin and Hemant Soren, also raised concern over how issues relating to food, dress, faith, festivals and language "are being used" by the ruling establishment to polarise society.
Call for action against conversion of agricultural land into housing plots in Kanniyakumari district
Activists and farmers in Kanniyakumari urge authorities to stop farmland conversion for real estate, threatening agriculture and waterways.
Lightning strikes make collecting a fungus for traditional Chinese medicine a deadly pursuit Premium
The Ophiocordyceps sinensis – colloquially called caterpillar fungus or “Himalayan gold” – it can fetch astronomical prices on the herbal medicine market: up to US$63,000 per pound.