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‘Calling for the genocide of Jews is not harassment, will consider only when they actually get killed’: Harvard, UPenn and MIT presidents

OpIndia Staff
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‘Calling for the genocide of Jews is not harassment, will consider only when they actually get killed’: Harvard, UPenn and MIT presidents

On 5th December (local time), the first hearing on “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism” occurred in Washington, DC. During the hearing, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik confronted the Presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn over the issue of rising cases of antisemitism on their campuses. During the hearing, Harvard University President Claudine Gay, MIT University President Sally Kornbluth, and UPenn President Elizabeth Magill refused to condemn the calls for the genocide of Jews on their respective campuses as bullying and harassment based on their respective code of conduct.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Stefanik called for the resignation of all three Presidents of the Universities. She wrote, “Presidents of Harvard, MIT and Penn REFUSE to say whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” is bullying and harassment according to their codes of conduct. Even going so far to say it needs to turn to “action” first. As in committing genocide. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND ANTISEMITIC. They must all resign immediately today.”

During the questioning, Stefanik repeatedly urged the university presidents to give a straightforward answer “yes” or “no” on whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the University’s codes of conduct regarding bullying and harassment. In response, the university leaders expressed reluctance and ambiguity in giving a straightforward answer.

In her reply, MIT President Kornbluth claimed that calling for the genocide of Jews would be considered harassment only if it leads to the targeting of individuals. On the other hand, President Magill of UPenn asserted it would depend on the context and could be considered harassment only if “it became conduct”. Harvard President Gay echoed a similar sentiment and emphasised that the answer would depend on the context and whether the call for genocide crossed into actionable conduct, which means if the genocide actually happens.

The shocking response from the three Presidents startled Stefanik, who expressed frustration over the lack of clarity and consistency in the responses. She accused the three Presidents of providing unacceptable and dehumanising answers and emphasized the gravity of the issue concerning antisemitism. She called for a decisive response from the Presidents and criticised them for failing to denounce the call for genocide against Jews categorically.

Stefanik had heated arguments with all three Presidents and insisted that the answer should have been “straightforward yes”. She concluded by stating that the response from the university leaders was unacceptable across the board. Stefanik emphasised that the lack of action in addressing antisemitism on campuses was a serious matter.

Israel-Hamas war and anti-Jew protests

On 7th October 2023, Hamas terrorists launched a massive terror attack on Israel, leading to the death of at least 1,300 Israelis and foreign nationals. Following the attack, Israel launched a counter-attack on Hamas to wipe out the terror outfit from the face of the Earth. Initially, Israel hit Hamas locations in Gaza via air strikes. Later, a ground attack by Israeli forces was started to eliminate Hamas terrorists. Hamas is known for using civilians as human shields. When the Palestinians tried to flee the Gaza Strip after IDF urged them to evacuate to save themselves from Israeli air strikes, Hamas reportedly forcefully stopped the civilians. Furthermore, they established underground bunkers across the Gaza Strip, especially under hospitals and schools, as a countermeasure against Israeli forces, as they knew Israel would hesitate in attacking such establishments. The Israel-Hamas war has entered its 60th day on 6th December 2023.

Notably, Harvard student associations released a joint statement in support of Palestine whitewashing the crimes committed by Hamas. They faced serious backlash, and Jewish billionaires who were funding these Universities or recruiting their students announced to cut off ties. Several student organisations pulled back from the statement following the backlash.

Old video of Islamist Mohammed Hijab threatening Douglas Murray goes viral: What he said after attack on Salman Rushdie and why the video is being shared now

OpIndia Staff
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Old video of Islamist Mohammed Hijab threatening Douglas Murray goes viral: What he said after attack on Salman Rushdie and why the video is being shared now

An old video of Islamist Mohammed Hijab who provoked Muslims during the 2022 anti-Hindu violence in Leicester, has been doing rounds on the internet. In the viral video, he could be heard giving threats of violence and death to free-speech absolutists, journalists, thinkers, and intellectuals while specifically naming author and columnist Douglas Murray, a critic of Muslim extremism. 

In the 54-second clip, Hijab threatens that “Muslim gangsters” would deal with anyone who ‘criticises’ or speaks against Islam as Columbian cartels deal with people ‘speaking against them’.    

