BY Vijayendra, the son of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, has been appointed the party’s state unit chief. Mr Vijayendra is the MLA of Shikharipura, from where his father won comfortably in the 2018 Karnataka election.

In May, Mr Vijayendra had won the Shikaripura seat in his electoral debut by a margin of 11,008 votes. In 2020, he was appointed vice president of the BJP’s Karnataka unit.

The appointment of Mr Vijayendra, seen as the political heir to Mr Yediyurappa, as state BJP chief, replacing Nalinkumar Kateel, ends months of speculation over a change of guard. This was widely expected since the BJP suffered a big defeat to the Congress in the Assembly election in May.

Though it was always a strong probability that the BJP will pick a Lingayat leader to lead its state unit, its decision to pick the first-time MLA ignoring the dynastic plank, something it has used to target rivals, has highlighted the political importance his father continues to wield despite being eased out of electoral politics by the party.

Mr Yeddyurappa’s elder son BY Raghavendra is a Lok Sabha MP and the BJP has often tried to ensure that it is not seen encouraging more than one member of a family in politics.

Five people have been arrested in connection with an alleged gang rape of a woman at a hotel in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, police officials said on Sunday. Police said they received a call from the victim late Saturday night, following which they rushed to the homestay and took action against the accused.

“On Saturday night, Tajganj police received a call that in a rich homestay, a woman here had been raped and was assaulted. According to the complaint filed by the victim, a case has been filed under relevant sections,” Archana Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agra Sadar, said on Sunday.

Agra Police said that five people including one woman have been arrested after the incident was reported.

Police said that the victim was an employee of the hotel. A viral video shows the victim being assaulted by a group of men.

“Four men and a woman have been arrested after the incident. The medical examination of the victim will be done and legal action is being taken in the case,” Archana Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agra Sadar.

The Police said that a case under rape, assault, and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered in the matter. Further investigation is underway.

Pakodas are the go-to appetisers at every desi gathering. Paneer pakodas, aloo pakodas, gobhi pakodas, onion pakodas, or palak pakodas – there are too many options. But then have you ever come across pakodas made of wood? It might sound strange, but a street food vendor in Kashmir has garnered the internet’s attention for selling pakodas that seemingly resemble wooden sticks. An Instagram video shows the process of making these unique pakodas. While some viewers clarified that they are made using lotus stems, others humorously questioned, “Or kuch bechane ko nhi mila? [Couldn’t find anything else to sell?] “

In a viral video, a food vlogger showed a street stall in Kashmir featuring “lakdi pakodas”. The vendor prepared this unique delicacy by coating small, bite-sized lotus stems with a besan (gram flour) batter. The coated sticks were then deep-fried in a large kadhai filled with hot oil. After stirring the pakodas to perfection, the vendor lifted them out using a strainer. He clarified that the sticks were lotus stems and and he presented the pakodas with a sprinkling of masalas, serving them alongside a steaming cup of chai. “Lakdi ke pakode [Stick pakodas],” the caption of the video read.

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The video has already crossed over one million views on Instagram. The viewers, however, were offended, objecting to the vlogger’s use of the term “stick” and insisted that these were called “lotus stem fritters” instead.

One user wrote, “Let me explain ! It’s lotus stem fritters (kamal kakdi ke pakode), tbh i love them almost every other person in Kashmir likes them because when it’s freshly made it’s super yum but yeah when it ain’t fresh its hard to chew so don’t insult it if you haven’t tried the authentic one.”

Someone else wrote, “Bro this is not lakdi [stick] this is lotus stem.”

“This is what happens when everyone has free access to internet. Even uneducated people become so called bloggers. Please open the books of nursery class and read the chapter vegetables, you will find lotus stem there,” another user rudely added.

If you’re interested in preparing lotus stem gritters at home, you can find our recipe here.