On Thursday, June 15, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath inaugurated 44 development projects worth Rs 212.5 crore in Ayodhya. He also laid the foundation stone for 38 projects worth Rs 1763.2 crore. This comes ahead of the inauguration of the grand Shri Ram Temple in January 2024. The consecration ceremony of the temple will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The CM inaugurated 44 projects on Thursday, five of which were under the urban development department and 13 under the PWD. Health and family welfare (2), secondary education (5), housing and urban planning (13), tourism (2), Namami Gange, irrigation and water resources, Panchayati Raj (1), and Ayush (1) are the other departments working on projects. The Panchayati Raj department has built libraries and reading rooms in 500 Gram Panchayats, which the chief minister has inaugurated.
Moreover, CM Yogi laid the foundation stone for 38 projects, 32 of which are PWD-related and four of which are technical education-related. Medical education and home departments are undertaking one project each. This includes the widening and expansion of 10.77 KM of the Panchkosi Parikrama Marg into a four-lane road with an estimated cost of Rs 473.2 crore.
CM Yogi also inaugurated a project worth Rs 1,140.2 crore involving the expansion of the 23.94 km-long 14 Kosi Parikrama Marg.
CM Yogi during his two-day visit to Ayodhya, met with saints and Ram temple trust officials and highlighted that the development of the “Dharma Nagari” is one of his government’s top priorities.
At a review meeting of current development initiatives in Ayodhya, the UP CM also reviewed the advancement of the Ram Temple construction. He also went to Hanumangarhi to offer prayers and observe the construction of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
According to an official statement quoting the Chief Minister, the entire development of ‘Dharmanagari’ Ayodhya is one of the government’s top priorities in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.
During his address to the crowd on Thursday, CM Yogi highlighted the various development projects being undertaken by his government. He said that the construction work of the international airport at Ayodhya will be completed by the end of this year.
The UP CM also announced that on the occasion of Diwali (Deepavali) this year, a grand Deepotsav will be celebrated and 21 lakh diyas will be lit in the “Dharma Nagari” Ayodhya.
On Wednesday, CM Yogi Adityanath hinted that meat and liquor can be banned in Ayodhya, where the grand Ram Mandir will be inaugurated next year. He has not specifically discussed any such action but mentioned that Ayodhya is a sacred city and there these items should not be allowed. “In accordance with the feelings of the populace, meat and alcohol use should be prohibited here,” he stated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the consecration ceremony of Shri Ram Temple: CM Yogi
Yogi Adityanath on Thursday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the consecration of Ram Lalla in the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January 2024.
Furthermore, CM Yogi has asked BJP MPs to participate in various programmes and activities in Ayodhya. He also complimented the city, saying that Ayodhya is paving the way for “Ram Rajya” as it did during the “treta yuga,” and that it is motivating the entire country under PM Modi’s leadership.
He also stated that there is no scarcity of funds for the development of religious sites such as Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura, and Prayagraj. CM Yogi also took a dig at the previous government saying that “there was a shortage of funds only when such people were in power who looted the state funds and promoted familyism and casteism. For us, the Janta Janardan is the family. We have diverted the funds for development work for the welfare of the people.”
Notably, he stated that the roadways in Ayodhya will be akin to those on Delhi’s Rajpath and that the road through Sugreev Qila leading to Ram Janmabhoomi will be known as the Bhakti Path.
किसी बड़े लक्ष्य को प्राप्त करने के लिए प्रारंभिक कठिनाई और चुनौती तो झेलना ही पड़ता है… pic.twitter.com/ovYd3tYdtK
He stated that development projects worth 32,000 crore are being carried out in Ayodhya, with the objective of transforming the temple city into one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Amid the deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar, another incident of blatant lawlessness has come to the fore. As per reports, on Thursday, June 15, CM Nitish Kumar had a narrow escape from being hit by two bike-borne criminals in Patna.
On Thursday morning, CM Nitish Kumar was out on his morning walk routine, two overspeeding bike-borne miscreants suddenly came very close. CM Nitish had to climb on the sidewalk to save himself hurriedly.
The CM had started from his 1, Aney Marg official residence and was walking towards Circular Road in Patna’s VIP area. At around 6.45 am, the speeding bikers zoomed into the CM’s proximity while fleeing the area at high speed. The CM had a narrow escape and had to run to save himself, as per reports.