The Islamist said, “You don’t think we have gangsters, We have Muslim gangsters as well. When you go ahead and attack the sacred symbols of Islam, ‘although our approach is not to do so’, we can’t stop Muslim gangsters from dealing with you or anyone else. Just like you go to Columbia and speak about any cartel in a specific manner.” 

According to Mohammed Hijab, a person can be a ‘free speech absolutist’ only if the individual ‘denies the Holocaust’ and talks in a ‘racially insensitive way’ to people from the Black community. Using that argument, he justifies the call for violence against anyone who speaks “against” Islam, with all rights reserved to decide what is ‘against’ Islam.  

It is important to note that the original long-length video was uploaded on 19th August 2022, by the Islamist Mohammed Hijab himself on his YouTube channel following the attack on Salman Rushdie. In the 9-minute 16-second video, Hijab justifies the attack on Salman Rushdie by an Islamist who acted in line with the infamous Fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini. 

Hijab describes Rushdie as an individual who is an open advocate against or detractor of Islam and the Islamic Prophet and further in the video he threatens that anyone who speaks against Islam would be dealt with by Muslim gangsters. Rushdie became the emblematic figure for the cause of freedom of expression and speech in neoconservative or right-wing quadrons after Iran issued a Fatwa against him, Mohammed Hijab further said in the video. 

Hijab argues that Freedom of Speech is juxtaposed with Islamic blasphemy laws or Muslims in general or indeed Muslim reactions to the desecration of sacred symbols of Islam. He then goes on to ask is that “appropriate”? 

According to Hijab, there are no legislations pertaining to blasphemy laws in Western nations so free speech absolutists who have a problem with penalising blasphemy should also lobby to repeal legislation that penalises Holocaust denial.  

He then goes on to present the Muslim community as a victim of “selective use” of free speech which according to him “inhibit, derail and diminish the rights of Muslim people who happen to be minorities in western lands.” People who speak against Muslim extremism and defend free speech have an ulterior agenda, Hijab claims.

Further in the video Mohammed Hijab added, “If you try and desecrate the sacred symbols of any community, gangsters from the community will deal with you.” Muslims are 1.8 billion people in the world and one in every four people in the world is a Muslim. They also have Muslim gangsters to deal with it, Hijab threatens adding, “Don’t you dare speak about Islam or the Muslims.” 

Hijab rants that people should not specialise in Islam in this discussion on Free Speech and Blasphemy. In false equivalences and needlessly dragging Hindutva in a pejoratively extremist way, he claimed that if the sacred symbols of other people from other faiths are desecrated they deal with it, adding that we’have seen this with the Hindutva in India and the example of Ataturk in Turkey.  

Portraying Muslims as victims, Hijab claims that Western countries need Muslims who could be scapegoated and blamed for every mistake that happens in their lives.

Douglas Murray’s remarks after which Mohammed Hijab made the threatening video

In his video, Mohammed Hijab highlighted one interaction between Douglas Murray and Abdullah Al Andalusi on ‘Free Speech’ and its limit. Notably, the interaction took place in the backdrop of the attack on Salman Rushdie. 

In that Televised interaction, Douglas Murray had slammed the lame excuse and justification of killings in the name of Blasphemy, which was also ironically the whole premise used by Islamist Hijab to threaten people not to “speak” about Islam other than what they intended to hear.   

Murray said, “We are still at this elementary playground level of discussion, this is a long-answered question (is there a limit to free speech). Our societies have perfectly good incitement laws in place. We are not going to make ourselves more sensitive to people who famously burn books that they can’t even read. Ayatollah Khomeini had never ever read the satanic verses when he asked Muslims around the world to kill Salman Rushdie. We had the same discussions when cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo were murdered.” 

Murray explains that Iran’s Fatwa against Rushdie had a chilling effect on Free Speech as what was done at that time was not the appropriate response and it bolstered the Islamists. 

He added, “Such threats are given because they have seen that it works. The success of Ayatollah’s fatwa showed a lot of disgruntled people what they could do if they only had the disgustingness to think that they could exercise violence as an opposition to the pen. What happened is that the Muslim extremists across the UK and the world showed they could intimidate people.” 

Murray further stated that in 1989, Britain allowed Muslims in Bradford to burn Satanic verses on the streets of Britain. He continued, “We allowed figures like Stevens to excuse the murder of Salman Rushdie on television, we allowed Iranian officials who called for the murder of Rushdie to live in London, like how stupid are we.” 

