Shiv Sena reconnects with ‘right’ roots

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April 21, 2019

The Shiv Sena has always been known for attacking its alliance partner BJP on several issues affecting the nation in the last few years. The party left no chance to criticise its alliance partner, be it over issues like Pulwama terror attack, Ram Temple issue, and Article 370 and it even declared to fight the polls alone in the state. However, with the approaching general election season, they changed its stance and joined hands with BJP in a way to consolidate the alliance against the opposition parties. This is looked after as Shiv Sena reconnecting with its lost roots of ‘Hindu nationalism’ again, the ideology that the founder of the party Balasaheb Thackeray floated with. Even after forming the Maharashtra government together, Sena has always used its mouthpiece Saamana to express its displeasure over the policies of BJP. Opposition parties like Congress and NCP had criticised Sena for its double standards and asked it to withdraw support to the BJP government.

Sena nonetheless has sealed a pact with the BJP for contesting the Lok Sabha polls jointly. The party has agreed on a 25-23 seat-sharing formula with BJP. Last year, Sena had taunted PM Modi saying Chowkidar (watchman) Chor Hai (is a thief) but now the party is supporting BJP’s #Mainbhinchowkidar campaign. Sena has always followed a big brother approach while having an alliance with BJP. However, the scenario has changed drastically after the BJP won the Lok Sabha polls convincingly in 2014. After emerging as the single largest party, BJP has started demanding more seats from Sena for contesting assembly polls.

Former minister and NCP leader Shashikant Shinde said, “The alliance between Congress and NCP is not visible at the lower level but it is working. While I am unaware of the urban areas, people residing in rural areas are not pleased with the government. People will not vote for BJP. Sadhvi Pragya has made statements against martyr Hemant Karkare and its effect will be seen in the entire nation. Sena supporting Sadhvi is unjustified. Why didn’t they support her when she was granted bail?”

Sena and BJP had differences with the seat sharing issue as both decided to contest 2014 assembly polls separately. BJP clinched 122 seats and was short of numbers required for government formation. NCP came forward to lend outside support to BJP. However, NCP later withdrew support to BJP as Sena which won 63 seats came out in rescue of BJP by offering support to it.

BJP MLA Snehalata Kolhe told Afternoon Voice, “Sena-BJP will win 35-40 seats in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. People are today more concerned about development and patriotism. People are not bothered about who is contesting polls in local areas but they want a strong person as the PM candidate at the national level. At least in Maharashtra, people are more concerned about development and issues like Ram Temple construction have taken a backseat.”

Both the parties have formed a pre-poll alliance to contest the Lok Sabha polls. While the opposition parties like Congress-NCP have called Sena an opportunistic party which is more bothered about power, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has stated that his party has allied with BJP for ensuring the development of Marathwada region and Maharashtra. Even BJP president Amit Shah used to criticise Shiv Sena but he has played a vital role in convincing Sena to support BJP for Lok Sabha polls. He also stated that the BJP and Sena government worked hard to restore Maharashtra’s glory. Uddhav and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shared dais while campaigning for Lok Sabha polls in Latur. Will both parties ensure a repeat of their 2014 Lok Sabha poll performance this year?

Shiv Sena MLA Vaibhav Naik asserted, “Hindutva and development are our agenda. There were some differences with the BJP but now everything is working well yet.”

On the other hand, even though NCP is having a pre-poll alliance with Congress, its president Sharad Pawar has not seen sharing platform with Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Shiv Sena has backed the nomination of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur as a BJP candidate. Sena parliamentary party leader Sanjay Raut stated, “We welcome the nomination of the Sadhvi as a BJP candidate,” When pointed out that her name was yet to be cleared in Malegaon case. Raut said, “Let people judge her.” Raut also added that Sadhvi was brutalised in the jail and she had to undergo severe hardships.