SSP Rajeev Mishra reportedly rushed to the location after the incident. The identity of the bike-borne miscreants overspeeding through a VIP area in the early hours was not confirmed immediately. However, media reports have suggested that they were later found to be chain snatchers operating in the area.
As per a report in Bhaskar, the bikers were later arrested. They were found to be habitual chain snatchers operating in Patna. The bike’s number is 01 DK 7148 and it is registered in the name of a person named Himanshu Kumar.
The report further states that upon interrogation, the chain snatchers confessed that they had snatched a gold chain from a person in the SK Puri area. 3 persons were involved in the chain-snatching incident and one of them had escaped earlier. The police are now looking for him.
Earlier, in another instance of a serious security breach, a young man in Bakhtiyarpur had punched the CM’s face.
On Thursday (June 15), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister Atishi Marlena went on an anti-India tirade during a conference on ‘India at 100; Towards becoming a global leader’, which was held at the University of Cambridge.
At about 4 minutes and 12 seconds into the event, she tried to downplay India’s economic success story. “We are often told that India’s GDP has now crossed the trillion dollar mark. We are told that India is the fastest G20 economy and many other such pieces of information. But, the reality is far more worrying and underwhelming from that,” the AAP leader claimed.
“I think a better indicator, which really tells you about the State of the country, is the human development index…There are some indicators in which 190 countries participate I think. India ranks 132 out of 191. This is India at 75,” she alleged.
Atishi Marlena remarked that while India seeks happiness, believing that it is better off than its neighbours, countries such as Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan are supposedly ranked higher in the Human Development Index (HDI).
The truth about India’s decline in HDI
In September last year, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released its report [pdf] on Human Development Index for 2021-22. At the very onset, it noted that 90% of the countries listed in the index had witnessed a decline in HDI value in 2020 or 2021.
India, which ranked 132 on the index out of 191 countries, was not an exception. First, UNDP itself acknowledged that India’s decline is in line with global trends in the face of crises such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the Covid-19 pandemic and ‘dangerous planetary changes.’
“Human Development – a measure of a nation’s health, education, and average income – has declined for two years in a row – 2020 and 2021, reversing five years of progress. This is in line with the global decline, indicating that human development across the world has stalled for the first time in 32 years,” it highlighted.
Atishi Marlena had tried to suggest that India was an isolated case when it came to a decline in HDI value while other countries were doing excellent on the front.
Second, UNDP conceded that the primary reason behind such a global trend was a drop in life expectancy. “A large contributor to the Human Development Index’s recent decline is a global drop in life expectancy, down from 72.8 years in 2019 to 71.4 years in 2021,” it pointed out.
In her speech, the AAP Minister listed various factors that contribute to HDI. Those included average income, health and education. The idea was to insinuate that somehow people’s income, education and health, as a whole, went for a toss under the Modi regime.
Third, UNDP pointed out, “The last two years have had a devastating impact on billions of people worldwide when crises like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine hit back-to-back and interacted with sweeping social and economic shifts and dangerous planetary changes.”
It is important to note that between 2020 and 2022, the world had been reeling under a lot of challenges. These include but are not limited to the pandemic, war in Eastern Europe, rising energy prices and so on.
“These intersecting crises have impacted India’s development trajectory just as they have in much of the world,” UNDP emphasised. India, like other countries, witnessed a drop in life expectancy from 69.7 to 67.2 years.
Fourth, UNDP also pointed out that India’s HDI value is higher than the average human development in South Asia. “India’s HDI value has been steadily catching up to the world average since 1990 – indicating a faster than the global rate of progress in human development,” it said.
“This is a result of policy choices made by the country over time, including investments made in health and education,” the UN body added.
While speaking about the matter, UNDP Resident Representative in India Shoko Noda said, “India’s decline in human development mirrors this trend – impacted by intersecting crises. But there is good news. Compared to 2019, the impact of inequality on human development is lower. India is bridging the human development gap between men and women faster than the world.”
She underlined, “This development has come at a smaller cost to the environment. India’s growth story reflects the country’s investments in inclusive growth, social protection, gender-responsive policies, and push towards renewables to ensure no one is left behind.”
“Policies that focus on the 3Is (investment, insurance and innovation) will enable people to thrive in the face of uncertainty. India is already a frontrunner in these areas with its push towards renewable energy, boosting social security for the most vulnerable and driving the world’s largest vaccination drive through Co-WIN, supported by UNDP,” Shoko Noda pointed out.