In that debate, another Islamist apologist and sympatiser of extremism, Abdullah Al Andalusi despite being asked repeatedly to condemn Iran’s remark that Rushdie himself is to be blamed for the attack on him, refrained from condemning it. Andalusi argued that only the assailant was to be blamed. According to him, only the killer should be blamed not the one who radicalised him. 

Andalusi accused Douglas Murray of advocating for restrictions on Muslim speakers at the University level, asking to ban the burqa in public buildings and a kind of social ban, making it harder for Muslim migrants in Europe. 

However, Mohammed Hijab made the video in which he made the aforementioned threatening remarks presenting that Andalusi and people like him have scored the home run.   

Meanwhile, the clips of the video are going viral and have been doing rounds from time to time, as people have been linking separate interviews of Islamist Mohammed Hijab and Douglas Murray who is critical of Islam, given on Piers Morgan and elsewhere on different occasions. As they involve the same individuals in question and debate around “Limits of Free Speech” and threats to Free speech from violence by Islamist extremists.

Hindenburg’s allegations ‘irrelevant’: US govt says on $553 million loan to Adani group for Sri Lanka port project

OpIndia Staff
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Hindenburg’s allegations ‘irrelevant’: US govt says on $553 million loan to Adani group for Sri Lanka port project

The US administration extended a $553 million loan to the Adani group after it found that Hindenburg’s allegations against the Adani group were irrelevant, Bloomberg reported on 5th December citing an unnamed US official.  

“The US government concluded that short-seller Hindenburg Research’s allegations of ‘corporate fraud’ against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani weren’t relevant before extending his conglomerate as much as $553 million for a container terminal in Sri Lanka,” a senior US official was quoted saying by Bloomberg.

Speaking with Bloomberg, an official from the US agency said that allegations in a scathing report by US-based Hindenburg Research were front and center as the International Development Finance Corp., or DFC, conducted a due diligence investigation of the conglomerate.  

According to the DFC official who declined to be named, the DFC was satisfied that the accusations in the short seller Hindenburg’s report weren’t applicable to Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd., the subsidiary that is spearheading the Sri Lankan project. 

The official confirmed that the agency was satisfied with its due diligence as it found no relevance in Hindenburg’s allegations of Adani pulling off supposed corporate malpractices.

Notably, the Adani Group’s market value eroded by around $100 billion after short-seller’s hitjob against the Indian conglomerate.

Meanwhile, the official claimed that the US agency will continue to monitor the Indian firm to ensure that the US government doesn’t unintentionally support financial misconduct or other inappropriate behavior. The official noted that the US approaches infrastructure projects differently than China.

The Sri Lankan port project with Adani is one of the biggest and most prominent US government-backed infrastructure projects in Asia. Over the years, the US has been making efforts to counter growing Chinese influence in the region and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. 

The Adani Group denied Hindenburg’s allegations and described its report as a ‘malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations’.

The Adani Group has hailed the DFC’s investment as a vote of confidence following the Hindenburg allegations. CEO of Adani Ports and Gautam Adani’s son, Karan Adani told reporters in Colombo when the deal was announced, “We see this as a reaffirmation by the international community of our vision, our capabilities, and our governance.” 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on 24th November reserved its judgment on a PIL seeking a Court-monitored investigation into Hindenburg’s allegations against the Adani group. However, the apex court had remarked that it is easy to make allegations against anyone, adding that petitioners should show some responsibility while levelling charges against any party. The court observed that one doesn’t have to accept the Hindenburg report as correct as it is easy to make allegations and that it had no reason to doubt SEBI. 

‘Sunk in 3 States, has Zamindari culture’: TMC mouthpiece slams Congress after poor election performance, hints at making Mamata I.N.D.I. Alliance leader

OpIndia Staff
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‘Sunk in 3 States, has Zamindari culture’: TMC mouthpiece slams Congress after poor election performance, hints at making Mamata I.N.D.I. Alliance leader

The mouthpiece of Trinamool Congress (TMC), Jago Bangla, has lashed out at the Congress party on Monday (4th December)after it lost out key States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the BJP in the recently concluded assembly elections.

In its editorial titled ‘Somoyer Dak‘, the TMC mouthpiece wrote, “On Sunday, the voting result of assembly elections in 4 States was announced. Congress has sunk in 3 States. BJP lost in Telangana. Congress is consistently losing every fight against the BJP.”

