Military were rushed to his protection and the police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the violent mob…reports Asian Lite News
In the wake of the widespread violence in Sri Lanka that left five people dead, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family on Tuesday took refuge at a naval base in Trincomalee after leaving Colombo under heavy security.
Rajapaksa, his wife Shiranthi, and their youngest son Rohitha and his family, left the Prime Minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, early Tuesday morning on board an Air Force helicopter and have now taken refuge at the heavily guarded naval base, an informed military source said.
Reports have also revealed that Rajapaksa’s second son, Yositha, who was also the former Prime Minister’s Secretary, and his family had left the country on Monday.
Following Rajapaksa’s resignation on Monday and the ensuing violence started by the pro-government protesters, the anti-government denonstrators surrounded Temple Trees and tried to forcibly enter the premises.
Military were rushed to his protection and the police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the violent mob.
In retaliation, the protesters torched vehicles parked outside the residence house and the military resorted to shooting in the air.
At least five people, including an MP, were killed and over 200 others injured as a result of the violence.
The island nation, hit by the most severe economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, is currently without a government and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to summon Parliament immediately.
With a severe financial crisis due to dollar crunch and inflation, protests that started on March 31 have been continuing throughout the country demanding the Rajapaksas to resign.
In the wake of the protests, the cabinet resigned but Mahinda Rajapakse formed a new cabinet under his leadership.
With lack of fuel and gas and hours-long power cuts, people took to the streets and demanded that the immediate resignation of the government.
Meanwhile, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has urged the opposition to form an all-party government, but the latter has refused to do so until he steps down.
On Monday, trade unions launched an indefinite nationwide strike demanding the President to resign.
Boris Johnson hosts the Prime Ministers Business Council alongside the Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer and leading business figures in 10 Downing Street. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street
Starmer was confronted by angry protesters on Monday who surrounded him after an anti-Covid vaccination demonstration…reports Asian Lite News
After protesters hounded Britain’s opposition leader Keir Starmer, Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under heavy pressure to withdraw a claim that Starmer had failed to prosecute one of the country’s most notorious child abusers.
Johnson is facing the gravest crisis of his 30-month premiership after a series of scandals including revelations that he and his staff attended Downing Street parties during Covid lockdowns.
As Johnson apologised to parliament for the parties on Jan. 31, he falsely claimed Starmer had failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile, a late TV star who abused hundreds of children, during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Starmer was confronted by angry protesters on Monday who surrounded him after an anti-Covid vaccination demonstration.
As the Labour Party leader was escorted into a police car, some of the protesters shouted “Traitor!” and “Were you protecting Jimmy Savile?” at him.
“It is really important for our democracy and for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full,” said Julian Smith, a lawmaker in Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party.
Another Conservative lawmaker, Roger Gale, said: “This, I fear, is the direct result of the deliberately careless use of language in the Chamber.”
The row risks further undermining Johnson’s authority as he battles to reshape his Downing Street team and face off claims from opposition parties that he is unfit to govern.
Opposition lawmakers called on Johnson to apologise for the Savile remarks.
Savile, a BBC TV and radio host who was never prosecuted despite a number of police investigations, died in 2011, aged 84. After his death it was revealed he had abused hundreds of victims, mainly children. The youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy.
Johnson’s supporters said that while the behaviour of the protesters was unacceptable, it was a step too far to pin the blame for their actions on the prime minister.
Johnson said on Feb. 3 that he had not meant to imply Starmer had personally failed to prosecute Savile, but he has refused to apologise for his remarks.
Johnson’s attempt to clarify his remarks failed to satisfy Munira Mirza, his head of policy who had worked with him for 14 years, and prompted her to quit her job last week. Finance minister Rishi Sunak has said he would not have made such remarks.
House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who previously ruled that Johnson’s comments on the matter were inappropriate but not against parliamentary rules, told lawmakers he had requested a report on the incident from police.
“These sorts of comments only inflame opinions and generate disregard for the House…,” he said. “Our words have consequences and we should always be mindful of that fact.”
On this occasion, it was also decided that Veer Children’s Day would be celebrated on 26th December every year by its Punjab Media Group, IDP Group and other organizations…reports Asian Lite News
United Great Punjab, Apna Punjab Media Group and India Day Parade Inc held a programme in New York to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who they said had done a phenomenal job for Punjab and its people in his over seven-year tenure. The event organised by Punjabis, predominantly Sikhs, comprised several speeches from prominent members of the Sikh diaspora thanking Prime Minister Modi.
