BY Vijayendra, who was recently appointed BJP’s Karnataka unit chief, said that his focus will be on the performance in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“My agenda is to focus on the Lok Sabha elections. I will try to bring all senior leaders together,” Mr Vijayendra told NDTV.

Mr Vijayendra, the son of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, also said that voters will a fitting reply to those accusing them of dynasty politics. Mr Vijayendra is the MLA of Shikharipura, from where his father won comfortably in the 2018 Karnataka election.

He had been appointed as the BJP state vice president in 2020.

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

Though it was always a strong probability that the BJP would 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 Vijayendra said that the move was aimed at taking the party forward.

“There was no unceremonious exit of Yediyurappa ji, he explained why he resigned as Chief Minister. We want to build the party,” he said.

BS Yediyurappa, echoing the sentiment, said that the change was made looking at the future and wasn’t an attempt by the BJP to placate him.

“Whatever happened has happened. In the future, we will build the party and make necessary changes. Our aim is to win more than 25 Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka. ,” he said.

He added that he was extremely happy with the announcement, which he claimed was made at the last minute by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President JP Nadda.

It has been snowing continuously over two days in Badrinath town of Uttarakhand since Friday evening.

Officials said that two inches of snow were recorded in the temple town as the snowfall which started Friday evening continued into the second day.

The Badrinath Dham, one of the four sites of the Char Dham pilgrimage, was covered in a sheet of snow as seen in the visuals accessed by ANI.

Meanwhile, the portals of Shri Badrinath Dham will be closed for winter beginning November 18, authorities said earlier in the month.

The doors of Shri Badrinath Dham were opened for devotees on April 27 earlier this year

According to Uttarakhand Police Headquarters, the number of pilgrims visiting Char-Dham by October 16 had crossed 50 lakhs. Along with this, about 5,40,000 vehicles also reached Char-Dham. After the commencement of the Yatra, more than 17,8000 devotees visited Kedarnath Dham, 15,9000 visited Badrinath Dham, 8,46,000 pilgrims visited Gangotri, 6,94,000 pilgrims visited Yamunotri, and over 1,77,000 devotees visited Hemkund Sahib.

The portals of Shri Gangotri Dham will be shut for the winter season on November 14, an official statement issued by the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee stated earlier.

The Shri Yamunotri Dham will shut for winter on November 15, authorities stated.

A video of a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) delivering an impassioned speech about Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in the middle of a mathematics lecture has gone viral on social media. In over a minute-and-a-half-long video, the student, standing in the right corner of the screen, asked the lecturer if he could say something. The professor asked, “Can I just finish this line?”

After the maths teacher completed his explanation, the student read from a piece of paper, “As you witness an ongoing genocide of Gaza in MIT silence – I’m joining hundreds of students city-wide walking out of class. We stand for the liberation of Palestine against active genocide that is perpetuated by MIT, Israel and the United States.”

Showing a Palestinian flag, the student-led chants of “free, free Palestine” alongside fellow protestors.

His outburst was captured in a video where he also accused MIT, Israel, and the US of “perpetuating genocide”.

On X, though, Professor Retsef Levi, MIT Expert in Analytics, wrote, “Today, Jewish and Israeli MIT students were physically prevented from attending class by a hostile group of pro-Hamas and anti-Israel MIT students that call themselves the CAA. This is after students from the CAA harassed MIT staff members in their offices for being Jewish and interrupted classes in the past few weeks. All of this has occurred with no clear response from the administration. With each passing day, MIT admin’s silence makes Jewish and Israeli students feel unsafe at MIT.”

This is the reality that MIT President wants to hide. A letter from Israeli & Jewish MIT students:

To all students at MIT,

Today, Jewish and Israeli MIT students were physically prevented from attending class by a hostile group of pro-Hamas and anti-Israel MIT students that…

— Retsef Levi (@RetsefL) November 10, 2023

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman criticised MIT, sharing the post and accusing the institution of failing to “discipline protesters.” “The failure of Harvard, MIT and other universities to discipline protesters who violate their rules emboldens the protesters to more aggressive, disruptive and antisemitic actions. This has created a climate of fear that is not conducive to a university education. The failure to discipline students who have bullied, assaulted or otherwise been abusive to Jewish students under the guise of free speech or a supposed requirement to wait for the completion of a police and FBI investigation is similarly absurd,” he wrote.

The failure of @Harvard, @MIT and other universities to discipline protesters who violate their rules emboldens the protesters to more aggressive, disruptive and antisemitic actions. This has created a climate of fear that is not conducive to a university education.

The failure… https://t.co/yGHGotbR6q

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 10, 2023

This incident reflects the heightened tensions surrounding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Over 11,000 people have been killed in incessant Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claimed, when Hamas targetted a music festival, killing over 250 people.