Fifth, UDNP also praised India for lifting 27,10,00,000 crore people out of multi-dimensional poverty and providing access to affordable clean energy, water and sanitation. It stated that the country boosted access to social protection for vulnerable communities and demonstrated climate leadership.
“The world’s largest democracy is also fast-tracking the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs at the national and sub-national levels to meet the ambitious goals,” it concluded. As such, the scenario is not all grim, as portrayed by Atishi Marlena, at Cambridge University.
Atishi Marlena and her claims about hunger in India
“We are told that India has the largest number of billionaires…which went from 102 to 166 between 2020 and 2022. But there’s another figure which grew from 2020 to 2022 i.e. the number of hungry people in the country i.e. those who do not have enough food,” the AAP MLA claimed.
She further alleged, “And the number is from the same period when the number of billionaires was going up. It (the number of hungry people) went from 19 crores to 35 crores. India is the second largest producer of food in the world and yet it is the country where the largest number of people are malnourished.”
It must be mentioned that the said Global Hunger Report 2022, which Atishi Marlena cited during her anti-India tirade at Cambridge University, was rubbished by the Indian government back in October last year.
It had questioned the problematic methodology, undertaken to compile the report, and pointed out that 3 of the 4 indicators in the index are representative of children’s health (and thus not applicable/ representative of the entire population).
Interestingly, the fourth indicator ‘Proportion of Undernourished (PoU)’ population is based upon an opinion poll, which was conducted on a sample size of only 3000 people.
The participants were asked a total of only 8 questions, one of which included this – During the last 12 months, was there a time when, because of lack of money or other resources: You were worried you would not have enough food to eat? You ate less than you thought you should?
While rebuking the agencies for not doing due diligence, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development said, “The report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore efforts made by the Government to ensure food Security for the population, especially during the Covid Pandemic.”
“The data collected from a minuscule sample for a country of India’s size through the ‘Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)’ Survey Module has been used to compute PoU value for India which is not only wrong & unethical, it also reeks of obvious bias,” it highlighted.
This happened even though the Ministry asked the Food and Agriculture Organization (FA) of the United Nations to not use estimates based on FIES data since the ‘statistical output’ will not be based on merit.
“The three other indicators apart from PoU, included in Global Hunger Index relate primarily to children viz. Stunting, Wasting and Under 5 mortality. These indicators are outcomes of complex interactions of various other factors like drinking water, sanitation, genetics, environment and utilisation of food intake apart from hunger, which is taken as the causative/outcome factor for stunting and wasting in the GHI. Calculating hunger based on main indicators relating to health indicators of children is neither scientific nor rational,” the Indian government added.
The Ministry also laid down measures that it had undertaken to ensure food security. This includes the distribution of rations to 80 crore Indians (the largest food security programme in the world). It has allocated about 1121 Lakh MT of foodgrains (~ ₹3.91 Lakh Crore in food subsidy) to States and Union territories.
It also praised the State governments for the effective distribution of ration, supplementing the efforts of the Union government by providing edible oils, pulses and condiments to the people.
“Under Anganwadi Services, the since Covid-19 pandemic, supplementary nutrition was provided to approximately 7.71 crore chiup ton upto the age of 6 years and to 1.78 crore pregnant women and lactating mothers. 5.3 Million Metric Tonnes of Foodgrains was supplied,” it highlighted.
“Under the Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojna, more than 1.5 Crore registered women were provided Rs 5000/- on the birth of their first child for wage support and nutritious food during pregnancy and post-delivery period,” the Union government added.
It is thus evident that Atishi Marlena tried to defame India at the University of Cambridge based on an irrational, erroneous report ‘Global Hunger Index 2022’ published by two organisations, one based in Ireland (Concern Worldwide) and another in Germany (Welt Hunger Hilfe).
Interestingly, the same report cautions individuals and organisations to not compare scores and rankings over two years (something which Atishi did in her sweeping statement on hunger).
“Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores are comparable within each year’s report, but not between different years’ reports. The current and historical data on which the GHI scores are based are continually being revised and improved by the United Nations agencies that compile them, and each year’s GHI report reflects these changes. Comparing scores between reports may create the impression that hunger has changed positively or negatively from year to year, whereas in some cases the change may partly or fully reflect a data revision,” the report said in the FAQ section
Anti-India rant of Rahul Gandhi at the Cambridge University
On February 28 this year, Rahul Gandhi reiterated the talking points of the global Khalistan movement during his infamous presentation at the University of Cambridge.
