In Chakradharpur city of West Singbhum district of Jharkhand, four people have been arrested for conducting religious conversion drive and distributing related books in the garb of providing free education. In Kendo panchayat of Devgaon, three women and a man used to visit the Neeche Tola’s Kolsai village saying that they want to promote education and distributed pen, pencil, notebooks etc among the village children.
On Wednesday, June 7, the villagers found that their children have been provided books containing information about Jesus Christ and the Bible. Following this, they raised an objection and informed Sangeeta Savaiya, the deputy head of the village panchayat about it. Subsequently, Chakradharpur Police Station was informed about the attempt to convert the children to Christianity by teaching them books related to their religion. Sub-Inspector Vivek Pal arrived at the said village and arrested the four accused persons.
Deputy head of the panchayat Sangeeta Savaiya said that she was informed by the villagers that three women and a man are propagating Christianity in the name of free education over the last few days. She added that the village children were provided a book titled “Chitrankan Mera Saccha Adarsh”.
Book distributed to children in Devgaon containing references to Jesus Christ and the Bible (Image via Lagatar.in)
The book included assignments in which children were instructed to colour some pictures. These exercises made mention of Jesus Christ or the Bible.
Book distributed to children in Devgaon containing references to Jesus Christ (Image via Lagatar.in)
Meanwhile, Chandrashekhar Kumar, the in-charge of Chakradharpur police station, stated that several persons had been apprehended at Devgaon. He added that an investigation has been initiated into the matter.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha knocked on the doors of Delhi’s Patiala House Courts against the Rajya Sabha Secretariat after the latter cancelled the allotment of a Type-VII bungalow to him in March this year.
According to the Rajya Sabha Members Handbook, first-time MP Chadha is entitled to Type-V accommodation. MPs who are former Union Cabinet Ministers, former Governors or former Chief Ministers and former Lok Sabha Speakers, are entitled to Type-VII bungalow. Despite this, the AAP leader said that he has been ‘dispossessed’ from the official bungalow without due procedure and called the action taken by the RS Secretariat ‘illegal’ and ‘arbitrary’.
Chadha told TIE that he was not surprised that the allotment was cancelled. Calling the move a part of BJP’s vendetta politics, Raghav Chadha said it was an attempt to intimidate and silence him.
“The cancellation of my allotted house is not an administrative decision; it is a blatant reflection of the BJP’s vindictive nature. The act reeks of political bias. It attempts to suppress my fearless voice in the Rajya Sabha, to pressurise and coerce me, and prevent me from holding the government accountable on core issues. Such acts of the executives targeting selective parliamentarians tantamount to illegal and unwarranted interference in the due discharge of their functions as the Representatives of the House. With its actions, the BJP has hit rock bottom of vendetta politics and jeopardised the basic structure of the Constitution itself, which envisages fearless discussions and dissent by the elected members of the House,” he said in a written reply.
Chadha said the cancellation notice was passed without any notice to him. “It bears mentioning that the allotment of the said accommodation was done by the Hon’ble Chairman of Rajya Sabha following the due process of law, after which the possession was taken, and I moved in with my family,” he said.
The court, as of now, has passed a stay order against the dispossession and listed the matter for the next hearing on July 10.
Why Raghav Chadha is not eligible for a Type-VIII bungalow
According to the Rajya Sabha Members Handbook, which was published in April 2022, Chadha is qualified for a Type-V accommodation in the ordinary course as he is a first-time member of parliament.
The handbook further states that MPs are eligible for Type-VII accommodations, the second-highest category accessible to Rajya Sabha MPs, if they have previously held the positions of Union Cabinet Minister, Governor, Chief Minister, or Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The two aforementioned standards are not met by Chadha.
Furthermore, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat’s respective House Committees are principally in charge of assigning accommodations to MPs. According to the present rules, former Union Ministers who are still in office as Members of Parliament are permitted to keep their accommodations as Ministers until the appropriate House Committee assigns them to their rightful category.
However, the senior officials continue to reside in larger houses, as is customary among Indian politicians. The House Committee frequently grants relaxations to highly experienced leaders.