Hindu Nationalism getting consolidated

By

Vaidehi Taman

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April 21, 2019

I‘ve been always a great admirer of Balasaheb and have always considered him as a mentor in journalism. Besides being a bold and upfront politician, he was a journalist to the core who always understood the basic elements and ethos of the fourth pillar of democracy. That way, I’ve been always closely observing Shiv Sena and its politics, their stand on many issues, the cause for their ideology, voters, and the people of Maharashtra. Although, there can be always a debate and criticism around it as we live in a democracy, and no person or party can be perfect when it comes to scrutiny.

After the demise of Balasaheb, Uddhav and Raj parted their ways because of their political ambitions and claims over Balasaheb’s legacy. While Uddhav was blessed with Balasaheb’s inheritance when he was alive, Raj went ahead to create a new political party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), claiming over Balasaheb’s ideology and political legacy.

Balasaheb was known for his Hindu nationalistic ideas wherein he always stood for the Hindu cause and their interest and it was not limited to Maharashtra but nationally. Be it Ram Mandir issue, Mumbai blast case, communal riots, etc. — he was always very upfront and firm on his ideas whenever he spoke and made any statement. It was Balasaheb who forged a strong alliance with BJP which is again considered to be a Hindu nationalistic party since its inception. Balasaheb was regarded highly by the BJP leadership and we have always seen all the BJP leaders coming to Mumbai and pay him a visit, taking ideas and guidance from him and making strategies for not only Maharashtra but National politics as well. In fact, in his times, Shiv Sena was always regarded as the big brother of BJP in Maharashtra politics and whenever they won any election, it was Shiv Sena which led the government and BJP always took the back seat. That was the charisma of Balasaheb and his leadership.

Although things changed immediately after his demise, as his legacy could not be consolidated by Uddhav and Raj and both of them parting their ways made it uncertain which one is going to be the next leader and provide the leadership to the Shiv Sainiks after Balasaheb’s demise. This indeed created a vacuum in the Maharashtra and national politics. Moreover, both were young leaders; so, it was expected from them that they will hand over the batton to the senior BJP leaders who worked alongside Balasaheb, which eventually they did not agree to and wanted to downplay the seniority factor. No blame to them for this as in politics, you always try to take the last mileage. However, this led to bitterness between both the coalition partners and the bitterness caused the core idea of the alliance going missing. It was no more Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena for quite some time when we saw Shiv Sena leaders attacking BJP on almost all the issues. We could not see the consolidated Hindu nationalism stand from the coalition partners. Whenever BJP spoke of Ram Mandir, Shiv Sena was missing. Whenever BJP spoke about Article 370, Shiv Sena was missing. Whenever BJP talked about NRC, Shiv Sena was missing. Rather we saw Shiv Sena criticising BJP on all these issues and occasions.

All through this, we saw the alliance forming the government in Maharashtra where BJP clearly denied their role of big brother and Devendra Fadanvis became the CM of the state. Shiv Sena as an alliance partner was given berth in the central government but was deprived of important portfolios. The message was loud and clear from BJP that you no longer are a Big Brother in the alliance after Balasaheb, you have to earn it. Well, this did not go well through the Shiv Sena leadership and we saw all the bickering and between all these, their core ideology lost its track. Both of them, although being alliance partners, went with their stand alone. In fact, at times, both of them tried to hijack the core issues with the right-wing voters. Shiv Sena marching to Ayodhya for Ram Mandir a few months back was a live example.

In the meantime, we saw Shiv Sena working or pretending to be working with the opposition parties attacking BJP — be it West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee visiting Matoshree, be it Shiv Sena praising Rahul Gandhi, be it towing the opposition slogan “Chowkidar Chor Hai” — we have seen it all. However, I personally consider it as the pressure tactics by Shiv Sena on BJP to make them understand that we’re an independent party and if not given our due credit, we can go independently. This I think was a very intelligent and brave move by Shiv Sena and Uddhav in the testing times. At the same time, BJP also realised the fact that they cannot win the battle alone in Maharashtra and without Sena, they cannot perform. BJP and its leaders also behaved maturely in this matter when we saw no rebuttal coming from them or no strong statements coming on all the criticism and attacks from Shiv Sena. In fact, whenever asked, Devendra Fadnavis or the BJP leadership either kept mum or defended their alliance.