An official document released later said that the community was grateful for several actions taken by the Modi government that included the announcement of 26th December as Veer Bal Divas, the opening of Kartarpur corridor on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, repealing of three agricultural laws, bringing back Sikhs and Dhan Dhan Guru Granth Sahib Ji safely from Afghanistan, actions taken to ensure justice to the victims of 1984 after three decades and taking care of Punjabis and Sikhs living in Pakistan and other countries.
It also thanked the government for celebrating the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and the celebration of the 400th birth anniversary of Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in a grand manner. The event also highlighted the government’s endeavour in improving the situation of Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes special care of every section of society. Prime Minister had a good relationship with Punjabis and Sikhs from the very beginning,” a speaker said. CEO of Hindustani J Jasbir Singh, Tara Singh Ahluwalia, Jagdish, Pinki Jaggi, Jyoti Gupta, Bina Sabhapati, Gobind was among the several speakers who participated in the event.
On this occasion, it was also decided that Veer Children’s Day would be celebrated on 26th December every year by its Punjab Media Group, IDP Group and other organizations. It is worth mentioning that Deepak Bansal, President of India Day Parade Inc conducts the India Day Parade in Hicksville Long Island every year, which is attended by hundreds of members from the Indian diaspora in the United States.
Liz Truss is the second favourite at 22/5. The others in the running as per the betting opportunities are senior backbench MP Jeremy Hunt, who put up a good fight against Johnson in the Conservative party leadership contest in 2019, reports Ashis Ray
Rishi Sunak, the Indian-origin Chancellor of the Exchequer, is tipped as the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed the current incumbent Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The odds on Sunak are 9/4, according to Oddschecker, a comparison site compiling prices from leading British bookmakers.
Liz Truss, the present Foreign Secretary, is the second favourite at 22/5. The others in the running as per the betting opportunities are senior backbench MP and former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who put up a good fight against Johnson in the Conservative party leadership contest in 2019. He is quoted at 11/1.
Sunak and Truss have been neck-and-neck for a while in public opinion surveys. On Wednesday, when Johnson tendered a conditional apology (because he apologised for the function, but not for his presence at it or for its illegality under prevailing legislation) in the House of Commons for his office holding a drinks party at his 10 Downing Street garden during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown in the UK in May 2020, Truss sat next to him, often nodding her head in support of the statement. On the other hand, the Chancellor was conspicuously absent from Parliament, 225 miles away from London in southwestern English county of Devon.
PM Boris Johnson during a press conference. (Picture Simon Dawson No 10)
Political commentators saw this as Sunak distancing himself from Johnson. In the evening he tweeted: “I’ve been on a visit all day today continuing work on out #PlanFor Jobs as well as meeting MPs to discuss the energy situation.” He added: “The PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray (a senior civil servant) carries out her enquiry.”
A YouGov poll carried out within hours of Johnson’s apology indicated 89 per cent of respondents did not accept his expression of contrition, while only 4 per cent supported it. The rest didn’t have an opinion.
Sunak is of East African Punjabi origin. His father has been a general practitioner and his mother a pharmacist in the southern English coastal city of Southampton since they migrated to Britain. He is also the son-in-law of N.R. Narayan Murthy, one of the founders of the software giant Infosys. He was educated at Winchester school, Oxford and Stanford Universities. An MP for less than seven years, his rise up the Conservative political ladder has been meteoric.
A powerful body within the Conservative parliamentary party known as the 1922 Committee has to receive 54 letters from its party’s MPs (out of around 365) to call for a leadership contest. As Johnson fights to save his political career, the big question is when will such a battle take place?
The top court said: “We direct the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court to keep the records in his safe custody for the time being.”…reports Asian Lite News
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all records in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said: “We deem it appropriate for the time being to direct the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve the records relating to the Prime Minister’s scheduled tour of Punjab on January 5, 2022”.
“We direct the Director General of Police, Union Territory of Chandigarh and an officer of the National Investigation Agency, not below the rank of Inspector General, to be nominated by the Director General, National Investigation Agency, to assist the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court to forthwith secure and seize the records from the State police as well as Central agencies.”
The top court also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday.
It also directed the Punjab government, including the police authorities, the Special Protection Group and any other central/state agencies to cooperate and to provide necessary assistance in securing and seizing the records.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted that some NIA officer should assist the court’s officer in collecting and securing the evidence, which includes wireless messages in connection with PM’s movement in the state. He claimed that the court officer may find it difficult to pin down on sources, from which information is required.
