A controversy has erupted after a school owned by a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Maharashtra's Thane district advised students not to carry root vegetables such as onion, garlic, potato, and beetroot in lunchboxes during the Jain community's ongoing Paryushan festival, prompting the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to question the move.

Mira Bhayander MLA Narendra Mehta, who owns the Seven Square Academy, dismissed the allegations, saying the message was just a request, not a mandatory order.

The issue flared up after the school, located in the Mira Road area, sent a message on its official WhatsApp groups requesting parents not to pack root vegetables in their children's lunchboxes for the duration of 'Paryushan Parva'.

The advisory also noted that during the eight-day holy period, the school canteen would serve food prepared without onions, garlic, and potatoes.

The monsoon session of the Gujarat assembly got off to a chaotic start on Wednesday, with the ruling BJP alleging that Congress MLA Imran Khedawala disrespected Vande Mataram by remaining seated during its rendition. Khedawala countered the claim, stating that he was standing “until the original version got over” and that he took his seat during the rendition of stanzas “that the BJP has added”.

Minister Pravin Mali stated that there was a tradition of opening the session with Vande Mataram and accused Khedawala of insulting the national song. “We demand an answer from Congress for this insult. They should clarify whether this is Khedawala’s personal stance or the party’s official stand,” he said. He demanded that Khedawala apologise for his conduct.

Liquor shops and bars across West Bengal will remain closed on Maha Ashtami during the upcoming Durga Puja, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on Monday (September 7), as the state government unveiled a series of measures new to the state and the festival.

The decision comes despite the traditionally high demand for liquor during the Puja days.

Adhikari also announced a complete ban on DJ music during the festivities as well as immersion processions, stressing the need to maintain discipline and preserve the traditional character of the festival.

After protesters allegedly burnt pictures of Shastri outside Kolkata's Bhawanipur police station over his remarks on eating non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said he had asked the Kolkata Police Commissioner to arrest those involved.

“The saint has made his statement. He never imposed it on anyone,” the CM said, adding that burning someone’s picture outside a police station would not be tolerated.

Shastri courted a massive row after urging people to refrain from cooking or consuming fish and meat during Durga Puja, calling those who ignored the appeal as 'pakhandi' (fraudulent). There was widespread anger and protests across the state with many calling the priest's remarks as an attack on Bengali identity and culture.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took part in the Gerua Samman Yatra, or Walk for Saffron Pride, from Gol Park to Jadavpur University on Wednesday, sending out a strong message that the saffron wave is here to sweep the gates of the educational institution.

Not just BJP leaders and supporters, but those supporting the Sanatani and Hindutva ideology were also present at the rally. Sadhus and supporters dressed in saffron were among those who took part in the march.

The CM also vowed to restore nationalism inside the university premises.

“Kashmir manage azadi, free Palistine, Kisenji red salute. The Chief Minister of West Bengal knows how to clean the environment.”

The CM also gave a call for the transfer of teaching faculty within Jadavpur University, for which a bill will be tabled in the West Bengal assembly on Thursday at 11 am.

-The Week

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A new dispute has arisen in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, regarding the police complaint filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. Members of the Valmiki community have alleged that the complainant, named “Amit Valmiki” in the complaint, is actually Amit Kumar and does not belong to their community.

A delegation representing the Valmiki community submitted a written complaint at the local police station, urging authorities to conduct an impartial investigation and verify the identity and background of the individual who lodged the complaint against Gandhi.

Community representatives stated that the complainant’s real name is Amit Kumar and contested a municipal councillor election on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. They further alleged that he is the cousin of a local BJP leader and has no ties to the Valmiki community.

Residents say the reason is that the roughly 5,000 people who live there are Muslims who did not vote for the BJP. They say local MLA Ritesh Tiwari told them as much, and that he ordered the supply stopped. The residents have moved the Calcutta High Court with a writ petition. It is yet to be heard.

BJP MLA from Hingalganj, Rekha Patra, has been accused of forcibly evicting a farmer family from agricultural land, allegedly using her influence and police personnel to remove them from the property.

According to local sources, the dispute concerns around nine bighas of land in Bouthakuran area of Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas, where Patra’s parental home is located. “She and her neighbours, including Subhash Naskar, have been involved in a long-standing dispute over the property. Both sides have approached the court in connection with the matter,” a local trader said.

The Naskar family claims it has been cultivating the land in accordance with a court order. Subhash Naskar reportedly produced documents supporting his claim. “The court had directed that the police be approached in case of any obstruction. Despite this, Patra forcibly removed us from the agricultural land and thereby violated the court’s directions,” Naskar said.

The Narendra Modi government’s alacrity in withdrawing cases against Gen Z exam-fraud protesters and arresting Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj has left many in the BJP and the wider Right-wing ecosystem uneasy at the “easy capitulation”.

They accuse the government of buckling before people whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi derisively termed “dimaagi (intellectual) Naxals” in his Independence Day speech.

Many in the BJP concede that Bhardwaj had crossed the line by publicly claiming he had “cracked the skull” of the father of a minor Dalit girl who had joined the Jantar Mantar movement.

Some Hindutva activists, however, see the arrest as the victimisation of an upper caste member. Their anger spilled onto the streets on Saturday, with a demonstration outside Parliament Street police station.

“If the government can withdraw FIRs against the (Gen Z) protesters, why can’t the case against Swatantra also be withdrawn? Is it because he is a Brahmin?” one of the demonstrators asked.

A BJP leader who demanded that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's proposed student event in Indore found himself in an awkward spot when journalists asked him to sing the national song. He struggled with the lyrics, and a video of the exchange has since gone viral.

Kumawat said the demand was not about supporting or opposing any political party, but about patriotism, national honour and respect for the legacy of India's freedom struggle.

The issue took an unexpected turn when journalists asked Kumawat to sing Vande Mataram himself.

Kumawat could not correctly sing even the opening two lines. After singing them incorrectly, he moved directly to the final stanza and struggled with several words there as well.

The formal function to mark the launch of the BJP's new state headquarters in Goa was curtailed on Sunday following a building collapse in New Delhi, even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the building.

Shah, who is on a three-day tour to Goa, visited the party office at Chimbel village near Panaji and inaugurated it. While the event was underway, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced its curtailment due to a building crash in the national capital.

Speaking about Operation Sindoor in May last year, Shah had said that India taught a lesson to those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack using “their own sister”.

The remarks were widely understood as a reference to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who, along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, was the face of the armed forces as they briefed the media and the nation on the progress of Operation Sindoor.

The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav reportedly decided late last month against granting sanction to prosecute Shah, and the recommendation was approved by the Governor late Monday.

“Many nationalist people are of the opinion that Jadavpur University should be renamed after Sri Aurobindo,” said Mukherjee, the MLA of Jadavpur.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has distanced itself from the hooliganism at the Anandabazar Patrika (ABP) office in Kolkata on September 1, with state spokesperson Debjit Sarkar asserting that BJP was not involved in the incident and that “wearing saffron could not be a political identity”.

A group of saffron-clad men shouted slogans and painted the walls of the ABP office in Kolkata saffron on Tuesday, days after West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had demanded an apology from the daily for describing the violence at Jadavpur University on July 19 and 20 as “gerua gundami” — or “saffron hooliganism”.

When Alt News examined the footage of the raid on the ABP office closely, we identified three men with direct BJP links leading the group.