The Congress scion randomly called out a Sikh man from the audience and claimed that Sikhs have been rendered second-class citizens in India by the Narendra Modi government.
“I mean I have got a Sikh gentleman sitting here. He is from the Sikh religion. And he comes from India, right? We have got Muslims in India, Christians in India, and we have got different languages in India…They are all India,” Rahul Gandhi had said.
“Mr Narendra Modi says he is not (a real Indian). Mr Narendra Modi says he (the Sikh guy in the room) is a second-class citizen in India. I don’t agree with him,” said Gandhi while making outlandish claims about the plight of the Sikh community in India.
Rahul Gandhi is provoking people by repeating lies again and again. ???
When did Narendra Modi said that Sikhs, Christians and Muslims Are Second Class Citizens in India? ??? pic.twitter.com/McrbKAZnjZ
Despite being well aware that the global Khalistan movement has been trying to brainwash the Sikh community, he exploited the opportunity at Cambridge University to present a distorted image of India to the world.
During his talk at the University of Cambridge, Rahul Gandhi also made a sweeping claim that Muslims in India are also ‘second class citizens’ according to Narendra Modi.
By doing so, the Congress scion played into the hands of the Islamists who have been hellbent on indoctrinating Muslims en masse that they are not safe in India.
The vitriolic narrative had been in motion for a long time and amplified by several folds after the Narendra Modi government was voted to power in 2014.
A man called Khalid Parvez from Bangalore, Karnataka, who claims to be a former employee of Apple, took to LinkedIn to claim that he had quit the company after working there for 11 years without a job in his hand because of workplace and mental harassment arising out of Islamophobic comments that were made by his colleagues.
The linked in post by Khalid Parvez was posted by a Twitter account called @SaffronSalim, saying, “An employee who worked at Apple India for 11+ years in various capacities like Sales, Trade etc. had to face Abusive behavior & Islamophobic comments from colleagues. He reported it to HR & Employee Relations. And in the end nothing happened to those employees instead the Muslim employee resigned after months of working with HR & ER hoping there would be some action. When you think all the islamophobia, genocidal atmosphere happens at street & market level like what’s happening in Uttarakhand & your life is not impacted at corporate life. You are wrong”.
An employee who worked at Apple India for 11+ years in various capacities like Sales, Trade etc. had to face Abusive behavior & Islamophobic comments from colleagues. He reported it to HR & Employee Relations. And in the end nothing happened to those employees instead the Muslim… pic.twitter.com/gAmGDsGQE1
The post essentially linked it to the Uttarakhand protests after a minor girl was trapped by a Muslim man. The incident in Purola led to Hindus protesting against the incidents of atrocities against Hindus by the Islamists of Purola. Linking to this incident, the handle claimed that Islamophobia affects even corporates and not just the Muslims in Purola.
The post was then picked up by the mainstream media. Mint reported that Parvez was suffering from mental health issues because Apple dismissed his concerns about Islamophobia. While the Mint in its report added the full text of the LinkedIn post, Hindustan Times embedded the LinkedIn post. The headline of the Hindustan Times report read, “Apple employee in Bengaluru alleges Islamophobia, harassment; quits after HR inaction”.
The post by Khalid Parvez essentially said that he had, for the first time in 11 years, claimed that he was being harassed with abusive words. “But (first time in 11 years) I raised a grievance with HR regarding some serious accusations such as #mentalharassment, #abusivelanguage, a possible #businessmisconduct, #Islamophobic comments and also called out some dumb #managerialerrors that left me and my family living out of a suitcase for 4 months and then ended up causing a butterfly effect of #mentalhealth issues for all of us”, he said.
He further said that the company did conduct a 2-month inquiry but eventually told him that his allegations were unsubstantiated and there was no proof that was found.
Here is the full text of the post by Khalid Parvez:
Yes! I just resigned from the world’s most valuable company without a job in hand! I loved working for Apple It helped me and my family to re-establish ourselves after my father’s demise.
