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Telangana: BRS MLA Guvvala Balraju and his supporters manhandle BJYM leader Srinivas Solanky and BJP members for objecting to political speech in a temple

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: BRS MLA Guvvala Balraju and his supporters manhandle BJYM leader Srinivas Solanky and BJP members for objecting to political speech in a temple

National Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha B.L. Srinivas Solanky and other Bharatiya Janata Party members were manhandled and threatened by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Guvvala Balraju and his followers during the auspicious occasion of the inauguration of Sri Venkateshwara Swamy temple in Banala village, Acchampet constituency, Telangana. This happened after the BJYM leader objected to a provocative political speech delivered by the BRS MLA during the inauguration of the temple on 24 May.

After the BRS leader exploited the religious celebration to make a political statement and condemn his political rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJYM leader along with other BJP leaders and villagers advised the former not to use the pious event for politics and use the temple premises to deliver such speeches. The youths present there stopped him from making any more political comments.

This, however, triggered an aggressive reaction from the BRS lawmaker and his followers who proceeded to attack the BJYM leader and other party members. He used abusive words against B.L. Srinivas Solanky and threatened those who opposed his actions with severe penalties and catastrophic consequences. Furthermore, he urged his followers and the police to prevent them from accessing the temple.

This led to a confrontation between the two groups in the temple premises. Finally, the police intervened and dispersed both groups.

The instance evoked a strong reaction from BJP leaders who condemned the conduct of the BRS leader.

Slamming both the BRS party supremo and Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao as well as MLA Guvvala Balraju, BJP’s national secretary Satya Kumar Y posted the footage and commented, “Yatha guru tatha shishya,” (Like teacher, like student).

Referring to the BRS MLA as a manifestation of arrogance, BJYM Telangana responded to the incident by affirming that its workers have a track record of fending off anti-social forces and are unafraid of such reactions.

Ramesh Naidu Nagothu, the state secretary of the Andhra Pradesh BJP, also slammed the MLA for his conduct and claimed that the incident had shown the anti-Hindu side of BRS.

The national vice-chairman of youth affairs in the government of India, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy called BRS arrogant and lauded the BJYM leader “for not bearing his nonsense and saving the holy premises from the filth of political agendas.”

Notably, CM K. Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter and MLC K. Kavitha has been in the news for her connections with the Delhi liquor scam. She has been summoned by both the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation for questioning in relation to the fraud. Conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar also released screenshots of his alleged chat with her showing her link with the scandal.

Pakistan’s economic growth rate plummets to 0.3 percent under the Shehbaz Sharif government

ANI
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Pakistan’s economic growth rate plummets to 0.3 percent under the Shehbaz Sharif government

Pakistan’s economic growth rate plummeted to 0.3 per cent in the outgoing fiscal year due to severe restrictions imposed on imports in an effort to avoid sovereign default, leaving the industrial sector crippled with spillovers on the services sector, The Express Tribune reported.

The 0.29 per cent growth rate is the lowest increase in the national output in the past four years exposing the mismanagement of the economy that is highly insufficient to meet the needs of 250 million people. 

Despite severe floods, the agricultural sector still posted 1.6 per cent growth, beating all forecasts of contraction due to a devastating impact on crops. The industrial sector contracted by 2.94 per cent, The Express Tribune reported.

But the services sector, the single largest sector in the economy, showed nominal growth of 0.9 per cent.

This article is penned by Shehbaz Rana of The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune is the first internationally affiliated newspaper in Pakistan. The government has missed all sectoral targets, thanks to its economic mismanagement that also caused massive layoffs and contributed towards the 59-year-high inflation rate of 36.4 per cent.

The National Accounts Committee, in a controversial fashion, met on Wednesday night and approved the provisional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the fiscal year 2022-23, ending on June 30. Planning Secretary Zafar Ali Shah chaired the meeting, The Express Tribune reported.

The outgoing fiscal year will be marked in Pakistan’s history as the one when the country experienced devastating floods that washed away crops, a highly mismanaged economy, and a steep fall in the purchasing power of the people due to record inflation.

The government has inflicted heavy losses on the economy by devaluing the rupee and increasing the utility prices in the hope of getting a deal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In the end, neither the IMF programme could be revived nor could the economy be saved from disaster.

The provisional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the year 2022-23 is estimated at 0.29 per cent, announced the planning Secretary after a meeting of the National Accounts Committee, The Express Tribune reported.

The government postponed the NAC meeting four times in one week due to disagreement over the increase in national output, according to the sources. Some officials of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shuttled from one office to another to reach a consensus, the sources added.

