Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned Debasish Kumar, Trinamool Congress MLA and candidate for the upcoming assembly poll from south Kolkata’s high-profile Rashbehari assembly seat, in connection with alleged land deals in the city, an official from the federal agency said, requesting anonymity.. Debasish Kumar, a member of the Mayor-in-Council at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), won the Rashbehari seat for the first time in 2021. (https://www.debasishkumar.com). Kumar, a member of the Mayor-in-Council at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), won the Rashbehari seat for the first time in 2021. In the coming two-phase Bengal polls, he is pitted against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Swapan Dasgupta, a senior journalist and former Rajya Sabha member.. “Kumar came under scrutiny after documents recently seized from the residence of a real estate businessman, Amit Ganguly, indicated that some disputed lands were sold at a high price for real estate business. Papers used for these land deals could only be provided by KMC insiders,” the ED official said.. Kumar was summoned in the morning and asked by ED officials to return in the afternoon with relevant documents.. “I will not utter a word about the investigation or why I was summoned,” Kumar told reporters outside the ED office.. TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar alleged that the ED probe was politically motivated.. “The BJP knows it cannot win the Bengal polls. This is not the first time it has used federal agencies against TMC leaders before elections,” Majumdar said.. Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar dismissed the allegations as “baseless.”. “Why is ED questioning Kumar and not you or me? TMC should stop making the same baseless allegation whenever there is an ED or CBI operation. Why don’t they move court saying their candidate is being harassed unnecessarily,” Sarkar said. 

 Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Monday criticised BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s remarks on former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik, terming the comments “outrageous” and describing them as baseless allegations against a leader regarded as Odisha’s pride.. Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. (Arabinda Mahapatra/Hindustan Times). The controversy stems from Dubey’s recent statement questioning Biju Patnaik’s role during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Dubey alleged that then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru conducted the war effort with American assistance and coordination with the CIA, and claimed that Biju Patnaik acted as a liaison between the US government, the CIA and Nehru.. Responding to the remarks, former CM Patnaik said he was “surprised” and “shocked” by what he described as false and irresponsible insinuations about his father’s role in national defence. He recalled that Nehru had relied on Biju Patnaik during the conflict and had even placed an office next to his in Delhi to coordinate tactical responses against Chinese forces.. “I was very young at the time, about 13 years old, but I remember how furious Biju Babu was with the Chinese attack and how much he did to repel it,” Patnaik told reporters just outside the state assembly. He added that Biju Patnaik had played a key role in allowing US aircraft to refuel in Odisha during the war, facilitating logistical support to India’s defence efforts.. Patnaik said the BJP MP’s comments reflected a lack of understanding of history.. Congress and BJP leaders in Odisha are yet to comment on Dubey’s statement.. Amid the escalating row, BJD leaders stepped up their protest inside and outside Parliament. Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra resigned from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT, which is chaired by Dubey, stating he could not continue under someone who had made “disrespectful” remarks about Biju Patnaik.. In a strongly worded post on X, Patra said he was “deeply shocked and anguished” by what he termed “outrageous, false and irresponsible insinuations” against the former Chief Minister. He accused Dubey of attempting to distort history and malign a revered leader for political narratives.. Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Patra described the remarks as an insult to Odisha’s pride and identity, asserting that disrespecting Biju Patnaik amounted to insulting the entire state. BJD members demanded an immediate apology from Dubey and the BJP and later staged a walkout from the House.. The BJD warned that protests would intensify if an apology was not issued, maintaining that Biju Patnaik’s contributions to India’s freedom struggle and nation-building were well documented and could not be undermined by what it called irresponsible statements.. Meanwhile, Dubey said he did not make any allegations against Patnaik.. “Biju Patnaik ji was a tall freedom fighter, and the BJP showed full respect to h 