As the 2019 elections came nearby, the moves by Uddhav worked and the top brass of BJP approached Uddhav for reconciliation realising his importance. As a wise politician, Uddhav behaved very maturely and a responsible coalition partner. We not only saw both the parties forge the alliance for 2019, but he also agreed to give BJP more seats to fight in Maharashtra realising the national sentiments and issues. He might have given BJP more seats but he successfully made the impression and statement of being a big brother. He even went for the nomination filing of BJP President Amit Shah which was highly unlikely by any Shiv Sena chief. While addressing the function, he was very candid telling the public and cadres that ‘Yes, we were criticising BJP on many issues and had differences with them but this is how democratic our alliance is and we could resolve all of them through dialogues and Shiv Sena BJP is going to fight the opposition together firmly’. He’s been seen doing rallies with the BJP leadership together while the same element has been missing with INC-NCP coalition so far. He’s been making speeches in the same voice with BJP on the issues that we saw at the times of Balasaheb. The latest example is Sanjay Raut coming out in defence of the candidature of Sadhvi Pragya from Bhopal and refuting the Hindu terror theory coined by Congress.

I see all these sequences of events as the consolidation of Hindu Nationalism politics which Balasaheb stood for, the element that went missing after him in Shiv Sena. It seems that this coalition is going to give tough times to the opposition in Maharashtra and the understanding between the BJP-Shiv Sena is unmatchable. One recent example of their understanding to sight, however, I don’t know how true this is but some sources revealed that after getting humiliated by the Congress leadership on the issue of abuse and misbehaviour by some fellow party men, their national spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi decided to leave Congress after serving the party for almost a decade. Sources reveal that her first choice was BJP. However, she was the most prominent and active face of Congress, be it TV, Social media or other which attacked the BJP, PM Modi, and the government from the front as a Congress spokesperson and leader. It would have been really embarrassing for the BJP to induct her into the party within a couple of days of such attacks. However, the BJP realised that she was a great asset to Congress and will be so for whichever party she joins. They didn’t want to either take her or lose her and Shiv Sena played an important role thereby inducting her into the party with the consultation and suggestion of BJP leadership. BJP didn’t take her but technically didn’t lose her. This was complete teamwork by Shiv Sena-BJP.

In the end, I would only like to say that the kind of mature politics and moves Uddhav has shown in the last few weeks, Shiv Sena may reclaim the glory of Balasaheb’s era. Both the parties are going to benefit from this and it’s a great consolidation of both the Hindu nationalist parties and their politics.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

The Stranger by Albert Camus

By

Afternoon Voice

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April 21, 2019

The Stranger by Albert Camus was published in 1942. This novel explores the pessimistic vision of life thoroughly. According to Camus, the human life and existence lacks meaning and the failure to accept this leads us to the absurdity of looking for a rational explanation where there is none.

The protagonist of the book, Meursault commits a crime and subsequently fails to conform to the social expectations about how he should behave. The readers certainly are horrified by his emotionless and detached descriptions and are stunned by his failure to cry when his mother dies. The terrifying irrationality of his actions and the total lack of order in the novel are deliberately reflected and presented by Camus as a glance from his absurdist theories about the humanity.

Absurdism proposes the idea that the human existence is a contradiction of our desperate attempts to find meaning in our lives. However, the utter fruitfulness of these attempts gives the irrational and complex nature our existence completely. The pain, the brutal and extreme simplicity, and the emotionless language of this book make it worth reading. The style perfectly reflects the simplified thought patterns of the novel’s supposedly mentally deranged protagonist.

The one thing that touched me particularly is the line about the gentle indifference of the world and it reminds you every time that how the beauty of this world, with its beaches and mountains and architecture, stares at you blankly as you experience pain or alienation in this world. It almost hurts. It makes you feel even lonelier and desperate. When you are being hurt and seeing your pain not echoed anywhere hurts more than the pain itself. It makes you feel meaningless like you barely exist in this cosmos.

Camus thinks it a part of human nature. He says that we are unimportant and barely exist. The societal expectation to assert ourselves onto the world is silly. A man can live inside a tree trunk and could be just as comfortable after a while as a man living in a palace, simply because for both the king living in the palace and the hermit living in the tree truck, it’s routine they got used to.