It is a recession in growth, but not an overall recession in the economy, said Nadeem Javaid, chief economist of the Planning Commission, The Express Tribune reported.

There was a broad-based slump in the economic output, mostly because of the government’s mismanagement and also the adverse impact of the floods. The GDP is the monetary value of all goods and services produced in a year, The Express Tribune reported.

The nearly 0.3 per cent growth rate was far lower than the official target of 5 per cent and in line with the estimates of the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank of Pakistan, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

All the institutions predicted a 0.2 per cent to 0.8 per cent economic growth rate.

The figure is provisional and subject to variations once the final results are available at the end of the fiscal year. The economic growth rate during the last year of the PTI rule was 6 per cent, which was further adjusted by the NAC on Wednesday to 6.1 per cent.

Even the provisional nominal growth rate may become controversial after initial estimates suggested normal contraction. Renowned economist Hafiz Pasha has estimated that the economy has in fact contracted by over 3 per cent during the outgoing fiscal year, The Express Tribune reported.

The details showed that the massive curbs on imports and consumption pulled down the economic growth rate, which has already triggered a serious external sector crisis, an identical pattern witnessed in 2018 when the country fell in the lap of the International Monetary Fund.

Last year, there was a 6.1 per cent growth rate, the end of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, which was the highest in four years. The last time, the country attained a 6.1 per cent growth rate was in 2017-18, the last year of the PML-N rule, which was also driven by consumption and imports and took the country back to the IMF.

During 2017-2018 and 2021-2022, Pakistan’s growth was financed mainly through foreign savings, which is highly unsustainable. Against the official target of attaining a 3.9 per cent growth rate, the agriculture sector is provisionally estimated to grow by 1.6 per cent.

The growth appears surprising and could be the result of adding value addition of around PKR 500 billion in flood expenses, The Express Tribune reported.

The floods washed away major crops created food shortages and wiped out people’s bread and butter. In the last fiscal year, the agriculture sector grew 4.3 per cent.

The agriculture sector grew on the back of better crops of wheat (27.6 million tons) and sugarcane (9.1 million tons), said Chief Statistician of PBS, Naeem ul Haq.

The chief statistician denied that there was any pressure on him to turn negative growth into positive territory.

The industrial sector contracted 2.94 per cent against the target of achieving 7.4 per cent growth.

The government itself suffocated industrial growth by placing curbs on imports which led to a shortage of raw materials and the consequential closure of the factories. Still, the contraction appears less than signs of a steep slowdown in major industries, The Express Tribune reported.

In the past fiscal year, the industrial sector grew 6.8 per cent. The State Bank of Pakistan also increased the interest rates to a record 21 per cent in the hope of containing inflation. But yet the central bank failed to curb the inflation that has already crossed 36.4 per cent.

The government had set the growth target for the services sector at 4 per cent. But according to provisional numbers, the services sector showed a marginal growth rate of 0.9 per cent. In the previous fiscal year, the services sector expanded by 6.6 per cent, according to the NAC, The Express Tribune reported.

The NAC also revised the economic growth rate upward for the second last year of the PTI government from 6 per cent to 6.1 per cent. The final growth rate of GDP for the year 2020-21 was revised to 5.8 per cent.

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

Bangladeshi Muslim woman meets Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, says she finds peace in Lord Rama’s name, wants to embrace Sanatan Dharma

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladeshi Muslim woman meets Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, says she finds peace in Lord Rama’s name, wants to embrace Sanatan Dharma

Bageshwar Dham and its Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri have been criticized by the Liberal and Islamist cabal several times for talking about Sanatan Dharma unabashedly. The people of the Muslim community have also been asked to stay away from the Mahant by Muslim clerics. Despite that, some of the Muslim community people are realizing the greatness of Sanatan Dharma stating that Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri is a Godly person and Sanatan Dharma is pure and moral.

On Wednesday, May 24, a Muslim woman from Bangladesh arrived at the ‘Ram Katha’ event of Bageshwar Dham Sarkar in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, and said that she wanted to leave Islam and become part of the Hindu religion. She said that she believed in Lord Rama and that she found peace in chanting his name.

The woman, wearing a burqa, also said that she had been following the Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri on YouTube for several months and wanted to meet him in person. On asking whether was she being pressurized to embrace Hinduism, the Muslim woman confirmed that she had legally come to India of her own will and that she wanted to become Sanatani.