Mehta termed the incident “rarest of the rare issue” and also potential cross border terrorism.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Delhi-based petitioner Lawyer’s Voice, emphasised on the importance of protection to the PM of the country and cited previous top court ruling that looked at the SPG Act.
Singh contended the incident happened in an election-bound state and it must be ensured that such incidents don’t happen again. He added that the Punjab government has no exclusive right to appoint a panel to inquire into this incident.
Referring to a former high court judge, who has been appointed as the chairman of the state probe panel, Singh cited a 2014 Supreme Court ruling recording adverse remarks against the judge in connection to an investigation in a recruitment scam. He urged the top court to restrain the state panel from proceeding in the matter and sought for a district judge to collect all evidence with assistance of NIA and sought an independent probe into the matter.
Mehta appeared before the top court in support of this petition.
The top court said: “We direct the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court to keep the records in his safe custody for the time being.”
The plea sought an independent probe into the PM’s security breach in Punjab. It sought a direction to the District Judge Bathinda to collect, preserve and present all material pertaining to the movement and deployment of Punjab Police in connection with the visit of the Prime Minister, and fix responsibility of the DGP and the Chief Secretary, Punjab.
Posting the matter for further hearing on January 10, the top court said: “The Registry is directed to forward a copy of this order electronically, forthwith, to the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Director General of Police, Union Territory of Chandigarh, the Director General, National Investigation Agency and the Principal Secretary Home, State of Punjab.”
On January 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a three-member committee to enquire into the “serious lapses in the security arrangements” during the PM’s visit to Ferozepur, in poll-bound Punjab. The MHA said: “The committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, and comprising of Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB, and S Suresh, IG, SPG.”
Show cause notice to Bathinda top cop
Two days after the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Punjab, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday issued a show cause notice to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Bathinda, saying that the police at the protest site was found to be inactive.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s rally in Ferozepur had to be cancelled due to a security lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced Modi’s convoy to spend about 15-20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened.
PM's security lapse in #Punjab: Home Ministry sends notice to Bathinda top cop, asks for reply in a day#PMSecurityLapse
In the notice issued by the MHA, Archana Varma, Deputy Secretary to the Centre, said, “Since there was grave security lapse during PM Modi’s visit, the Bathinda SSP has been directed to ‘show-cause’ as to why action should not be initiated against him under the law, including disciplinary action under All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, the acts of omission and commission.”
The letter added, “As provided in Section 14 of the Special Protection Group (SPG), 1988, the state government and every civil authority is legally obligated to provide all assistance to the SPG and, therefore, you as SSP Bathinda were obligated to make adequate security arrangements, but the available information so far indicates that police at the protest site was found to be inactive, senior police officers present at the site were also found to be ineffective in making efforts to facilitate the movement of the carcade of the VVIP. Throughout the route, only skeletal police deployment was observed.”
Meanwhile, an MHA team investigating the breach of security reached the spot on Friday to find out the reasons that led to the Prime Minister’s cavalcade remaining stranded on the flyover for 15-20 minutes.
As per the MHA statement, around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala near Ferozepur, when the PM’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The Prime Minister was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister.
Punjab Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari, in a report submitted to the Centre, said that an FIR has been lodged in the incident and the state government has formed a two-member panel to probe the lapses.
16 Ex-DGP's & 27 Ex-IPS officers have written to President Ramnath Kovind & expressed shock over PM @narendramodi's #SecurityBreach in Punjab. They described the lapse as a shameful & open display of complicity of the Congress govt with an intent to harm the Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/SgVZQ4TGvw
Tewari is learnt to have shared the details pertaining to the sequence of events that unfolded on Wednesday, official sources said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all the records in connection with the Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again.
‘Potential of cross-border terrorism’
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Friday told the Supreme Court that the breach in security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Punjab was “rarest of the rare issue” and “potential of cross-border terrorism”.
Mehta, appearing for the Centre, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that it was a “rarest of the rare issue” potential of causing international embarrassment.
He said for the movement of the PM’s cavalcade on road, the concerned state Director General of Police (DGP) is always consulted to secure the route for the movement.
Citing videos in public domain, Mehta said the local police personnel were seen enjoying tea with the protestors, but they didn’t bother to inform the SPG about the protesters on the route. He added that the PM’s cavalcade came to a halt on the flyover and one side was blocked by a large crowd of protestors. “A serious mishap could have happened…embarrassment at international level”, said Mehta.