In Raghav Chadha’s case, he was given a Type-VII bungalow in New Delhi by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat last year on a special request made by him to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The Type-VII bungalow was allotted on request
It may be noted that as per the April 18 order of the Patiala House Court, Chadha, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in March last year, was allotted a Type-6 bungalow, C-1/12, Pandara Park, on July 6, 2022.
After this, the AAP leader requested Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on 29 August 2022 to allot him a Type-7 bungalow. Considering his request, he was allotted Bungalow No. AB-5, Pandara Road, New Delhi on 8 September 2022. After accepting the allotment, Chadha moved in with his parents and got some renovation work done there.
After this, on March 3, he got the notice of cancellation of the allotment.
AAP and controversy over bungalows seem to have become a norm
Prior to this, the images of the sprawling mansion of AAP chief ‘aam admi’ Arvind Kejriwal went viral on social media.
As per a report by Times Now, the mansion is located at 6 Flagstaff Road in the Civil Lines area of the National Capital. Dubbed as the ‘Sheesh Mehal’ of the Delhi Chief Minister, it is spread across a 13000 square feet area.
An investigation by Times Now Navbharat found that the official bungalow of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Civil Lines was renovated at a cost of almost Rs 45 crore. The report, termed “Operation Sheesh Mahal,” said that Rs 44.78 crore of taxpayer funds were utilised for the renovations, raising questions about the Aam Aadmi Party’s commitment to promoting austerity.
The channel obtained documents that indicate the curtains at Arvind Kejriwal’s residence were priced at around Rs 5-8 lakh per piece. According to the documents, 23 curtains were approved for installation at the residence of Delhi CM and AAP national convenor, with a total cost of Rs 97 lakhs.
It appears that the cast and crew of Adipurush are always dogged by controversy. In the latest incident, Om Raut, the director of Adipurush, caused outrage when he kissed actress Kriti Sanon at Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirupati on June 7. The movie’s team attended a pre-release ceremony at Tirupati’s Sri Venkateswara University Stadium after which the duo was spotted at the temple for darshan. He was seen kissing Kriti Sanon goodbye outside the temple premises.
The Chilkur Balaji Temple’s head priest in Telangana called the action condemnable and voiced his opposition to it. “This is a condemnable act. Even a husband and wife do not go there (temple) together. You can go to a hotel room and do it. Your behaviour is like insulting Ramayan, and Goddess Sita,” he stated.
Ramesh Naidu Nagothu, the state secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, expressed his disapproval at the public display of affection in a now-deleted tweet.
Source: Twitter
“After coming to the temple, I feel extremely amazing. It felt nice. We had a great darshan today morning. Yesterday, we put out the trailer. It’s a mesmerising feeling and I cannot put it into words,” Om Raut said while talking about his temple visit.
Many people opposed before when Kriti Sanon visited the Sita Cave and Kalaram Temple in Panchavati, Nashik. They were of the view that as their film’s release date approaches, Bollywood people start to practise religion. At the same time, several people advocated banning the use of religious places for movie marketing.
Adipurush is a cinematic adaption of the Indian epic Ramayana, which is directed by Om Raut. Kriti Sanon portrays Janaki in the movie, while Prabhas plays Raghav along with Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh. Sunny Singh appears as Lakshmana and Devdatta Nage dons the role of Bajrang. The multi-lingual project is reportedly made at a humungous budget of Rs 500 crore and is co-financed by Retrophiles and Bhushan Kumar’s T-series. It is all set to release in theatres on June 16 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
The movie was earlier in controversy over the look of the characters and perceived poor VFX. When the teaser of the movie was first released in October last year, the Ravana played by Saif Ali Khan resembled an Islamic invader and the look of Hanumana also didn’t resemble the description in Ramayana. Ram and Lakshman were seen wearing leather attire, which went against the description of simple attire during exile.
Another case of love jihad has emerged from the city of Kolhapur in Maharashtra which had recently witnessed violence over an objectionable WhatApp status praising Aurangzeb and Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan. The Police have booked two persons identified as Imdad Nayakwadi and Salman Pathan for issuing death threats to a Hindu minor and then abducting her and also trying to force her into marriage.
The case has been booked under sections 366 (Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 363 (Abduction), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (act furthering criminal conduct) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
FIR copy obtained by OpIndia
As per the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the case dates back to October 2022, but the complaint in the case was filed only on June 3 this year after the mother of the victim girl established contact with the girl to learn that she was brutally being beaten by the accused, Imdad.