“There is no pressure from anyone. I am taking this step inspired by your hymns. There is no religion bigger than Sanatan Dharma,” the woman confirmed. Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri then said that he was being accused of creating a nuisance, but he was not against any religion. “I don’t believe in conversion and I have no role to play in it. But I believe in gharwapsi. My role is just to chant the name of Lord Rama. You can follow Sanatan Dharma without quitting your religion,” he said.

However, the woman continued to insist that she wanted to be a part of the Sanatan Dharma. Dhirendra Shastri is said to have promised to meet the girl after Vanvasi Ramkatha and also asked Ayush Minister Ramkishore Kavre to meet the girl so that she could be accepted in Sanatan Dharma.

A two-day Vanvasi Ram Katha was organized at Bhadukota in Paraswara of Balaghat. During the event, Pandit Dhirendra Shastri organized a divine court on two days, i.e. 23 and 24 May, when the Muslim woman from Bangladesh happened to approach him.

A Muslim from West Bengal had earlier called Baba a Godly Man

This is not the first time when a Muslim girl has expressed the desire to be a part of Sanatan Dharma. Earlier, on May 13, a Muslim woman from the Malda region of West Bengal had attended Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri’s event in Patna, Bihar, and had said that Dhirendra Shastri is a Godly man.

“I have seen his programs on the internet. He helps everybody. That is the reason I have come here. He is Ali Baba. Rest all are thugs. I completely believe in Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri,” she was quoted as saying.

It was also reported that several Muslim community people had attended the event and had also participated in the Kalash Yatra organized on May 12. One of the persons who had come from Nepal said that Baba had come in his dreams and so he traveled to Bihar to meet him in person.

Recently, a ‘Ram Katha’ event was organized by Dhirendra Shastri in Paraswara of Balaghat city. Notably, it is a tribal forest dweller area of Balaghat district where many Christian missionaries actively operate to convert the religion of poor Hindu tribals to Christianity. The missionaries also manage to influence the poor Hindu people with anti-India rhetorics.

Shastri, during the event, was honored by many of the tribal Hindus who performed his Aarti and also praised the Sanatan Dharma. As per the official tweet shared by Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, many of the converted pupils also chose the path of Ghar wapsi.

Agra Masjid cleric had warned Muslims to stay away from Dhirendra Shastri

Interestingly, earlier a Muslim cleric from one of the Masjids in Agra had asked all the Muslims to literally stay away from Shastri Ji. Mohammed Sharif Kala, the manager of the Agra mosque had said that Dhirendra Shastri was talking about breaking the country and that he wanted to establish a Hindu Rashtra by demeaning the Muslim community.

The Bhartiya Muslim Vikas Parishad had also supported the cleric and said that action should be taken against Dhirendra Shastri for his controversial statements against the Muslim community.

Two reasons Islamists and Leftists hate Shastri Ji

Islamists, supported by the liberals, specifically attack Dhirendra Krishna Shastri for a number of reasons. Dhirendra Shastri speaks forthrightly about gharwapsi and Sanatan Dharma. Secondly, and maybe more significantly, Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri hosts numerous of these gatherings in tribal regions, which are hotbeds of Christian and Islamic conversion.

With these Kathas, Shastri Ji aims to ensure that religious conversion by missionaries and Islamists is reduced significantly. Additionally, he officiates at large marriages for a number of Hindu girls from impoverished backgrounds and speaks passionately on the need to protect Hindus, the danger of the Love Jihad, and the assault by Abrahamics against Hinduism, its customs, and civilization.

Dhirendra Shastri had also once raised his voice against Muslims converting Hindus openly and had said that we (Hindus) needed to fear none. “Ever since I have raised the issue of Gharwapsi for Sanatan Dharma, they are conspiring against us, we don’t have to stop and fear anyone, we have to be cautious. I want to ask, have you ever raised your voice against the priests and people of other religions who convert Hindus? Is praying to your deity superstition (Jaadu-Tona)? I urge all the followers of Sanatan Dharma to stand united. I again request you to raise your finger against the superstitions of other religions also”, Dhirendra Shastri had once said.

However, on May 24, he said that though he strongly believed in Garwapsi, he had no role to play in conversion and that he never believed in conversion.

About Bageshwar Dham Sarkar

The Bageshwar Dham Temple is situated in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The temple is devoted to Lord Hanuman. 26-year-old Dhirendra Krishna Shastri was originally Dhirendra Krishna Garg. Shastri is the Mahant (head priest) of the temple and is popularly called ‘Bageshwar Dham Sarkar’. According to the information available on the website of Bageshwar Dham, Shastri is the successor of his grandfather Dada Guruji Maharaj who was a ‘Siddh’ saint.