 In a recent conversation on Hindustan Times’ show Point Blank, Executive Editor Shishir Gupta sat down with Senior Anchor Aayesha Varma to unpack why a new terrorism thriller ‘Dhurandhar’ centred on 26/11 has struck such a powerful chord with Indian audiences – and how much of it is rooted in reality. What emerged was less a film review and more a hard‑hitting tour through four decades of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, India’s political responses, and the personalities now driving New Delhi’s national security doctrine.. HT decodes Dhurandhar movie success. Why this film has ‘clicked’. Gupta’s starting point is blunt: the film works because it mirrors the angst of a majority that has lived through repeated waves of terror. He describes the movie as a “cinematic interpretation” of real events over the past 25 years – facts woven with “a bit of fantasy” to create a gripping narrative – but insists the underlying incidents are real.. According to him, more than 2,000 to 3,000 innocent Indians have been killed in terror attacks in the hinterland alone in this period, with “thousands” more in Kashmir. The Hindu majority, he argues, has been “hit very hard by terrorism sponsored by Pakistan and its proxies within India,” and that lived experience is what makes audiences instinctively empathise with the director’s message. The film, in his telling, is not changing minds so much as giving cinematic expression to a sentiment already widely held.. From Afghanistan to Khalistan to Kashmir. To explain the film’s portrayal of Pakistan’s ISI, underworld and politicians as the main villains, Gupta goes back to 1979 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At that point, he says, Pakistan – backed by the US and UK – “played a double card”: fronting the anti-Soviet jihad while simultaneously using the jihadi infrastructure to escalate terrorism against India.. He sketches a continuum:. First, Pakistan-backed Khalistan terrorism through the 1980s and early 1990s, funded by drug money and arms smuggling.. Then, from 1989 onwards, Kashmir-focused militancy, using local proxies while Islamabad described Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein” – a characterisation Gupta calls “totally incorrect.”. After 9/11, a shift to “homegrown” and Islamic terror networks like the Indian Mujahideen, again leveraging the underworld and building cells in Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Karnataka and Kerala.. He underlines Western complicity, arguing that the radicalisation pipeline – Wahhabi and Salafi ideology spread to fight the Soviets – was encouraged by major powers and then “couldn’t be controlled.”. 26/11: Intelligence, Failure and Politics. The film is centred on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and Varma presses Gupta on whether the state “failed the country” – an issue that has animated public debate since 2008. Gupta’s answer is unequivocal: there was intelligence, and it was specific.. He says US agencies tip 

 Rain lashed parts of the National Capital Region on Monday, even as the India Meterological Department issued an orange alert for the Delhi and its surrounding areas.. Moderate dust-storm, and wind speed of 50-70 kmph is likely. (HT Photo/ Sunil Ghosh). The weather department, in its nowcast warning, said light rain, along with thunderstorm and lightning could be expected in Delhi-NCR. Moderate dust-storm, and wind speed of 50-70 kmph is likely, according to IMD. The orange alert will remain in place till 6 pm.. The IMD had, earlier today, issued yellow alerts across parts of India, including Delhi-NCR, warning of light rain, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds on Monday. Further, there are chances of scattered light rain on Tuesday as well.. Experts said that on Sunday, rains were recorded along the Himalayan mountains and parts of northern Punjab, it eluded most of Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. “We saw gusty winds in Rajasthan too, but in Delhi, it remained mostly clear, leading to the maximum rising quickly,” Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said. Despite a yellow alert in Delhi, the Capital remained sunny, with mercury rapidly rising through the day.. Rain caused by western disturbance. The rain on Monday took place due to a fresh western disturbance influencing northwest India on Sunday. Another western disturbance is also likely on April 2, with chances of very light rain in Delhi on April 3 and 4.. Palawat said there are chances of rain in Delhi on Monday during the day, before this western disturbance starts to weaken again. He added that a fairly cool start to April was on the cards, saying, “We will then get another western disturbance around April 2 and 3, followed by another between April 6 and 9, so the temperature is unlikely to rise too rapidly.”. Meanwhile, amateur weatherman Navdeep Dahiya said frequent western disturbances are likely to continue next month, with heatwaves to be at bay till the end of April. 

 With Tamil Nadu Assembly elections nearing closer, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) President Vijay on Monday filed his nomination from the Perambur and Trichy East constituencies.. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) President and actor Vijay announces the candidates for 2026 Assembly Elections, in Chennai. (TVK Social Media). Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, covering a total of 234 constituencies in the State. Counting is scheduled for May 4.. A day earlier, Vijay unveiled the party’s manifesto for the upcoming elections, promising “anti-drug protection zones” and a monthly assistance for students.. Addressing a press conference in Chennai, Vijay stressed his vision for a drug-free and self-reliant Tamil Nadu. He said anti-drug protection zones” will be established in all schools and colleges across the state. “Our primary goal is to create a drug-free Tamil Nadu,” he asserted.. He also assured that all government examinations will be conducted on time without delays.. Vijay announced a monthly assistance of ₹4,000 for graduates and ₹2,000 for diploma holders.. Outlining his broader vision, he said, “Our long-term goal is to transform youth from job seekers into job creators.” He promised the “Local Employment for Local People” scheme, stating that steps will be taken to ensure 75 per cent of jobs in Tamil Nadu are given to Tamils.. Further, Vijay unveiled the “Creative Entrepreneurs Scheme”, aimed at transforming Tamil Nadu into a global hub for creators. Under this initiative, efforts will be made to develop 1.5 lakh creators into entrepreneurs, along with the establishment of 500 creative schools across the state.. The main electoral contest in the State is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which also includes Congress, DMDK, and the VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies.. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is making his electoral debut with TVK, attempting to turn the upcoming elections into a three-way contest.. Vijay will be going against DMK’s sitting MLA RD Shekar, who will contest from Perambur. He is also pitted against the sitting MLA and DMK candidate Inigo Irudayaraj in Trichy East. (ANI)