Jago Bangla noted, “Congress needs to find the reason for its defeat and do a course correction.” While taking potshots at the grand old party, it said, “Congress er modhe ek adbhut ek zamidari sonskriti (There is a peculiar form of Zamindari culture within the Congress).”

The TMC mouthpiece used the ‘Zamindar’ phrase to refer to Congress’ culture of big-brotherly attitude and its tendency to look down upon other Opposition parties within the I.N.D.I. Alliance.

Towards the end of the editorial, Jago Bangla said, “Congress must remember that it is the TMC that is putting up a strong fight against the BJP. And TMC has won each time. PM, Home Minister and a dozen other BJP leaders too came to Bengal but could not defeat Mamata Banerjee government.”

“Those parties or leaders, who are experienced and have succeeded in this fight against BJP, should be the front runners (of I.N.D.I. Alliance). This is the need of the hour,” the TMC mouthpiece laid out Mamata Banerjee’s ambitions of leading the ‘united’ Opposition front.

This is not the first time that Jago Bangla has hit out at the Congress party. In February this year, it mocked Congress scion Rahul Gandhi as a ‘seasonal politician.’ The TMC mouthpiece had said, “He was defeated in his own constituency. He is a seasonal politician. Basically, outside Bengal, people are being attracted by TMC and Congress leaders can’t digest that.”

Congress fighting with Zamindari mentality: TMC leader Kunal Ghosh

While speaking to India Today, heavyweight TMC leader Kunal Ghosh lashed out at the Congress party. “The Congress is fighting with a zamindari mentality. They should stop doing that,” he remarked.

“Mamata didi had suggested some activities to get the INDIA bloc moving, but they were not implemented by the Congress. The results in the four states will have negative effects on the INDIA bloc,” he pointed out.

Ghosh further added, “They (Congress) wanted to go solo but in the process, they got wiped out. There’s still time. They should fix all their problems and strengthen the INDIA bloc before the Lok Sabha election. If they don’t, it will damage the alliance.”

I.N.D.I. Alliance meeting cancelled after Mamata Banerjee and others pull out

A day after the Congress party called for a meeting of the I.N.D.I. alliance in New Delhi, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee claimed on Monday (4th December) that she did not receive any imitation about the meeting

“I don’t know, I have no information so I kept a programme in North Bengal…If we had the information, we wouldn’t have scheduled those programmes. We would have definitely gone (for the meeting), but we have not received any information,” Mamata Banerjee was heard saying.

After other political leaders such as Nitish Kumar and Akhilesh Yadav backed out, the I.N.D.I. Alliance meeting was eventually cancelled.

BJP increases vote share in Telangana but fails to win even as anger brewed against KCR: How it got the chemistry wrong, not mathematics

S. Sudhir Kumar
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BJP increases vote share in Telangana but fails to win even as anger brewed against KCR: How it got the chemistry wrong, not mathematics

At one of the pre-2019 meetings in Hyderabad, a BJP karyakarta stood up and asked the leader presiding that meeting – All these years, we have been dancing in front of the party office to celebrate victories in other states. When will we dance at our office to celebrate our victories in our state? The hall reverberated with claps, specifically at the tone and manner in which the question was posed – a tone steeped in anguish yet passionate to put everything at stake so that he could dance for the said reason. 

For many decades leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, this dance eluded the karyakarta. Hence the anguish. They saw real hope post-2014. Hence the excitement. The passion was always there. It was the direction that they were looking for. And the karyakartas got their first opportunity to dance when the BJP won an unprecedented 4 Lok Sabha seats for the first time in Telangana. The first step towards the ultimate dream of capturing power in Telangana was made. Bandi Sanjay Kumar was made President of the party. The second step was made. The party won the all-important Dubbaka bye-poll. Third step. The party stormed the GHMC polls in an unprecedented manner. Fourth step. 

The party President started his padayatra, right from Owaisi’s bastion. He stood right before Charminar and made thousands of karyakartas chant Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Jai Shree Ram – something people thought was never possible. Yeah yeah – he got “communal” and all that. But you need to know about Owaisi’s bastion to understand the monumental scale of what the karyakarta felt when Bandi Sanjay did what he did, on the day he started his padayatra. Fifth step. A big leap.  

KCR fired one of his best lieutenants – Eatata Rajendar. The BJP convinced him to join them. He did and won the all-important Huzurabad bye-election. The stride of the steps was just increasing. The BJP held its national executive in Hyderabad and then held a massive public meeting – the crowd was so huge that the Prime Minister was pleasantly surprised and patted Bandi Sanjay on his back for it. Small gesture, but gave much-needed fuel to continue the pace of the steps being taken for the ultimate goal – power in Telangana in 2023. 