The saga began in October last year when Imdad barged into the home of the victim girl and threatened her mother. “Send your daughter with me otherwise I’ll kill you and your daughters,” he said.
Accused identified in the copy
The victim girl was then abducted by the accused who later happened to force her into marriage. The accused, after a few days of abduction, again returned with his aide Salman Pathan and threatened the girl’s mother to keep quiet about the matter.
As per the complaint filed by the victim girl’s mother, the girl was taken to a specific locality by the accused and was made to reside in a rented apartment. The girl happened to call her mother after 2 to 3 months in which she revealed her location. The mother then immediately reached the spot and rescued the girl.
However, after a week or so, Imdad came home again and took the girl away with him. He also issued threats and warned the mother to keep quiet. After this incident, the mother kept in touch with the girl out of concern but could not trace her in person.
“Recently, she called me and said that Imdad was brutally beating her and that he has kept her hostage. She is not allowed to talk to the neighbours, or go out, or even talk to me on the phone. He has threatened my daughter that he would kill me and her sister if she does not follow his words,” the mother of the girl said in the complaint.
Complaint registered by girl’s mother
In the handwritten complaint, the woman also said that her daughter is in pain and that she wants her daughter back at any cost. The woman also said that earlier, the accused Imdad and Salman had trapped both her daughters and taken them to Panhala region of the city.
“I am mother of two twin daughters. When these two were in school, they were trapped in a relationship by the accused who later took them to Panhala. The boys had taken the girls away when they were returning home from their school. That time I had filed a complaint against the accused and had got my daughters back,” the mother said.
The FIR earlier registered against Imdad and Salman was filed under sections 354 D and 506 of the IPC. Relevant sections from the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 were also invoked.
A local Muslim corporator threatened the mother to withdraw the case
As per the complaint copy, the age of the victim girl is 17. Some of the audio call records between the mother and the victim obtained by OpIndia reveal that the girl is being brutally harassed and beaten by the accused. “He beats me and does not allow me to go out of the house. He also stops me from talking to the neighbours and over the phone,” the girl could be heard speaking in the records. The girl is also being pressurised for marriage.
The mother of the victim girl also said that a local Muslim corporator has also issued threats to their family and has warned them to withdraw the complaint against the two accused. “One Muslim nagarsevak, Riyaz Subedar threatened us to withdraw the case”, the mother of the girl could be heard saying in one of the phone call recordings obtained by OpIndia.
The FIR in the case has been filed under sections 366 (Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 363 (Abduction), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (act furthering criminal conduct) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Further investigations into the case are underway.
On June 7, protesting wrestler Sakshi Malik and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh shared old photos on social media claiming that these are photos of farmers injured during the agitation demanding MSP for sunflower procurement. In the tweet, Malik wrote, “Farmers only demanded MSP. The cruel administration gave them batons and arrests. We condemn the arrest of Kisan leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni. He should be released at the earliest. The reports of martyr farmers during agitation have brought tears to our eyes.”
किसानों ने सिर्फ़ अपनी फसलों की एमएसपी माँगी थी. लेकिन क्रूर तंत्र ने उन्हें लाठियाँ और गिरफ़्तारियाँ दीं.
किसान नेता गुरनाम सिंह चढूनी की गिरफ़्तारी की हम निंदा करते हैं, उनकी जल्द रिहाई हो.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh wrote, “These are ‘Annadata’ of India. Their crime was they demanded the right price for their crops. Khattar government said, ‘If you demand a [right] price for the crops, we will kill you’.”
ये भारत के अन्नदाता हैं। इनका गुनाह ये है की ये अपने अनाज का सही दाम चाहते है। खट्टर सरकार ने कहा “अनाज का दाम माँगोगे तो जान ले लेंगे” pic.twitter.com/fsOIOqQqYj
Many others shared these images of retweeted tweets claiming that these are farmers assaulted by police during the protest demanding higher MSP. However, all of them are spreading fake news, as the images they shared are several years old, and not related to the recent protest by farmers.
