Garment Workers Clash with Dhaka Police; AISA Leader Sparks Political Row in India
Violent street protests have escalated in Dhaka as ready-made garment workers take to the streets demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 takas alongside improved working conditions. Demonstrators torched police vehicles, vandalised a factory security booth and warehouse, and blocked key transport routes. Security forces deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse the mobs. Although the government instituted a six-member wage board appealing for an end to the strike, dozens of factories remain shut. The unrest has drawn sharp reactions in India after an AISA student leader faced scrutiny for previously praising Bangladesh's youth movement.
A political row has erupted in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh following remarks by cleric Maulana Jarjis Ansari, who invoked Palestine while warning of burnt homes and bulldozer action if Yogi Adityanath returns as Chief Minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the cleric of deliberate fearmongering and stoking communal sentiment, alleging he acts on behalf of the Samajwadi Party and Congress. In response, the Samajwadi Party accused the state government of running a dictatorial regime with biased action. Meanwhile, Mahant Vishnu Das of Ayodhya called for police action against the cleric for inciting Muslims.
A major political narrative war erupted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned secret overseas meetings held by opposition leaders and highlighted the weaponisation of social media to spread rumours targeting India. The Prime Minister called on citizens to unite and counter obstructionist forces attempting to divide the nation and malign its global image. In response, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to social media platform X to hit back at the Prime Minister, alleging foreign assistance. Furthermore, the Congress Party challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to engage in an open direct debate over the allegations.
A political war of words has broken out between the BJP and the Congress-led opposition over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Union Home Minister Amit Shah mounted a counterattack against Rahul Gandhi following the INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, terming it a rally to protect infiltrators. Defending the voter roll revision process, Shah stated that approximately three crore absent names belonged to illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators who have been weeded out of the system. He questioned the opposition's challenge to the electoral process, pointing out BJP victories in 2014, 2019, and 2024 before the exercise began, and offered a special parliamentary debate on the matter. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi alleged that 15% of the electorate had been deleted since 2024, accusing the Election Commission of manipulation and demanding the resignation and prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The faceoff has also triggered debates over rally attendance and estimated trade disruptions.