This book is an unsettling foray into existentialism. Go through this book if you are curious about questioning the rules of life.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

By

Afternoon Voice

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April 21, 2019

The story starts with the imagination of animals being personified as human beings who are alcoholic, greedy, power seeker, hate monger, lusty, lunatic, dependent on pensions and are tired of oppression by the human race in the same extreme way we are tired of our own race. As a reader you get the freedom to draw similarities between these animals and human beings, as in the beginning of the story all the animals were united and then comes the ruler, who for the sake of power feeds war, religions, castes, regions, discrimination, groupism, and favouritism among his peers which is a stark reality of our society and these are prevalent now.

However, this is not just a story about a bunch of animals who revolt against their human masters, rather it is a story about every revolution, every political war, every leader who claim to bring the change in the society, every leader who claim to be the saviour, that others have been unwilling to do. It presents the human greed and lust for power as the end all and all end for those who desire it and the submission of rights and privileges by those who choose to follow and accept it in hope of a better tomorrow in a classic way.

Eventually each and every revolution seems to start with a genuine and heartfelt need for change led by seemingly genuine and empathetic leaders who give up every bit of their soul for the betterment of the society at large and yet end up either failing miserably leading to even greater miseries or ending with the success of the revolution and replacement of one tyrant with another one who seems to be even more cruel and gruesome.

Furthermore, it is interesting to know that the book that attacked the Stalinism prevailing in Russia was first published in 1945, but finds enough relevance in contemporary world. It rants the power that corrupts the political system by bringing similar situations as we face in real world in a fancy symbolism.

Orwell’s deep mistrust of political power comes shining through in this book. The book is a critical look at the people who wants other people to keep down or their own personal benefit. It doesn’t have a happy ending rather it ends with asking question to its readers that how devastating the state affairs can be under a totalitarian government.

Hima suffers back spasm, fails to finish 400m race

By

Web Team

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April 21, 2019

In a blow to India’s campaign in the Asian Athletics Championships, sprint sensation Hima Das suffered a back muscle spasm during the 400m heat race on the opening day here on Sunday.

The 19-year-old world junior champion and national record holder did not finish the heat number one which was won by Nadeesha Ramanayaka of Sri Lanka.

Deputy chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair said in a statement, “She had spasm at L4 and L5 (two lowest vertebrae in the lumbar spine). The doctor who attended her informed us and he said nothing serious. She will be OK within a day or two. The injury has put Hima’s participation in the women’s 4x400m relay and mixed 400m relay on the final day in doubt though Nair said it was not a serious injury.

It is learnt that the injury cannot also be dismissed as a minor one and whether Hima will take part in the women’s 4x400m relay and mixed 400m relay will be decided in a day or two.

“You cannot just dismiss the injury to be a minor one also. So, we have to see her condition tomorrow or Tuesday and take a call after that. A well-placed source told PTI.

The Assamese runner, who had spoken about being troubled by a back problem on and off, was not expected to win the gold in the quartermile event, but was a medal contender.

The impact of Hima’s absence, if it happens, will be felt in the women’s 4x400m relay race in which India has historically dominated and is a strong gold medal contender in this championships also.

Hima has a personal best of 50.59 seconds though she has not been at her best after she took a break to prepare for her exams before coming back to win the Federation Cup in 52.88 seconds last month.

Bahrain’s Salwa Naser, who was second in world list last year with a 49.08 seconds, is the overwhelming favourite to take the gold. She had beaten Hima comfortably in the Asian Games 400m final. Naser won the heat number two in 52.29 seconds, ahead of India’s M R Poovamma (52.46 seconds).

No 5-day week in commercial banks: RBI

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Web Team

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April 21, 2019

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it has not issued any direction with regard to a five-day working week for commercial banks. RBI said that, “It has been reported in certain sections of the media that commercial banks would have a 5-day week in terms of RBI instructions. It is clarified that this information is not factually correct. The RBI has not issued any such directions.”