First, let’s discuss the images attached by Sakshi Malik and Sanjay Singh. The first image in which a Sikh man can be seen bareback with baton barks is from 2019. Twitter user Fabulous Guy shared a screenshot of an old tweet that contained the said photograph.
Upon research, OpIndia found that the particular photograph was from 2019. A Sikh driver got into an altercation with Delhi Police leading to injuries. As per reports of the incident, an argument broke out between the Sikh tempo driver of Gramin Sewa and the Delhi police personnel.
Source: Facebook
The Sikh man allegedly charged at the policemen with a sword in his hand. As a result, the Delhi Police personnel retaliated and thrashed him using batons. In the aftermath, the police personnel involved in the incident were suspended. The driver, identified as Sarabjeet Singh, was involved in similar altercations before, but he was let go with a warning.
The second image of a man with a head injury was from 2021. We found a tweet by journalist Mandeep Punia who shared the photograph with the details.
Now coming to the claim that farmer(s) died during the recent altercation between protesting farmers and Haryana Police. There are no reports of any protesting farmer dying during the recent incident. It is unclear where Malik picked the information.
Police cleared NH-44 on court orders
On June 7, Haryana Police used force to clear National Highway 44 (NH-44) at Shahabad in Kurukshetra of protesting farmers following orders from Punjab and Haryana High Court. Under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni), the farmers had blocked the national highway demanding procurement of sunflowers at minimum support price (MSP).
The court directed the Haryana Government’s officials to ensure that NH-44 be kept open for “free flow and movement of the traffic, without any hindrance, so that the public is not inconvenienced”.
Calling the NH-44 lifeline of the country that connects the length and breadth of India, the court made it clear that the administration should exercise utmost restraint and use force to disperse the mob only as a last resort, which the police did.
Days after protests erupted in the Purola region of Uttarkashi against a love jihad case, several Hindu rights organisations staged a protest on Wednesday, June 7, against another similar case wherein two Muslim youths attempted to elope with a minor Hindu girl in Gauchar town in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The Hindu activists protested outside the Gauchar police station demanding action against the Muslim youths.
Reportedly, in Gauchar two Muslim youths who have been identified as Gulzar alias Nitin (26) and Aslam (21) lured a 15-year-old Hindu girl and took her to a hotel on Tuesday, June 6. They told the hotel staff that the girl is the daughter of their maternal aunt. However, the hotel owner grew suspicious and informed the police about it. Meanwhile, one of the accused escaped along with the minor girl.
The other youth Aslam, a resident of Dharampura Sardhana in the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, was caught by the Bajrang Dal activists and locals. Upon questioning Aslam revealed the name of his accomplice Gulzar, who originally hails from Meerut and works as a JCB operator in Rudraprayag. Aslam also said that the girl is a minor and a resident of a village in Rudraprayag. Eventually, both the accused persons were arrested by the Karnprayag police. Accused Gulzar told the police that he got married eight months ago, while he also talked to the minor girl over the phone.
On Wednesday, the minor girl’s father lodged a complaint against Aslam and Gulzar. It has been reported that accused Gulzar had an Instagram account with the name “Nitin Mahakal”.
Meanwhile, Pramendra Dobhal, superintendent of police (SP) Chamoli said, “Police received information about two men attempting to elope with a minor girl. This sparked outrage among the locals. Both of the men have been arrested. They have been booked under Section 8 of the Pocso Act and Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and have been placed in judicial custody. The accused are from Sardhana, Meerut. One of the men had lived in the area for the past 7-8 years, working as a JCB operator in Rudraprayag.”
नाबालिक लड़की को बहला फुसलाकर कर ले जाने वाले समुदाय विशेष के दो युवकों को कर्णप्रयाग पुलिस ने किया गिरफ्तार। pic.twitter.com/mtLcrNgB91
— Chamoli Police Uttarakhand (@chamolipolice) June 7, 2023
Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi said that as a measure of precaution, a platoon of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) was stationed in the town.
The locals were agitated as several similar cases of love jihad have emerged in Uttarakhand. Meanwhile, the police have appealed to people not to pay heed to any sort of rumours.
Speaking to the media, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dham addressed the issue of love jihad and said that his government is strict against such cases. He added that the police have been directed to conduct an investigation and take stringent action against the perpetrators.