He also pointed at the tweet of the chairman of banned organisation ‘Sikhs for Justice’, regarding the PM’s visit, calling people to come together to do whatever is required. Mehta said it indicates at cross-border terrorism and a district judge should be assisted by an NIA official to collect the record pertaining to PM’s visit in Punjab. “Potential of cross-border terrorism…”, Mehta reiterated.
Mehta added, “A signal must go from the highest court of this country that this won’t be tolerated.”
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Delhi-based petitioner Lawyer’s Voice, emphasised on the importance of protection to the PM of the country and cited previous top court ruling that looked at the SPG Act.
Singh contended the incident happened in an election-bound state and it must be ensured that such incidents don’t happen again. He added that the Punjab government has no exclusive right to appoint a panel to inquire into this incident.
Referring to a former high court judge, who has been appointed as the chairman of the state probe panel, Singh cited a 2014 Supreme Court ruling recording adverse remarks against the judge in connection to an investigation in a recruitment scam. He urged the top court to restrain the state panel from proceeding in the matter and sought for a district judge to collect all evidence with assistance of NIA and sought an independent probe into the matter. Mehta appeared before the top court in support of this petition.
After a detailed hearing in the matter, the bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli directed the registrar general of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all records in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again.
Every Australian aged 18 and over is eligible for a booster vaccine six months after their second jab…reports Asian Lite News.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will send letters to citizens urging them to book their coronavirus booster vaccines as soon as possible, as the country is still battling the third wave of the pandemic.
In the letter to every Australian home, Morrison said booster shots were the key to keeping Australia open and avoiding a deadly fourth wave of Covid-19 infections, reports Xinhua news agency.
“Thanks to the high vaccination rates, we are now reopening, our economy is strongly re-emerging, and people can get back to seeing family, travelling and living a more normal life,” he wrote.
“An important part of this process is ensuring that every person in Australia has access to vaccine boosters to help maintain the best possible defence against serious illness or death,” said Morrison.
“Everyone in Australia is encouraged to take up the vaccine boosters to make sure we can keep each and every one of us safe.”
Every Australian aged 18 and over is eligible for a booster vaccine six months after their second jab.
Australia on Friday reported more than 1,600 new locally-acquired coronavirus infections and seven deaths.
Till date, 92 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have received one Covid-19 vaccine dose and 86 per cent were fully inoculated.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on Friday confirmed Australian authorities are working with the World Health Organization to investigate a new variant that was found in South Africa.
Referring to “selfless service” of BJP workers during the pandemic, Modi said that a “new culture of service has been demonstrated by the ‘karyakartas’ during the pandemic under party chief J.P. Nadda”…reports Asian Lite News.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked BJP workers to reach out to the people and work as a “bridge of faith” for the common man.
At his address at the concluding session of day-long BJP national executive meet at NDMC Convention Centre here, he also highlighted that today the place that the BJP is at is due to the fact that it has always been connected with the common man since its starting days, and has moved ahead with hard work and dedication of workers, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said.
“Prime Minister said that BJP workers have to become a bridge of faith for the common man. BJP is not a family-based party.
“The Prime Minister also called service to people is the highest form of worship and advised workers to be with the people and stay in touch with common man,” he added.
Sources said that Modi advised BJP leaders to focus on the issues the party has raised for the people during and before and after elections and to continue doing so. “We must continue to address the issues concerning people,” he said, as per the sources.
Referring to “selfless service” of BJP workers during the pandemic, Modi said that a “new culture of service has been demonstrated by the ‘karyakartas’ during the pandemic under party chief J.P. Nadda”.
Before the Prime Minister’s address, state presidents of five poll-bound states presented a report about their preparedness, and the Punjab chief said that they were gearing up to contest all 117 seats. Chief Ministers of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur also present a report card about their works.
“After hearing the reports of state Presidents and Chief Minister of poll-bound five states, the Prime Minister said that seeing the confidence, BJP will perform exceptionally well and this is beauty of service,” Yadav said.
He also said that the state chiefs and Chief Ministers have derived this confidence from work they have done for their states in the past five years, Yadav added.
During the 45-minute meeting, Suga and Modi “affirmed the importance of realising a ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific and agreed to closely work bilaterally as well as with the Quad members to build a rules-based international order”, Kyodo quoted the Ministry statement as saying…reports Asian Lite News.
Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Yoshihide Suga have agreed to promote defence and security cooperation between India and Japan when they met in Washington on the eve of the Quad Summit that brings together the four major democracies of the Indo-Pacific region.
A readout of their meeting on Thursday issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs said: “They reaffirmed their commitment towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. They agreed to enhance bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence equipment and technologies.”
A Japanese Foreign Ministry statement said that they “shared their strong opposition against economic coercion and unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China seas”, according to Kyodo News Agency.
Kyodo said that it was an allusion to “Beijing’s assertiveness in regional waters”.
During the 45-minute meeting, Suga and Modi “affirmed the importance of realising a ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific and agreed to closely work bilaterally as well as with the Quad members to build a rules-based international order”, Kyodo quoted the Ministry statement as saying.
Modi and Suga will participate in the summit on Friday with the other two leaders of the Quad, US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
This was Suga’s first, and likely last, meeting as Prime Minister with Modi as he has announced his resignation.
The Indian Ministry’s readout that focused on the economic aspects said that “they welcomed the launch of the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) between India, Japan and Australia earlier this year as a collaborative mechanism to enable resilient, diversified and trustworthy supply chains”.
“Modi highlighted the need to develop bilateral partnerships in manufacturing, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) and skill development,” it said.
Japan is one of India’s most valued partners. I had an excellent meeting with PM @sugawitter on a variety of subjects that would further boost cooperation between our nations. A strong India-Japan friendship augurs well for the entire planet. pic.twitter.com/5N9ibqWDzy
Prime Minister Suga said “that in order to operationalise the Specified Skilled workers (SSW) agreement which was signed earlier this year, the Japanese side would be undertaking skill and language tests in India from early 2022”.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to timely completion of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project and noted the progress in bilateral developmental projects in India’s North Eastern Region under the India-Japan Act East Forum, the readout further said.
They also touched on a matter closer home to Japan: North Korea.
“Suga also conveyed to Modi that he strongly condemns North Korea’s recent test-firing of ballistic missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, calling it a violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” Kyodo said citing the Japanese Foreign Ministry statement.
Suga also asked India to help find “a solution to the issue of Pyongyang’s past abduction of Japanese nationals”, it added.
(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)
Portal pmcaresforchildren.in for the purpose, and the module on child registration and identification of beneficiaries has been made functional and will be regularly updated with necessary information…reports Asian Lite News.
The Centre has launched a web portal to facilitate submission of applications and identification of children eligible to receive support under the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme.
The scheme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The scheme aims to ensure comprehensive care and protection of such children in a sustained manner, enabling their wellbeing through health insurance, empowering them through education, and equipping them for self-sufficient existence with financial support of Rs 10 lakh, on reaching 23 years of age.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the web-based portal pmcaresforchildren.in for the purpose, and the module on child registration and identification of beneficiaries has been made functional and will be regularly updated with necessary information.
Chief Secretaries of all states and Administrators of all Union Territories have been asked to direct the District Magistrates to identify the children eligible for receiving support under the scheme and provide the portal with the details to enable prompt assistance to these children. States and UTs have also been advised to take steps for registration of children which needs to be completed within the next 15 days. The Ministry has also requested the Chief Secretaries and Administrators to personally monitor the progress of data entry in the portal
After receiving the delicious gift, Deb in a tweet, said that he is extremely happy after getting the mangoes and thanked Hasina…reports Asian Lite News.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sent juicy “Haribhanga” mangoes of her country to her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and Chief Ministers of West Bengal and four northeastern states, officials said on Monday.
An official of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala said that Hasina has sent the fruits to Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chief Ministers of Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram, sharing borders with her country.
Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner Mohammad Jobayed Hosen handed over a packet containing the mangoes to Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday.
After receiving the delicious gift, Deb in a tweet, said that he is extremely happy after getting the mangoes and thanked Hasina. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the India-Bangladesh friendship would remain intact,” he said in his tweet in Bengali.
Hosen said that the “Haribhanga” is a very special variety of mango grown in Rangpur in northern Bangladesh, and has played a significant role in changing the local economy.
“Haribhanga” mango variety is helping the farmers to increase their income to a large extent and is a blessing for them, he said.
Another Bangladesh Assistant High Commission official said that thousands of farmers have switched to mango cultivation over the last 20 years as the demand of this particular fruit has increased for its unique flavour.
“Haribhanga” mangos are round in shape, black in colour, highly fleshy, and fibreless, and typically weighs 200 to 400 grams.
