West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to X on Tuesday and shared a video of a Sikh police officer accusing BJP workers of calling him a Khalistani. Jaspreet Singh was deputed at Dhamakhali to prevent West Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari from visiting Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas.

Singh got agitated after a group of BJP workers allegedly called him a Khalistani. In the video shared by the West Bengal Chief Minister, a senior police official said he will take action on this. He added just because he was wearing a turban, they are saying this. Singh asked the BJP workers if he would not have worn a turban would they call him a Khalistani? The Police officer warned them that they could not talk about his religion in this manner.

Singh can be heard saying in the shared video that he did not talk about their religion and the BJP workers cannot talk about his religion in this manner. He even asked them why did they call him a Khalistani? He was shocked to hear this and asked them if this is their level?

The West Bengal Chief Minister slammed BJP workers for their behaviour and captioned the video Today the BJP’s divisive politics has shamelessly overstepped all constitutional boundaries. She added as per BJP4India every person wearing a turban is a Khalistani.

The Chief Minister wrote she vehemently condemns this audacious attempt to undermine the reputation of Sikh brothers & Sisters, revered for their sacrifices and unwavering determination to the nation. The West Bengal chief Minister added she stands in protecting Bengal’s social harmony and will take stern lawful measures to prevent any attempts to disrupt it. BJP leader Agnimitra Paul denied the allegation and accused the police officer of not performing his duty as per constitution.

In a significant win for the Aam Aadmi Party, the Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that votes for AAP Mayor Candidate Kuldeep Kumar were cast in all eight rejected ballots.

Additionally, it mandated that the poll’s votes be recounted and that these eight be recognised as legitimate votes. The Court said that results would then be announced based on it.

In order to become mayor, BJP’s Manoj Sonkar defeated Kuldeep Kumar, receiving 16 votes against to his opponent’s 12. However, Sonkar later resigned, while three AAP councillors defected to the BJP.

With the Supreme Court’s order, AAP mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar, who was also the petitioner in the case, has been declared winner of the election.

The eight votes that Returning Officer Anil Masih declared invalid were genuine, according to a three-judge panel led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The ballots were cast in support of AAP mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar.

The bench observed that Anil Masih intentionally attempted to tamper with eight votes that were cast in the petitioner’s favor.

On February 5, the Supreme Court rapped the returning officer as well, saying that it was evident he had tampered with the ballots and that he should face legal consequences. It further stated that his actions amounted to murder and mockery of democracy.

Meanwhile, Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Kuldeep Kumar on becoming the new Mayor of Chandigarh. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he said, on behalf of INDIA alliance, many congratulations to Kuldeep Kuamr on becoming the Mayor of Chandigarh. He also said this is only possible because of Indian democracy and Supreme Court.

Following the decision, AAP’s workers were seen celebrating Supreme Court’s decision. The party workers can be seen hugging eachother as Kuldeep Kumar was announced the new Mayor of Chandigarh.

For unversed, the result of the Chandigarh Mayor polls were announced on January 30, where BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar declared winner by 16 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya resigned from the party on Tuesday and also quit as a member of the state legislative council. After announcing his exit from the party he said he believes in clean politics. He said he has had ideological differences with Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party.

The ex-SP leader accused Akhilesh Yadav of going against socialist ideology. He added he had experience of working with Mulayam Singh Yadav as well and said Yadav was a staunch socialist leader. He said those who are carrying forward his legacy are not able to follow his ideology. He said the situation is unfortunate.

Maurya shared his resignation letter on social media. He wrote a separate letter to the Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. He said he was elected as a Samajwadi Party member in the legislative council. He said as he has resigned from the primary membership of the party, he is also resigning as MLC (member of legislative council) based on morality.

Maurya resigned as the party’s general secretary on February 13. He even accused the Samajwadi Party leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his controversial statements on Ramcharitamanas and the Ayodhya Temple Pran Pratishtha event.

The decision to quit from Samajwadi Party comes after two years he dumped the ruling BJP for Samajwadi Party (SP). The development came amid reports that Maurya is planning to launch his own party. He has called a meeting with his followers in Delhi on Feb 22 to finalize his next move.

According to reports during a recent meeting Maurya’s core supporters had mooted the idea to launch an independent political outfit. In the same meeting a proposal was made to name the new political outfit as Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Dal. But after the meeting when Swami Prasad Maurya was asked about the idea of formation of a new political outfit, he did not commit to the same.