On Wednesday, June 7, the Maharashtra police arrested a 56-year-old man for allegedly murdering his live-in partner and dismembering her body before disposing of it. The police revealed that the man chopped his partner’s body with a tree cutter and boiled her body parts in a pressure cooker. He later filled them into plastic bags to dispose of them. The victim has been identified as 32-year-old Saraswati Vaidya.
#WATCH | Maharashtra | 32-year-old woman killed by 56-year-old live-in partner | As per Police, the accused Manoj Sahni killed Saraswati Vaidya 3-4 days back and after that, he purchased a tree-cutter to chop her into pieces. Police say that the accused boiled pieces of her body… pic.twitter.com/ilFUfWVOLY
Police suspect that Manoj Sahani, the accused, committed the heinous murder on June 4 (Sunday).
“Police have found a body of a woman who had been cut into pieces, from a society in the Mira Road area. Here a couple was living in a live-in relationship. A preliminary investigation revealed that the woman was hacked to death. Further Investigation underway,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Mumbai Jayant Bajbale said.
Police are trying to find out the motive behind the murder. Police have taken two suspects into custody Manoj Sahani is also being interrogated.
According to the police, Manoj Sahani, who worked at a small ration shop in Boriwali, had lived with Saraswati Vaidya in flat 704 at the Geeta Akash Deep building in Geeta Nagar Phase 7 for the last three years. The police sprung to action after local residents called the Nayanagar police station around 7 pm on Wednesday and reported a foul smell emanating from the flat.
When the police reached the spot and opened the door of the flat located in the J wing of the Akashdeep building, they found Manoj Sahni sitting inside. He tried to flee upon seeing the cops but was nabbed with the help of the residents. When police entered the flat, they found over 12-13 pieces of the woman’s body at the site. The accused had reportedly disposed of some of the body parts over the past two to three days.
As per the police, a preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had first strangulated the victim to death. After that, he used electric cutters to chop the victim’s body into several pieces. The accused reportedly boiled the dismembered body parts of the victim and then filled them in plastic bags. Some media reports have quoted local residents as alleging that Sahni ground the boiled body parts and flushed them in the toilet. At the same time, some people claimed that after boiling, the pieces were fed to the dogs.
A report in TOI quoted residents as telling the police that Sahani was seen feeding stray dogs in the locality over the past two to three days, something that he had never done in the past.
News 18 quoted sources in the police as saying that when the officers entered the apartment, it was almost impossible for them to stand due to the strong stench. Many air fresheners were kept in the house.
“A tree cutter was kept in the hall and black plastic was spread all over the bed in the bedroom. The victim’s hair was lying in the bedroom. There were also three buckets kept in the kitchen, in which there were small pieces of the body and it was filled with blood,” a source said.
Police said that Sahani showed no sign of remorse. “We are in the process of registering an FIR against him for murder and destruction of evidence,” an officer said on Wednesday evening. A forensic team was called to collect samples and evidence from the apartment.
Police were told by block residents that the couple did not socialise with anyone. Their flat door had no nameplate and was registered in Sonam Builders’ name.
According to reports, Manoj Sahani met Saraswati, a resident of Ahmednagar, around 5 years ago at the ration shop he worked in. They moved in together in a rented apartment in Mumbai’s Mira Road, where the crime was committed. According to the authorities, the accused came up with the plot to murder his live-in partner after learning about the grisly murder of Shraddha Walker last year.
Shraddha Walker was killed by her live-in partner Aftab, who chopped her body into 35 pieces and kept them in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his house in Delhi before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight. The case came to light only six months later, when Walkar’s father filed a missing person complaint after failing to contact her for months. Aaftab Poonawala was arrested by the Delhi police and charged with murder and destruction of evidence.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Wednesday sentenced two men, Harpal Singh alias Raju (50) and Gurjeet Singh Nijjar (42) for conspiring to revive the Khalistan movement and indulging in illegal acts. The former is a driver from Karnataka and the latter is a labourer from Punjab. They admitted to the allegations against them and were sentenced to five years of incarceration.
The duo were found guilty of many offences, notably terrorism-related charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), according to special judge A M Patil besides relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Maharashtra Police Act.