A Congress MLA resigned and joined the BJP, thus prompting a bye-election. Rahul Gandhi’s famed BJ Yatra was passing through the state when this bye-election was happening. KCR sent 80 of its MLAs to this one constituency to defeat the BJP. Against such strong odds, the BJP still put up a great fight despite losing this seat. A setback but definitely not the end of the road. Mysteriously, very mysteriously, this setback became the end of the road for the BJP’s rise in the state!

The karyakarta was flabbergasted when Bandi Sanjay’s term was not extended after his 3-year term ended in March 2023. Yes, missteps were made. The mighty BJP could have easily groomed Bandi Sanjay better when certain issues were being brought to the fore. It is still an abiding mystery why the central unit of the party could not find the right resources to groom a fledgling state unit. It’s not as if this is something new for a party like the BJP. They have tremendous experience and accessibility to resources to handle situations like this. The backlash from the karyakarta at removing Bandi Sanjay from the position wasn’t anticipated by the central unit. I find it very hard to believe though – for a party like the BJP that thrives on feedback, it is tough to believe that they didn’t anticipate this. 

For a party like the BJP that did what they did in MP and Chhattisgarh, it is indeed a mystery as to why they gave up on Telangana. Yes, we can list out all the missteps the party took in the run-up to the 2023 elections. We can talk about the mathematics of the election. In fact, I started this article to explain the mathematics behind BJP’s loss. Using the below graphic, I wanted to explain how the party that took GHMC by storm in 2020 has failed woefully in 2023 in the exact same area. 

I wanted to refer to the increase in overall vote percentage for the party; the victory in the northern areas of Telangana etc. And then I read this beautiful post written by a Twitter handle – Gems of KCR. This is when it dawned upon me that the BJP lost this election because it faltered on chemistry, not on the mathematics of the election. 

The anger against KCR was real (we explained in multiple articles here on OpIndia why people are angry). So real that the voter did not mind choosing the Congress party over KCR when it was the BJP that was responsible for the increasing anti-incumbency. The chemistry that the party built in the 2019 to 2022 was mysteriously broken in 2023. This election is BJP’s loss more than the Congress’s victory (not to take away credit, but Congress’s rise only coincided with BJP’s downfall). The karyakarta who wanted to dance the ultimate step in 2023 will now have to wait till for 2028 for the next chance. 

As Congress supports ‘special rights’ to Muslims, BJP leader Bommai hits out, says Siddaramaiah is diverting SC,ST funds, indulging in minority appeasement

ANI
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As Congress supports ‘special rights’ to Muslims, BJP leader Bommai hits out, says Siddaramaiah is diverting SC,ST funds, indulging in minority appeasement

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday accused the state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of indulging minority appeasement politics while doing “injustice” to Dalits and tribal communities. 

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah yesterday expressed his support for granting special rights to minorities in terms of national resources. However, many see this move as nothing more than appeasement politics aimed at securing votes,” Bommai posted on X. 

“It appears that the CM has forgotten his duty to ensure justice for all citizens. It is worth noting that there already exist departments and organizations such as the Wakf Board, Minority Commission, and Minority Corporation, which receive funds for various programs aimed at minority development,” he added. 

Bommai said that the CM’s statement suggesting the prioritization of one community over others was highly condemnable. He alleged that Siddaramaiah government diverted funds to other schemes reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs). 

“By diverting funds reserved for the development of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), and Special Component Plan (SCP) into guarantee schemes, the CM has done great injustice to these oppressed communities,” Bommai asserted. 

“Additionally, Siddaramaiah has promised further grants for Muslims, which is seen as a clear instance of appeasement politics. Not only will this bankrupt the state treasury, but it will also lead to social differentiation,” he added. 

He said that it is essential to ensure justice and equal opportunities for all citizens “rather than engaging in divisive policies that prioritize one community over others”. 

“This approach not only harms the overall development of the state but also disrupts social harmony. It is crucial for the CM to reconsider his statements and work towards a more inclusive and equitable society,” Bommai said.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

TMC leader calls Syama Prasad’s slogan ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ a ‘political slogan’, HM Amit Shah hits out: Read about the war of words in LS

ANI
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TMC leader calls Syama Prasad’s slogan ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ a ‘political slogan’, HM Amit Shah hits out: Read about the war of words in LS

While replying to TMC MP Saugata Ray on J-K bills debate in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah countered him asking how can a country have two PMs, two constitutions and two flags?