It made me a better professional, a better person. I ended up dedicating a third of my life to this amazing organisation. But (first time in 11 years) I raised a grievance with HR regarding some serious accusations such as #mentalharassment, #abusivelanguage, a possible #businessmisconduct, #Islamophobic comments and also called out some dumb #managerialerrors that left me and my family living out of a suitcase for 4 months and then ended up causing a butterfly effect of #mentalhealth issues for all of us.
I was asked to “trust the system” and was assured of a proper investigation.
All I expected to hear was a few words of compassion – empathising with what I went through and some measures to ensure that it doesn’t happen again
But after 2 months of supposedly “thorough” investigation the #employeerelations comes back with nothing but denial, insensitivity, counter accusations and ended up ridiculing my mental health and family issues.
Until then I assumed that my battle was against the few gentlemen that I accused. I wasn’t prepared that I would be met with some kind of legal deposition. It seemed like the ER Executive was hellbent on protecting the company and management’s interest – not the employee.
I was bullied with statements from the ER ridiculing my mental health saying “If you want Apple to acknowledge that your mental health issue’s happened because of Apple – then I’m sorry. We are not medical experts.” When I asked what if my mental health worsens – the ER replied saying “In that case, we would need a doctor’s certificate to ascertain that you are medically fit to work.” When I asked about the Islamophobic comments – the ER said that none of my statements/incidents were substantiated by other employees.
This is when I understood that there was never an investigation, this was some major corporate cover up. Now I had a tough choice. Either fight against these bullies or choose to handle a family emergency. I preferred to walk away as my family needed me more than my will to fight back against the corporate giant. I resigned the very next day.
The only reason why I am calling out these #hypocrites is to convey a message to my fellow #Apple Colleagues and all my fellow corporate victims. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions, please raise your voice whenever you see discrimination, misconduct, any kind of abuse or bullying – DON’T TRUST THE SYSTEM BLINDLY like I did (at least don’t trust the local system). Please escalate. Escalate beyond the regional/national teams. And please document each and everything. And I would ask all of you out there, has something like this happened to you? Has anyone here got stuck in this kind of corporate legal bullshit? How did you deal with it or come out of it? #Appletoo Ashish Chowdhary
What the media missed to highlight
While the media seemed keen on picking up a story that drummed up the trope of Islamophobia, they missed to highlight a few crucial points in the post of Parvez, which indicates that the trope of Islamophobia is possibly being used to even other scores.
First and foremost, it is important to note that Khalid Parvez has mentioned no specifics in his post. He has not mentioned what the so-called Islamophobic comments were and how he was mentally harassed by his colleagues. We have no idea what these comments were and why he apparently spiralled with mental issues.
The second most important point is that while he claims he quit because of Islamophobia, he himself admits that the company did conduct a two month long inquiry into his allegations and found no proof. Given that even in a LinkedIn post, Parvez has provided no proof or details of these comments, one is left wondering what these allegations really were. Parvez, according to his post, has quit the company and his LinkedIn post is meant to announce the same. After quitting, he has no compulsions to make his post vague and not given details of the so-called harassment he faced.
Further, in his post, he mentions that he had raised some concerns over “business misconduct” and certain managerial errors which led to him apparently “living out of a suitcase for 4 months”. He has provided no evidence or details of the alleged misconduct or managerial errors either, just like his charge of Islamophobic conduct. Even if we assume that there was some managerial conduct, it is entirely possible that the claims of Islamophobic conduct is being made to settle scores for the alleged managerial errors.
Fact remains that while the media will pick this story up and drum it up simply because it mentions Islamophobia, the LinkedIn post which was highlighted on Twitter first has no evidence and no specifics to be taken at face value.
Nepal has objected to Mata Seeta being called ‘Bharat Ki Beti’ (India’s daughter). As per reports, a dialogue in the movie Adipurush, where Lord Ram (played by Baahubali star Prabhas) is asking the Vanar Sena to fight to save India’s daughter from the captivity of Ravana, has created some controversy in Nepal.
Nepal, proud of its temple town of Janakpur, considers Mata Seeta as Nepal’s daughter, not India’s daughter.
Kathmandu Mayor threatens ban
Belen Shah, the Mayor of the Kathmandu metropolitan area had taken a strong objection to Mata Seeta being referred to as ‘India’s daughter’, had asserted that she is, in fact, Nepal’s daughter, and the makers of Aadipurush had been given 3-days time to remove the allegedly controversial dialogue from the movie.