Even though the accused accepted their guilt, the prosecution argued that in light of the facts and circumstances of the case, they should face the worst punishment possible. However, defence attorney H Y Kotwala and the duo maintained that they are the sole wage earners in the household.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad initially reported the case on December 2, 2018, when Harpal Singh was taken into custody. Later, it was turned over to the NIA. On December 22, 2020, Gurjeet Singh Nijjar was placed under arrest. The amount of time they have already served in prison will be reduced from the final sentence.
Sundar Lal Parashar, a retired assistant commissioner of police (ACP) in Delhi, and Moin Khan are the other two individuals currently awaiting trial in the same case. The NIA asserted that the four conspirators planned to revive Sikh militancy with the purpose of establishing a distinct Khalistan state.
The prosecution stated that in an effort to persuade impressionable Sikh youths to join the Khalistan movement, the accused posted videos and messages in support of terrorists Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Jagtar Singh Hawara (who was convicted of killing former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh), as well as videos about Operation Blue Star and the outlawed Babbar Khalsa International. The primary conspirator was Gurjeet Singh Nijjar, who had spent a number of years living in Cyprus.
“After understanding the contents of the charge, voluntarily and willingly, the accused pleaded guilty to the charge. Both the accused are fully aware of the consequences of advancing plead guilt,” the judge noted.
Rahul Gandhi has been on a 10-day tour to the USA. During his tour, he had several speaking engagements where he certainly stirred the pot, probably to the detriment of his own party and political career. His speech revolved around the usual themes – Hindus bad, Muslims god, Congress peaceful, ‘Hindu BJP’ communal, Muslim League secular, Rahul Gandhi victim, Modi bad. There was, however, a little-known detail about his tour that almost managed to fly under the radar – that Rahul Gandhi paid a secret visit to the White House.
An article in the Economic Times written by one Seema Sirohi, it was claimed that Rahul Gandhi during his visit made a trip to the White House, which both parties involved – the Biden administration and Rahul Gandhi (Congress) chose to keep under the wraps. Seema Sirohi confirmed that the article was accurate and she was standing by it when she responded to a Twitter user dismissing claims that she was a Modi critic.
The article written by Seema Sirohi was one that praised Rahul Gandhi to the moon and back. Seema wrote about how Rahul Gandhi had matured as far as foreign policy was concerned, had valued the USA as a strategic partner, enthused the diaspora and essentially, made his mark during his USA trip. The only slip-up according to Seema Sirohi was calling IUML “secular”. Her reasons for this assertion were hilarious at best and sinister at worst.
She claimed that Rahul Gandhi should not have claimed that IUML was “secular” because it went against the Shah Bano verdict, a protest which Congress yielded to at that time, denying Muslim women their right. While that may be true, the reason why IUML is not secular is because it is a religious organisation which partook in the partition of India, is an offshoot of Jinnah’s Muslim League and has gone on a rampage against Hindus, created violence several times in the past.
Be that as it may, one essential part of the report was tucked away in one sentence, amidst all the glowing praise being showered on Rahul Gandhi. That he made a secret trip to the White House during his US tour.
Article in the Economic Times
For an opposition leader to visit the White House in ‘secret’, without disclosing it to the government of India and the MEA, is a serious breach of protocol and could potentially undermine India’s interests. Given these revelations, several commentators took to Twitter to voice their speculations.
HinduACT, an advocacy organisation, took to Twitter to say, “A strong critic of @PMOIndia and #Hindutva, veteran journalist @seemasirohi admits in this detailed article, that @RahulGandhi‘s embrace of ANTI-INDIA groups, giving them full-control his Washington DC events, points to a problematic trend. Seema however stops short of highlighting the fact that many of these “anti-India” groups are actually #Pakistan proxies, linked to both #Khalistani separatists and #Kashmiri Islamists”.
A strong critic of @PMOIndia and #Hindutva, veteran journalist @seemasirohi admits in this detailed article, that @RahulGandhi's embrace of ANTI-INDIA groups, giving them full-control his Washington DC events, points to a problematic trend.
Sunanda Vashisht, a journalist, writer and commentator also noted that the article does not note who he met at the White House.
