Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali, who recently became a target of an unsavoury exchange on the floor of the house, has been suspended from his party – Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party. “Anti-party activity” has been spelt out as the reason for the action against him. “You were warned many times against statements or actions against the policies, ideology and discipline of the party. But, despite that you have continuously been acting against the party,” the BSP said in a statement. A suspended MP is bound by the party whip.

BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri had used communal slurs against Mr Ali in the Parliament after which he met many big Opposition leaders. He even held a one-man protest outside Parliament yesterday to demand justice for Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who has been expelled from Lok Sabha.

The MP from Amroha was seen with a placard hung around his neck which said “don’t turn (the) victim into (the) culprit”.

“Decorum in Parliament died in September… it was bombed when Ramesh Bidhuri made those comments. And now they are saying this? Today, (Mahatma) Gandhi and Ambedkar are crying,” a visibly upset Ali told news agency ANI.

A massive political row erupted over Mr Bidhuri’s remarks during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in September this year. The objectionable comments to target Mr Ali, who was accused by several BJP leaders of using derogatory words for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provoke the South Delhi MP, led to a show-cause notice to Mr Bidhuri, known for his several controversial remarks.

The BJP MP, on Thursday, expressed regret for his objectionable remarks against Mr Ali in a meeting of the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee, which heard both leaders separately.

The BSP, which avoided to comment on the issue, today accused Mr Ali, a former JD(S) leader, of going against the party line: “You were given the ticket on Deve Gowda’s insistence who had assured that you will always follow the party line. Only after this assurance you were given the BSP memebership. But you forgot the assurances given by you and indulged in anti-party activities.”

Danish Ali, who started his political journey with Janata Dal (Secular), joined the BSP in 2019 with the consent of JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. Six days later, his name was announced from Amroha constituency for 2019 general elections. He won the seat by defeating Kanwar Singh Tanwar of the BJP by a margin of nearly 63,000 votes.

Kannada actress Leelavathi passed away on Friday after prolonged health issues. She was reportedly admitted to the hospital in Bengaluru following respiratory complications. She was 85 at the time of her passing. 

Leelavathi was a veteran Kannada actress who featured in around 600 films. Reportedly, 400 of them were in Kannada. She was the first female superstar in the Kannada film industry in the 1960s. She has been residing in Nelamangala for the past few years.

She is fondly remembered for some of her iconic films namely, Bhakta Kumbara, Bhakta Prahlada and Santha Thukaram, to name a few. She was admitted to the hospital for a few days as there were several old-age ailments she was combating.

Leelavathi reportedly breathed her last in the hospital. She is survived by her son Vinod Raj who is also an actor. 

A policeman has been injured as terrorists opened fire at security forces in Srinagar today.

The injured cop, Mohammad Hafiz Chad, has been rushed to a hospital for treatment. The area has been cordoned off. 

The Kashmir Zone Police posted about the attack on X and wrote: “Terrorists fired upon and injured one police personnel namely Mohammad Hafiz Chad S/O Gh Hassan Chad R/O Bemina at Hamdaniya colony Bemina. He has been shifted to hospital for treatment. Area cordoned off. Further details shall follow.”

Mohammad Hafiz Chad is a resident of Karnah in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district but currently lives in Bemina, the police said, reported news agency PTI.

Further details awaited.