दक्षिण भारतीय फिल्म ‘आदिपुरुष’मा समावेश ‘जानकी भारतीय छोरी हुन्’ भन्ने सब्द जबसम्म नेपालमा मात्र नभै भारतमा पनि सच्चिदैन तब सम्म काठमाडौ महानगर पालिका भित्र कुनै पनि हिन्दी फिल्म चल्न दिइने छैन । यो सच्याउन ३ दिनको समय दिइएको छ । माता सीताको जय होस । pic.twitter.com/4VwEhEgOki
Many Nepali citizens supported Belen Shah’s call and demanded a ban on Adipurush unless the allegedly controversial dialogue was removed from the movie.
Maa Janaki was the daughter of Rajyashree Seeradhwaja Janak, King of Mithila, Nepal. Misleading information about Maa Janaki as the daughter of India should be corrected. @omraut and the entire team of Adipurush#ADIPURUSH#AdipurushReviewpic.twitter.com/GO6CL5YySq
— Shudesh Raj Singh (@shudeshrajsingh) June 15, 2023
It is notable here that Belen Shah had demanded that the dialogue must be removed/corrected not just in Nepal, but in India too. Further going a step ahead, he had also declared that no Hindi/Indian movie will be allowed to be released in Nepal if the makers of Adipurush do not correct their ‘mistake’.
Aadipurush makers correct their ‘mistake’
As per the latest news, the makers of Aadipurush agreed to remove the dialogue from the movie. Following this the Censor Board in Nepal has now okayed the movie for release in Nepal.
Janakpur, Mithila, Mata Seeta
It is notable here that Mata Seeta is believed to have been born in Janakpur, Nepal which was once the part of the Mithila kingdom under Rajarshi Janak. Mata Seeta is known as ‘Jaanaki’ because she was the adopted daughter of King Janak. Seeta, a manifestation of Goddess Lakshmi, was a blessing from Prithvi Mata (mother earth), and King Janak had raised her as his daughter.
Janakpur in Nepal has a grand Janki temple for Mata Seeta, the daughter of Mithila who is the mother goddess of all Hindus worldwide.
Grand Janki Temple in Nepal’s Janakpur
In 2018, PM Modi had visited the Janki Temple during his official visit to Nepal. He had also inaugurated the Ayodhya-Janakpur bus service, connecting the two important cities of the Ramayana pilgrimage.
Located in the Dhanusha district in the Terai region in Nepal, Janakpur boasts of numerous temples, monasteries, and artistic centres.
It is not just regarded as Seeta’s birthplace, but as it was the capital of the ancient Mithila kingdom, the breaking of the Shiv Dhanush and the wedding of Lord Ram and Mata Seeta is also believed to have taken place here. Thousands of Hindus visit this city every year. Vivaha Panchami is celebrated with much fanfare.
Needless controversy?
Mata Seeta is the mother goddess of every Hindu, be it Nepali or Indian. Following the controversy, many Twitter users have pointed out the simple fact that the ancient kingdoms of Ayodhya and Mithila were all a part of the Indian subcontinent, generally called Bharatvarsha in Indic belief systems and literature. The modern-day national boundaries of India and Nepal do not limit or define the faith and languages of a people who have been living here for thousands of years.
The ‘Mithila’ region contains parts of Bihar and Jharkhand too. And most of all, Mata Seeta is the daughter of this land, the mother goddess of every Hindu.
In Nepal, India bashing is the most popular political gimmick. The controversy around Mata Seeta being addressed as ‘Bharat Ki Beti’ only shows the level of juvenile stunts that pass as politics in the neighbouring country.
Former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday slammed the Siddaramaiah government over its decision to repeal the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2022, (popularly called the anti-conversion Bill) and said that the Congress government is jeopardizing the interests of the people of the state.
This comes after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamiah on Thursday decided to repeal the Anti-Conversion law brought in by the previous Bommai-led BJP government. Hitting out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Bommai said that it seems like the Karnataka CM who is ruling the state at the mercy of the high command is jeopardizing the interest of the people in favour of the high command.
“Who does the Government think it is appeasing by deciding to repeal the Anti-Conversion Bill that has been plaguing our society? It seems that Siddaramaiah, who is ruling the state at the mercy of the high command, is jeopardizing the interests of the people of the state in favour of the high command,” Bommai said in his tweet.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress government in Karnataka, Bommai said that the government is resorting to politics of hatred and appeasement, ever since it came to power.