According to this report Rahul Gandhi went to the White House. Doesn’t say who he met there. The visit has been kept a secret by both sides. pic.twitter.com/BVwsD6rN8X
— Sunanda Vashisht (@sunandavashisht) June 7, 2023
Ram, a USA based entrepreneur also noted that one could expect significant meddling in the 2024 General Elections in India given that Rahul Gandhi went to the White House. He speculated that this ‘secret’ visit reeked of a regime change operation.
A secret visit of RaGa to the White House means a regime change operation has moved to the next level. As India rises AND refuses to align fully with American foreign policy positions, Modi in office poses high risk. They need a puppet regime. Expect significant meddling in 2024
Notably, Rahul Gandhi had invited severe backlash many times after he sought foreign intervention in India’s political matters during his controversial visits abroad. Rahul Gandhi had urged the US and Europe to intervene to “restore” democracy in India. Rahul claimed that Europe and the US are not doing enough to restore democracy in India as they are getting trade and money from the country.
In a long speech made at Cambridge earlier in 2023, Rahul Gandhi resorted to blatant lies, misinformation and baseless claims to make a case for himself as the ‘ideal leader’ of India. Completely ignoring India’s electoral and democratic process, the Congress prince was seen desperately pleading with Western powers to intervene in India’s politics for a regime change operation against Modi. The speech is explained here.
In 2021 as well, Rahul Gandhi had demanded foreign interference. Rahul Gandhi made the comments during an online interaction with Ambassador Nicholas Burns of the Harvard Kennedy School. The Gandhi scion was invited by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics to talk about challenges and opportunities in India and reflections on politics and public service. Nicholas Burns is a former American ambassador to Greece, and currently a Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Rahul Gandhi asked for American interference in India towards the end of the program, after host Nicholas Burns had delivered his concluding remarks. After Burns concluded the session, Rahul Gandhi asks if he can make a quick ending comment. He then proceeds to say, “I don’t hear anything from the US establishment about what is happening in India. If you are saying partnership in democracy is, I mean, what’s your view on what is happening here?” Burns was visibly shocked after hearing this open offer from Rahul Gandhi for asking for America to comment on India’s internal matters.
Rahul Gandhi also added, “I fundamentally believe, that America is a profound idea. The idea of freedom, the way it is encapsulated in your constitution is a very powerful idea. But you got to defend that idea. And that’s the real question.” However, Nicholas Burns didn’t respond to this specifically, only saying that when they will hold the next session in two weeks with another guest from India, they will discuss these matters.
There have been several instances where Congress and Rahul Gandhi proved that they are not above compromising India’s interest at the altar of electoral politics. For example, In September 2018, the Gandhi scion visited Kailash Mansarovar and a year later admitted to having secretly met the Chinese ministers during his visit. The word secretly is used here as there were no media reports about his meeting with the Chinese. On a question regarding concerns of automation in job creation, Rahul Gandhi while speaking at a meeting in Odisha said that a couple of Chinese ministers told him during his Kailash visit that China is facing no problem in job creation due to automation. He said “how can China, in a world which is automated, is producing 50,000 new jobs in every 24 hours? Why? Why is it that automation is a problem in Europe, and automation is a problem in India, but automation does not seem to bother the Chinese? When I had gone to Kailash, I met a couple of their ministers, and they said no job creation is not a problem in China at all. We have plenty of jobs.” This pattern was repeated when he met Chinese Ambassadors after the Doklam standoff as well.
With repeated demands for foreign interference by Rahul Gandhi, the fact that he visited the White House in secret during his USA tour has raised concerns and speculations about his intentions, who he met and what the implications for India in the next year would be.
In the Damoh hijab controversy case, an FIR has been registered by the State against the administrators of the Ganga Jamuna school who has been accused of mandating Islamic prayers and practices on Hindu and Jain students. The FIR has been filed under sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the India Penal Code and also under the relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
As per the information obtained by OpIndia, the FIR was registered by the state administration after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra issued orders to take action against the controversial school. “Preliminary case has been filed by the police against the school. However, more sections are slated to be added in the case,” Rakesh Kumar, SP Damoh confirmed as could be heard in the video.
#Breaking: FIR registered against the administrators of Ganga Jamna School, Damoh under sections of 295 & 506 IPC with JJ Act.