The Lok Sabha was debating on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

“How can a country have two PMs, two constitutions and two flags? Those who did this, they did wrong. PM Modi corrected it. We have been saying since 1950 that there should be ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ (One Prime Minister, one flag and one Constitution) in the country, and we did it.” Shah said in Lok Sabha. 

Lok Sabha member Sougata Ray remarked during the discussion on The Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha.

“Let me start with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since Amit Shah took over as Home Minister. One of the major steps taken by him was to abrogate Article 370 and then convert the states of Jammu and Kashmir to Union Territories. First Jammu and Kashmir and second, Ladakh. Earlier, Union Territories were converted into States and here, Amit Shah converted the states into Union Territories. What have you achieved?” he added.

“If there is no Legislative Assembly, then why are you making the changes? Have a Legislative Assembly and then make it. I don’t know what the hurry is; the hurry should be to hold the elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.

“They abrogated Article 370 just to fulfil the BJP promise: ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ (One Prime Minister, one flag and one Constitution). This was the slogan at the time of Shayama Prasad, this is not for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as this was a political statement and was his slogan,” he said.

Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who was India’s first Minister for Industry and Supply in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that earlier in Jammu and Kashmir, their were stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir but today there are no such incidents.

“Earlier there were stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir. Today there are no such incidents. Today, not only at Lal Chowk but the Indian flag is hoisted in every lane in Kashmir,” Thakur said. 

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 26, 2023. It amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act of 2004.

The Act provides for reservation in jobs and admission in professional institutions to members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other socially and educationally backward classes.

The key features of the Bill comprise socially and educationally backward classes that include people residing in villages declared as socially and educationally backwards by the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir, people residing in areas adjoining the Actual Line of Control and International Border, and weak and under-privileged classes (social castes), as notified.

The government may make inclusions or exclusions from the category of weak and under-privileged classes, on the recommendations of a Commission.

The Bill substitutes weak and under-privileged classes with other backward classes as declared by the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. The definition of weak and underprivileged classes is deleted from the Act.

The Second Schedule of the Representation of the People Act of 1950 provides for the number of seats in legislative assemblies. The 2019 Act amended the Second Schedule of the 1950 Act to specify the total number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to be 83.

It reserved six seats for Scheduled Castes. No seats were reserved for Scheduled Tribes. The Bill increases the total number of seats to 90. It also reserves seven seats for Scheduled Castes and nine seats for Scheduled Tribes.

The Bill adds that the Lieutenant Governor may nominate up to two members from the Kashmiri migrant community to the Legislative Assembly. One of the nominated members must be a woman. Migrants are defined as persons who migrated from the Kashmir Valley or any other part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after November 1, 1989 and are registered with the Relief Commissioner.

Migrants also include individuals who have not been registered due to being in government service in any moving office, having left for work, or possessing immovable property at the place from where they migrated but are unable to reside there due to disturbed conditions.

The Bill adds that the Lieutenant Governor may nominate to the Legislative Assembly one member representing displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Displaced persons refer to individuals who left or were displaced from their place of residence in Pakistani-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and continue to reside outside such place.

Such displacement should have taken place in 1947-48, 1965, or 1971 due to civil disturbances or fear of such disturbances. These include successors-in-interest of such persons. 

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Gangster associated with Lawrence Bishnoi claims responsibility for the murder of Karni Sena chief. Here is what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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Gangster associated with Lawrence Bishnoi claims responsibility for the murder of Karni Sena chief. Here is what we know so far

Hours after Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead on Tuesday (5th December), a gangster named Rohit Godara claimed responsibility for the murder of the National President of Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena.

As per a report by India Today, Rohit Godara took to Facebook to inform that he and his gang murdered the chief of Karni Sena. “We take complete responsibility for the killing. We commissioned this murder,” the gangster said in the purported Facebook post.

Godara claimed that Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi used to help the enemies of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang. “He was working to strengthen our foes,” the post read. The gangster also warned other enemies to wait for their turn.

Purported Facebook post of Rohit Gadora, sourced from India Today

According to a report by India Today, Rohit Godara is a native of Rajasthan. The gangster has reportedly been on the run from law enforcement authorities. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has lodged criminal charges and is taking measures to apprehend him.