It is worth mentioning that Currently, branches of commercial banks observe holidays only on second and fourth Saturday of a month apart from Sunday. Remaining Saturdays are full working days for banks.

Rahul to be PM if Congress gets maximum number of seats: Anand Sharma

By

Web Team

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April 21, 2019

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma on Sunday said Rahul Gandhi will be the next prime minister of the country if the Congress gets the highest number of seats in the April-May Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Anand Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his NDA government will face the same fate as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2004 when the BJP lost despite a robust ‘India Shining’ campaign.

He said, “Leaders will decide who will be the next PM. It all depends on which party leads. If it is the Congress, then the next PM will be our chief Rahul Gandhi. There are pre-poll alliances and also there is post-poll coalition. It will all depend on the results.”

Predicting the BJP’s performance in the ensuing general elections, Anand Sharma said, “This question was put before us in 2004 when a far better PM, in the form of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was there but what happened? India Shining lost. The same is going to happen now. I am not an astrologer but one thing I can tell you is that Modi will not become PM and the BJP will be defeated. He claimed that Congress will get a high number of seats.

Prime Minister Modi’s excellent Oratorship: Part II

By

Vinod Dixit

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April 21, 2019

According to a survey conducted on the success of Mann Ki Baat in six Indian cities, it is revealed that 66.7 per cent tuned in to the radio to listen to the show and found it useful. Mann ki Baat has become a major source of revenue for All India Radio. While the usual advertisement slots on AIR sold for Rs 500-1,500 per seconds, but a 10-second advertisement slot for Mann ki Baat cost Rs 2,00,000. Addressing a population of 1.252 billion and becoming so successful surely needs the skills of a great orator.

If we glance at Independence Day Speech delivered by PM Modi, one finds that his 65-minute speech was one of the most trended topics on August 15, 2014, a first in its history. Though many might think it to be the changing social media effect, the tweets stating his speech to bring tears in the eyes of politicians to being a speech that can create a thunder at Red Fort clearly speaks why this particular speech was a result of the sheer brilliance of this one man.

Similarly listening to his speech in Rajya Sabha, one agrees that he is a good orator which was proved by his speech on March 3, 2015. He not only talked about the problems of India and about the missions of his government to solve them, but he also dared to talk about topics which his predecessors dared to even think about. From Black Money to Technology, he talks about it all and talks well.

It is not an easy task to win the hearts of the country to become one of the most popular Prime Ministers of all time while his hands are still stained with the blood of Gujarat Riots. People forgot the riots and focussed on the nitty-gritty of the Gujarat model that was built by Modi himself. This man managed the whole campaign single-handed.

He is the first Prime Minister of India to travel in metro with fellow passengers who were daily commuters. He even had a friendly conversation with them. It takes one to be a great listener to become a good orator.

One has to see Modi’s materialisation as a powerful public speaker wielding enormous influence. There is no doubt that his speeches are ‘political’ and expedient, calling upon people to trust him because a lack of trust in him would be disastrous. His public speeches also persistently harp on corruption and successfully repeat the claim that he alone stands against corruption while the corrupt have ganged up against him. His rivals either lack the skill or find it tasteless to attack him on his expensive watches, clothes, shoes, and sunglasses.

For Modi, who has comfortably addressed six rousing election speeches in a day, speaking extempore in Hindi comes effortlessly, though he is a native Gujarati speaker, who avoided speaking in English unless absolutely required. His first speech in English, without the teleprompter, was during the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa – summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in July, when he read out his speech in English.

His habit of using his hands expressively during his speeches and likes to pause to await the audience reaction whenever he has posted a query or made a light-hearted remark is able to get directly across to his foreign audiences with his English speeches.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: April 21, 2019

By

Web Team

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April 21, 2019

Popularise stray dog adoption

Penalties for feeding stray dogs is not the solution but people do need to be made aware of the proper way to care and show affection towards our four-legged friends. Stray dog adoption should be popularised so that pets can be kept within the four walls in proper care than showing love and affection in a public place that disturbs others.

