Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday kicked off his campaign for the BJP in Maharashtra with a rally in Dhule. In his very first campaign for the upcoming Maharashtra election, the Prime Minister teared into the Opposition over who will be the Chief Ministerial face of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), alleging that there is infighting as to who will sit on the driver’s seat.

He said that when people like MVA form a government, they cause hindrances in every government policy and development. He added that Maharashtra has lived through 2.5 years of MVA government. He continued that only the Mahayuti government can provide the good governance that Maharashtra needs, adding that the Maha Aghadi vehicle has neither wheels nor brakes and there is a fight even to sit on the the driver seat. 

He further stated that when people like MVA, who have the intention of looting people, come to power, they stop development and indulge in corruption in every scheme. Promising continuous development in the state, the Prime Minister said that they consider the public as a form of God and have come into politics to serve the public. 

He alleged that the Opposition stalled the metro projects, obstructed the work of Vadhana Port and created hurdles in the construction of Samriddhi Mahamarg. He stated that the MVA put a stop to every plan which ensures a fright future for the people of Maharashtra. 

The Prime Minister also accused the Congress of trying to divide India’s tribal communities. He said that Congress agenda is to create a rift between all the tribal communities of the country. He also linked Congress’s actions to the partition, saying that when Congress tried this conspiracy with religious groups, it led to the partition of the country.

Urging for unity, he warned that Congress is now attempting to pit Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes against one another, calling it the biggest conspiracy in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold eight more rallies across the state this week. Following the Dhule event, PM Modi will address supporters at a rally in Nashik.

Maharashtra will vote in a single phase on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

The Maharashtra cyber crime branch has filed a police case against Flipkart, online marketplaces and other e-commerce platforms for selling T-shirts glorifying gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, officials said on Thursday.

According to the release, the state’s cyber wing has filed a case under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections, including 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) and 353 (public mischief) and provisions of the Information Technology Act.

During the online vigil, the cyber security officials found that several e-commerce platforms, including Flipkart, AliExpress, and marketplaces like TeeShopper and Etsy, had been selling T-shirts that glorify gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi and Dawood Ibrahim.

The statement said the cyber unit has filed the case not only against the platforms that hosted these listings, but also against the sellers responsible for listing these objectionable products.

An official said, “The products, which idolise criminal figures, pose a significant risk to the society by promoting a distorted image (of values) which could influence young minds negatively.”

In its release, the cyber unit said it considers this as material harmful, as it attempts to corrupt the values of the youth by using seemingly casual apparel to spread messages that glorify criminal lifestyles.

Earlier, another popular e-commerce platform Meesho faced backlash from people for selling t-shirts branded with Bishnoi.

Filmmaker and journalist Alishan Jafri, taking to X, highlighted the issue and called it an example of India’s latest online radicalisation.

“People are literally selling gangster merchandise on platforms like @Meesho_Official and Teeshopper. This is just one example of India’s latest online radicalisation,” he wrote on X.

In a series of posts, he pointed out various concerning incidence that he came accrosed. “For much of October, I was following India’s online gangster fan groups. At a time when the police and NIA are struggling to stop youths from joining gang crime, social media influencers are making quick money by promoting gang content and glorifying gangsters,” he said.

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.