Reportedly, this comes a day after the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Priyank Kanoongo exposed that a distorted map of India was being used by the chairperson of the school. In a tweet on June 7, Kanoongo revealed that the chairperson of the school owns several other enterprises where he has used a distorted map of India in the logo representing his business.
“In Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, the investigation is going on in the case of Hindu children made to wear hijab and given Islamic education amidst attempts to convert, this is its logo, in which half of India has disappeared. Not only this, the same map is being used as a logo in all other business organisations of its owner. This type of tampering with the map of our sovereign nation India by the educational institution will not be tolerated at all. @NCPCR_ has taken it very seriously, and necessary instructions are being sent to the Madhya Pradesh government for FIR,” Kanoongo said as he shared the controversial pictures on Twitter.
दमोह,मध्यप्रदेश में जिस स्कूल में हिंदू बच्चों को हिजाब पहनाने व इस्लामिक शिक्षा दिए जाने तथा धर्मांतरण का प्रयास किए जाने के मामले में जाँच चल रही है यह उसका प्रतीक चिन्ह (लोगो) है जिसमें भारत के नक़्शे के साथ छेड़छाड़ करके आधा भारत ही ग़ायब कर दिया गया है। यही नहीं इसके मालिक… pic.twitter.com/FYt0kwL9T9
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) June 7, 2023
The NCPCR head also added that during the investigation, the students confirmed that they were forced to follow Islamic religious practices and wear hijab at the school. Further, the students were being taught the wrong geographical map of India at the school. The Commission said that this is a violation of the National Map Policy, 2005. The commission has summoned the District Magistrate, Collector Damoh, and SP Damoh in the matter and has sought action in the case.
Letter sent by commission to DM, Collector and SP Damoh
Earlier, School Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar had confirmed that Damoh Collector Mayank Agarwal was trying to save the District Education Officer (DEO) SK Mishra who is found guilty as per the prima facie information obtained. The Minister also confirmed that the state government would take action against the DEO and remove him from his post for giving clean chit to the school.
“Prima facie information that is coming out is that the District Education Officer (DEO) has given wrong information, that is why the DEO is guilty. He is supposed to visit the school continuously and inspect it, but that didn’t happen. Later, when the incident came to light through the press and social organizations, even then the DEO tried to give a clean chit,” Parmar was quoted as saying.
Further, slamming Damoh Collector Mayank Agarwal over the issue, the Minister stated that timely action should have been taken by the collector because the matter is not only about the school, it is about spreading malice in society.
The controversy in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, erupted when Hindu and Jain girls were seen wearing hijabs on the posters of meritorious students from a private school named Ganga Jamuna School. The school administrator Haji Mohammad Idris then tried to mislead the matter calming that the students were wearing scarves and not hijabs. The DM also dismissed the assertions after a probe, claiming that they were simply rumours and that there was nothing untoward discovered during the initial enquiries.
During the investigation, the SCPCR found that Ayats and lessons from the Quran were imprinted on every wall of the school. Every girl student was made to wear a hijab and they had been taught to greet the teachers with ‘Assalam Walikum..’ and not Good Morning.
The students at the school were also asked to recite three Islamic prayers followed by the National Anthem during the assembly every day. The prayer included ‘Lab pe aati hai dua..’ by Allama Muhammad Iqbal who had advocated the formation of a separate nation for Muslims in the form of Pakistan in 1930.
FIR highlighting the allegations (Republic Bharat)
Some of the girl students came forward on this matter and confirmed on record that they were forced to wear hijab and also offer Namaz on Fridays. The girls also said that they were banned from wearing Kalava on their hands and Bindi on their foreheads. It was also reported earlier, that around 3 teachers (2 Hindus and 1 Jain) were converted to Islam post their appointment as school staff.
Damoh School Controversy: Listen to this minor girl making shocking revelations about the forced Islamic practices followed in the school.
Apart from the Hijab & Islamic teachings, the SCPCR teams found as many as 3 teachers (1 Jain & 2 Hindus) were converted post appointment: pic.twitter.com/QDLZd10p5i
In the given scenario, an FIR has been filed under sections 295 and 506 of the India Penal Code and also under the relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. More sections in the case are yet to be invoked. Investigations are underway.