“Ever since the Congress government came to power in the state, it has been resorting to politics of hatred and appeasement, and it is acting as if just cancelling the decisions of the previous government is only its achievement,” Bommai tweeted.
Bommai further said that instead of discussing the lack of potable water in the state due to the failure of the monsoon, the present government is taking decisions in vengeance in the cabinet and is a bane to the state’s people.
The former CM tweeted, “Due to the failure of monsoon in the state, potable water has become scarce in many villages and the water table has collapsed.
Failure of monsoon has dealt a big blow to the farmers. Instead of discussing this issue in the cabinet meeting and redressing it, the present Government has taken decisions in vengeance and is a bane to the people of Karnataka in distress.”
Bommai said that in the guise of revisions of textbooks, the state government is removing the lesson of Dr Keshav Balram Hedgewar, the founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and another lesson on Veer Savarkar, which is tantamount to treason.
“The decision to remove the lesson on Dr Keshav Balram Hedgewar, the founder of the patriotic organization RSS, who infused all with patriotism and another lesson on Veer Savarkar; all in the guise of revision of textbooks, is tantamount to treason,” said the former CM in his tweet.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On Thursday, June 15, an agitated mob comprising locals burned down the house of the accused in the gruesome Manohar Lal murder case in the Salooni area in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Earlier the protestors led a demonstration outside the Kihar Police Station. The protestors raised some slogans and demanded stern action against the killers of the 21-year-old Manohar Lal.
Following the incident, section 144 has been imposed in the Kihar police station area. The Hindu victim Manohar Lal was in a relationship with a Muslim girl named Rukhsana. The girl’s family was opposed to their relationship, however, the police have insisted that there is no ‘communal angle’ to the murder.
Meanwhile, DIG Kangra Range Abhishek Dullar stated that a crowd of over 1,000 people congregated in Bhandal village and burned down the accused’s residence. The police evacuated all family members and anyone related to the accused in the murder case. According to him, the police have arrested around ten people who were involved in the burning of the accused’s residence.
गुस्साई भीड़ ने आग के हवाले किया हत्या आरोपियों का घर
• चंबा के किहार में 21 वर्षीय मनोहर की हुई है नृशंस हत्या
SP Chamba, Abhishek Yadav said that the police have arrested three persons Shabbir, Musafir and Farida on murder charges and have detained two minors as well.
The BJP leader and former CM of Himachal Pradesh, Jairam Thakur on Thursday raised the demand to hand over the probe in the case to National Investigation Agency (NIA).
According to Jairam Thakur, the accused first called Manohar to their home. He was then beaten with rods, and Manohar, who was unconscious at the time, was sliced into eight pieces. According to Jairam Thakur, the accused’s ties are also linked to terrorists. During demonetisation, the accused swapped notes worth Rs 95 lakh, and he also has two crore rupees in his account, despite the fact that the accused’s means of income are modest. The accused owns three bighas of land and have captured 100 bighas of land.
Moreover, Thakur alleged that the accused were also linked to the Satrundi terror attack in Chamba in 1998. This incident claimed the lives of 35 people.
Manohar Lal was brutally murdered for being in a relationship with a Muslim girl named Rukhsana. Following the murder, his body was chopped into eight pieces and thrown in a water stream in Bhandal village, Salooni subdivision, Chamba district, last week.
On June 6, the Hindu youth went missing while returning home from his cowshed on the hilltop. He allegedly proceeded to meet his lover, a Muslim girl. The girl’s family allegedly beat him with sticks and then sliced up his body and put it into a drain when he died. While patrolling in the region on June 9, four soldiers from the Indian Reserve Battalion discovered the body. Some media reports suggest that the chopped body was found in a sack after locals noticed it and informed the police.
Hindu organisations learned about the incident and demanded strict action against the accused. A case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other relevant sections has been filed against the accused.
Violence continues in the northeastern state of Manipur, with miscreants torching the residence of Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh in Imphal’s Kongba on Thursday night.
The residence in Imphal was set on fire while the minister was in Kerala. Speaking exclusively to ANI, MoS MEA said, “It is extremely sad to see what happened last night. I was told that more than 50 miscreants attacked my home at around 10 pm. Damage has been done to the ground floor and the first floor of my residence. Neither me or anybody from my family was present during that time. Thankfully, nobody got injured.”