Rohit Godara has over 32 serious cases registered against him since 2010. He is infamous for his involvement with the underworld, extorting money to the tune of ₹5 crores- ₹17 crores from various businessmen in his native State.

Before murdering the Karni Sena chief, he was responsible for the killing of a gangster named Raju Theth in 2022. Rohit Godara’s name had also been raised in connection to the murder of singer Siddhu Moosewala.

As per India Today, he fled the country in June last year and moved to Dubai using a fake passport. Rohit Godara is currently believed to be in Canada. A red corner notice was issued against him.

On Tuesday (5th December), Karni Sena National President Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was gunned down by assailants in Jaipur. The CCTV footage of the incident has now gone viral on social media.

As per the viral video, multiple bullets were fired at the Karni Sena leader. He was rushed to Metro Mass Hospital in Jaipur but was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.

Madhya Pradesh: Valik Pathan attacks BJP workers for celebrating victory, wife Shabnam throws boiling water from roof, son attacks with knife

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Valik Pathan attacks BJP workers for celebrating victory, wife Shabnam throws boiling water from roof, son attacks with knife

On 4th December, Madhya Pradesh Police booked four members of one Vakil Pathan’s family on charges of throwing boiling water and assaulting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers during a victory procession. As per the reports, the victory march was held after BJP won the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections with 163 out of 230 seats.

The incident occurred on the night of 3rd December when the BJP workers passed through the house of Vakil Pathan during a procession to celebrate the victory of BJP’s candidate Mahendra Hardia. Pathan objected to the procession and argued with the BJP workers. He then abused and assaulted them. During the arguments between Pathan’s family and BJP workers, his son Sheru attacked the workers with a knife. Furthermore, he asked his wife, Shabnam, to throw boiling water on BJP workers from the roof of their house.

A case was registered at Khajrana Police station against Pathan, his wife and two sons, Sheru and Shakeel, under Sections 294 (obscene act), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means) and 506 (intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Khajrana Police Station in-charge Umrao Singh called it a small matter and assured it was being investigated.

According to an India Today report, despite the brutal attack against the BJP workers, the police seem to be downplaying the incident. “The dispute is not a big one. The matter is being investigated,” Khajrana police station in-charge Umrao Singh said.

‘Congress lost Rajasthan because they ignored Karni Sena’: What Karni Sena President Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi said only two days before he was shot dead

OpIndia Staff
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‘Congress lost Rajasthan because they ignored Karni Sena’: What Karni Sena President Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi said only two days before he was shot dead

The murder of Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, the national president of Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, has sent shockwaves across the country. The murder comes two days after the Rajput leader blamed the Congress for its defeat in the Rajasthan assembly elections.

On 3rd December, Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Congress’s wrong ticket distribution and ignoring the Karni Sena has resulted in its shameful defeat.

He wrote, “Congress’s wrong ticket distribution and ignoring the Karni Sena led to the shameful defeat of the party in the 2023 Rajasthan elections. It stood at the fifth number in my constituency in Bhadra with a total of 3,669 (votes). High command should take notice.”

Meanwhile, a video of the attack has gone viral on social media showing two assailants sitting with Gogamedi and his aide in a house, which was reportedly his own. The assailants can be seen getting up and brandish their guns and begin firing shots at Gogamedi and his aide.

While Gogamedia falls to the ground, his aide tries to tackle the situation but is fired at again and is injured even as he runs behind one of the shooters.

Notably, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on 3rd December had claimed that according to his sources, the Congress ecosystem is planning an all out revenge against Rajasthan in 1st 100 days of BJP govt.

He wrote, “They will do this by manufacturing & concocting fake & manufactured stories & tasking various mafia, anti-social elements to vitiate the atmosphere by committing various crimes to show Rajasthan in bad light. I request all Rajasthanis to be on vigil against such elements.”

Meanwhile, BJP Rajasthan Chief CP Joshi said that an attempt is being made to disturb the atmosphere in the state. He said that Gogamedi had several times demanded security from the police.

“I am shocked to hear about the murder of Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi. An attempt is being made to create an atmosphere of violence. Sukhdev ji had requested police protection following threats. It is a matter of investigation as to why he wasn’t given protection. I have requested the police to take action and immediately arrest the accused. This is the result of the last 5 years of governance in the state,” CP Joshi said.

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