Rush Hour: UK-based scholar deported, Prashant Kishor alleges BJP pressured his candidates & more

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Francesca Orsini, a Hindi scholar and professor at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, was allegedly stopped from entering India despite having a valid five-year visa.

Orsini had arrived in Delhi from Hong Kong after attending an academic conference in China. However, the immigration authorities allegedly denied her entry into the country.

The scholar said that no reason had been provided for the denial.

Orsini, an undergraduate in Hindi from Venice University in Italy, studied in New Delhi at the Central Institute of Hindi and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Read more.

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has alleged that three of his party’s candidates were “forced to withdraw their nominations” due to pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Addressing a press conference, the former political strategist said the withdrawn candidates had been fielded from Danapur, Brahampur and Gopalganj.

His party had earlier announced candidates for all 243 assembly seats in Bihar. With the three withdrawals, Jan Suraaj will now contest 240 seats.

Kishor accused the BJP of attempting to replicate the “Surat model” in Bihar.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared...

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