While Singh comes from the Meiti community, he has continued to appeal to both sides to stay away from violence and restore peace in the state.
“An eye for an eye will make the whole world go blind. Violence doesn’t help any cause. Those who are indulging in this violence are doing a huge disservice to the nation. It also reflects that they are enemies of humanity,” Singh tells ANI. On June 14 in Imphal East, nine people were killed while more than 10 were injured. Yesterday, the state government extended the clamp on internet in the state up to June 20.
On Wednesday, miscreants tried to burn down the official residence of Manipur minister Nemcha Kipgen in Imphal West. His home was partly burnt.
Since the last month and a half, there have been restrictions in the state of Manipur, including clamp down on the internet. On May 29, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the northeastern state for a period of four days during which he held meetings with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, leaders of all political parties, civil society, women groups, tribal groups and security personnel. Shah had announced that a peace committee would be formed in the state. The committee was formed days after the announcement by the Home Minister.
Violence gripped Manipur on May 3, as clashes were witnessed during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for the inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
The ethnic violence continues to grip the state for over a month, in the wake of a directive of the High Court asking the state government to consider including the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Central paramilitary forces were posted in the state to control the violence and they still continue to be deployed across the state.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the FIR and chargesheet which was registered in 2006 against singer Mika Singh for allegedly kissing actor Rakhi Sawant forcibly.
The FIR and chargesheet have been quashed with Rakhi Sawant’s consent. High Court ordered quashing the FIR after Rakhi’s lawyer didn’t oppose the plea. The
FIR was registered after Mika was accused of allegedly grabbing and forcibly kissing Rakhi at a party at a restaurant in Mumbai suburbs. Mika was charged under Sections 354 (molestation) and 323 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Mika, in April this year, moved the High Court to quash the FIR and subsequent chargesheet filed by the police.
The High Court on Thursday perused the affidavit submitted by Rakhi which stated that she and Mika had amicably resolved their differences.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Hitting out at the Congress party, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj on Thursday came out with an ‘offer’ for the grand old party, saying that if it doesn’t contest elections in Delhi and Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will also not contest the upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh and in Rajasthan.
This comes at a time when AAP is looking forward to getting support from the Congress against the Centre’s ordinance over control of administrative services in Delhi. “Congress party got zero seats in the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections in Delhi. If Congress says they will not fight elections in Delhi-Punjab, then we will also say we will not fight elections in MP-Rajasthan,” the AAP leader said while addressing a press conference here in the national capital on Thursday.
Saurabh Bhardwaj also took a jibe at the grand old party calling it “Copy-Cat-Congress” and said that it lacks its own, that’s why they are stealing the manifesto of the Aam Aadmi Party.
“Congress is the oldest party of the country. But, today it has become C-C-C, Copy-Cut-Congress. They are stealing everything from Arvind Kejriwal. They have no idea of their own left. Now it is coming to the fore that Congress not only lacks leadership but also lacks ideas. Congress does not have such a mechanism to know the people’s aspirations,” he said.
Bhardwaj added, “The biggest example of this is that today this country’s oldest party is stealing the manifesto of the country’s newest party AAP. Arvind Kejriwal called our manifesto a guarantee. Even this guarantee word has been stolen by the Congress”.
He further said that the Congress party had earlier mocked AAP’s free electricity and monthly allowances to women, but now it is itself promising the schemes in other states.
“When we talked about giving free electricity in Delhi, the Congress made fun of us. But, it copied Arvind Kejriwal’s guarantee in Himachal Pradesh and promised 300 units of free electricity. It also mocked our free allowance to women in Punjab, but later itself announced it in Himachal and Karnataka,” he said.
He also took a dig at Congress for not being able to take the decision on whether to support AAP on the ordinance issue or not. “Decisions are often delayed in the Congress party. They could not form the government in Goa on time and the BJP took away the MLA by breaking the party,” he added.
From May 23, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal embarked on a nationwide tour to seek support from the Opposition parties against the Ordinance.
The party also held a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila ground on May 11 against the ordinance.
The AAP national convenor has so far met with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
The Union government on May 19 brought an ordinance to notify rules for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) regarding the ‘transfer posting, vigilance and other incidental matters’.
The ordinance was brought to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and it circumvents the Supreme Court judgement in the Centre vs Delhi case.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