In recent years, Dhirendra Shastri gained popularity among devotees and on social media. A court or Darbaar is held at the Bageshar Dham every Tuesday and Saturday, wherein Dhirendra Shastri solves the problems of the devotees of Lord Hanuman. Shastri has, however, always claimed that it is the power and miracle of Lord Hanuman that blesses the devotees and that he is only a medium and holds no supernatural powers.

Bijnor: Altamas, Anas, Aamir and Fardeen arrested for harassing Hindu youth and two Muslim girls travelling on a bike

OpIndia Staff
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Bijnor: Altamas, Anas, Aamir and Fardeen arrested for harassing Hindu youth and two Muslim girls travelling on a bike

In recent days, Hindu men have been humiliated and assaulted by Islamists for hanging out with their Muslim girlfriends, friends, or colleagues. A similar case has come to the fore in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh wherein police have arrested four youths who have been identified as Altamas, Mohammad Anas, Fardeen, and Bittu alias Aamir for attacking and abusing a Hindu youth who was on his way to drop his Muslim friend’s sisters to their home.

The accused youths were acting as a group to deter Hindu men from roaming with Muslim girls. Following that, they would notify the Muslim girl’s family. The Muslim youths were detained in connection with an incident that occurred on the Dehradun-Nainital highway on May 20. All of the apprehended accused are Sherkot residents. Meanwhile, police are looking for two more people who may have been involved in harassing the Hindu youth and the two Muslim girls.

Vinod, a native of Salamatnagar in Afzalgarh, was travelling from Dhampur to Afzalgarh, according to media sources. Vinod’s Muslim friend, along with his two sisters, were waiting for a ride at Dhampur. Because of the delay getting public transportation, he requested Vinod to drop her sisters off at home. Following this, with both of his friend’s sisters, Vinod rode off on his motorcycle.

While Vinod was riding on the Dehradun-Nainital Highway, some bike-borne men began to chase him and stopped him near the Ghosi village. Six suspects who were pursuing Vinod and the two Muslim girls on three motorcycles began acting inappropriately with the trio while filming it. The accused forced the girls to remove their niqabs, and when Vinod objected, they hurled abuses and resorted to assault.

The accused youths can be seen and heard abusing and harassing the Hindu youth and the two Muslim girls in the viral video. The accused youths are repeatedly asking the girls for details regarding Vinod who was riding the bike. They asked the girls to tell them their home phone numbers after the girls protest. Later,  Vinod Kumar filed a complaint against unknown youths in this matter. Following this, the police began looking for them and detained four youths—Mohammad Anas, Fardeen, Altamas, and Aamir.

It is worth noting that there have been various incidents in recent times in various parts of the country when Hindus have been attacked by Islamic extremist groups for just speaking to or walking with Muslim women. 

Is Congress hinting at accepting Amnesty’s anti-Hindu demands? Here is what Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said

OpIndia Staff
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Is Congress hinting at accepting Amnesty’s anti-Hindu demands? Here is what Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said

On May 23, Amnesty India, a dubious organisation that closed its office in India after multiple agencies started probing it over allegations of FCRA violation, released a list of anti-Hindu “demands” for the newly-elected Congress Government in Karnataka. In their demands, they have called to remove the hijab ban in schools, allow cow slaughter and take action against Hindus who boycott Muslim shops.

The Congress government, today, seems to have accepted these demands, as Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge has confirmed that his party will not hesitate to “reject” and “withdraw” orders and legislations passed by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party regime.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Kharge was heard asserting that his party would ‘revisit’ and ‘review’ the orders and legislations passed by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government, which includes the ones that Amnesty has also raised objections to, and if necessary ‘reject’ them.

When questioned on Amnesty India’s demand that the hijab ban in Karnataka’s educational institutes be rolled back, Priyank Kharge told the news agency ANI, “We are very clear on our stand we will review any such executive order, we will review any Bill that is regressive to the economic policies of Karnataka, any Bill that brings a bad image to the state, any Bill that is not used for economic activities, any Bill that does not create employment, any Bill that violates the rights of an individual, any Bill that is unconstitutional will be reviewed and if necessary, rejected…”

The Congress minister also said that the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government will not hesitate to ban organisations like the Bajrang Dal or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The remark came when he was asked if Congress will ban RSS in Karnataka after its manifesto committed to banning Hindu outfits like Bajrang Dal and RSS.