I am a dog lover myself but the pet owners should be careful that their affection towards animals in general and dogs, in particular, should not harm others. Dogs too have feelings and mood swings like human beings. They too get frustrated and may harm people if kept indoors for long or ill-treated. Normally they don’t bite without provocations, but there can be exceptions and the pet owners need to take precautions by tying them with a belt in public.

Mumbai has a humane side where we have a rising tribe of pet lovers who keep dogs and cats as pets but that should not be at the expense of fellow human beings whose safety too should not be overlooked!

S.N.Kabra

Wishing you a wonderful Easter

The word ‘Easter’ comes from the Germanic goddess of spring and fertility, Eostre. That is why Easter is filled with pagan symbols of life such as eggs, bunnies, and chicks. Easter is another season of the year that presents an opportunity for most of us to once again reflect on the life of Jesus Christ. His resurrection is proof enough that He will return soon once again to this Earth and I will have to account for how I have lived out His legacy.

Jubel D’Cruz

Serious cases of Swine Flu

The outburst of H1N1 is on the increase and BMC did not pay much importance to cleanliness and that in turn spread diseases all over the city. Hospitals are not fully equipped to face an influx of patients as cold and fever strike the patients first and turn into deadly Swine Flu. The disease is spreading in epidemic form. The number of Swine flu cases are on the rise this year and it is time to act in a responsible way. Instead of attending the cases on a war footing, the action by the BMC is rather slow and requires further follow up. Swine Flu is spreading and it is high time to treat the patients in the best way possible. Since Swine Flu is spreading drastically in non-slum areas, the position is alarming and it is a matter of time to spread in every nook and corner of the city unless some remedial measures are taken on a war footing. This year the number of cases of Swine Flu is more and the Health department needs to address the problem on a priority basis.

C.K. Ramani

Loopholes of investigating system exposed!

Sadhvi Pragya Thakur should not be blamed for her earlier statement on martyr Hemant Karkare, because it was hardly possible for her to resist the description of personal torture faced in our investigating-system where investigating officers are compelled to use inhuman tactics to make a young lady give statement according to requirements of political rulers.

However, Sadhvi on the next day proved to be a matured patriot when she rightly took another side of the picture by giving deserved respect to Hemant Karkare for his becoming martyr in fighting the worst Pakistan sponsored terror-attack on Mumbai.

Fault evidently lies in our politically influenced investigating-system which can be corrected by probing allegations of torture alleged by Sadhvi Pragya Thakur to expose those on whose directions Maharashtra ATS is alleged for inhuman torture on Sadhvi Pragya Thakur during her captivity during investigations.

Madhu Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Eight serial blasts rock Sri Lanka; over 207 killed and more than 500 injured

By

Web Team

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April 21, 2019

In Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday 3 Indians among over 207 people were killed and more than 500 others injured after eight near simultaneous blasts hit three churches and three hotels frequented by tourists. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned blasts as “cowardly” and said the government was working to “contain the situation.” He called upon all Sri Lankans to remain united and strong during this tragic time.

The President of India Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu condemned the serial blasts in Sri Lanka. Narendra Modi tweeted, “There is no place for such barbarism in our region. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured.”

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said, “ The blasts occurred at around 8.45 a.m. (local time) as the Easter Sunday masses were in progress in churches. Three churches -St Anthony’s Church in Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa were targeted.” Eight suspects have been arrested in the connection of blasts so far.

Three explosions were reported from the five-star hotels, the Shangrila, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury. The Colombo National Hospital spokesperson, Dr Samindi Samarakoon, said more than 400 people have been admitted with injuries.

The Finance Minister of Sri Lanka Mangala Samaraweera said that Easter Sunday bomb blasts in churches and hotels, killing many innocent people, seem to be a well-coordinated attempt to create murder, mayhem & anarchy. All those who cherish democracy, freedom & economic prosperity must unite now with nerves of steel to defeat this heinous attempt.

Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said that it was closely monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka, where eight near simultaneous blasts hit three churches and three hotels on Easter Sunday leaving scores dead. Indian citizens in need of assistance or help and for seeking clarification may call the following numbers: +94777903082, +94112422788 and +94112422789.