Karnataka Minister and son of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyank Kharge told news agency ANI, “Any organisation, either religious, political or social, who are going to sow seeds of discontent and disharmony in Karnataka will not be tolerated. We will tackle them legally and constitutionally – be it Bajrang Dal, PFI, or any other organisation. We will not hesitate to ban them if they are going to be a threat to the law and order of Karnataka…”

“Previous government had decided to observe certain jayantis (birth anniversary of prominent figures) and left out others. Not only jayantis, their orders, whether it is regarding textbooks, anti-cow slaughter, anti-conversion bills (laws), all of them will be revised,” he added.

Three anti-Hindu demands that Amnesty India has made from Congress in Karnataka

On May 23, Amnesty India, a dubious organisation that closed its office in India after multiple agencies started probing against it over allegations of FCRA violation, posted a series of tweets, wherein it listed three anti-Hindu “demands” for the newly-elected Congress Government in Karnataka.

In its first demand, Amnesty India asked to revoke the ban on women wearing hijab in educational institutes. They claimed, “The ban forces Muslim girls to choose between their rights to freedom of expression and religion, and their right to education, hindering their ability to meaningfully participate in society.”

Amnesty India in its second demand asked for a review of the Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020 and the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2022. In other words, Amnesty India has demanded to allow cow slaughter in Karnataka and let the anti-Hindu forces run conversion rackets (grooming jihad) in the state.

Furthermore, Amnesty India called for action against Hindus who boycott Muslim vendors. 

Congress in its Karnataka manifesto vowed to ban Bajrang Dal

On Tuesday, May 2, before Karnataka went into polls, Congress had released the party’s manifesto, in which, the grand old party, along with several other promises, also vowed to put a ban on the Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal if it is voted to power in the state.

The controversial manifesto released by the Congress Party also went on to brazenly equate the Hindu activist group to the banned Islamist terrorist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI).

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui takes to Twitter to say he never supported ban on The Kerala Files: How he had opined on the movie ‘hurting the audience’

OpIndia Staff
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Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui takes to Twitter to say he never supported ban on The Kerala Files: How he had opined on the movie ‘hurting the audience’

Amidst the continued controversy over the film The Kerala Story which raised the issue of love jihad, conversions and indoctrination, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who has been accused by his wife of sexual harassment, has said that if a movie is ‘hurting someone, then it is wrong, reported Times Now.

It is notable that the movie was banned by the West Bengal government, but the ban was stayed by the Supreme Court. But despite the Supreme Court order, cinemas in the state are not screening the movie, indicating an unofficial ban. Hall owners are saying that they have no free slot to show the movie, a surprising comment given that the movie is doing well everywhere else. There was a similar unofficial ban on it in Tamil Nadu, but the movie was released in the state later.

Reportedly, speaking to News18, the actor also said, “We don’t make films to hurt the audience or their sentiments,” Siddiqui said while speaking to News18.

The actor further stated that the films should foster social harmony and love among people adding that doing so is “our” responsibility to propagate the same. He also said that if a film has the power to break people and social harmony then that is extremely wrong. “Humein iss dunia ko jodna hai todna nahin (we have to unite this world not divide it),” Siddiqui reportedly asserted adding that nothing in the world deserves to be banned.

After media reports, the actor took to Twitter to refute claims of him supporting the ban on The Kerala Files.

However, it is pertinent to note that Nawazuddin Siddiqui did not particularly support The Kerala Files either. Recently, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in a cryptic tweet also expressed his opinions on the film and the demand for its ban. “You agree with the film or not, be it propaganda, counter-propaganda, offensive or not, to ban it is just wrong,” he wrote, seemingly underlining his stance.

In an exclusive chat with News18, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui said, “I agree with him. But if a film or a novel is hurting someone, then that’s wrong. We don’t make films to hurt the audience or their sentiments,” he says without making any reference to The Kerala Story, much like his Gangs Of Wasseypur director.

Therefore, he did not support the ban according to the News18 report, but he also claimed that The Kerala Story was hurting the audience (Islamists mostly) and therefore, it was ‘not good’.

The Kerala Story recently crossed the Rs 200 crore mark and remains unstoppable. The whopping numbers raked in by the film demonstrate that the audience wants to watch the film and is supporting it. 

He said that films should serve the purpose of uniting the world and dividing it. In the case of the film The Kerala Story, the film addresses the menace of love jihad, indoctrination, and subsequent deployment of the converted victims to ISIS—either to carry out terrorist activities or become ISIS brides. The film does not praise or vilify any religion or intend to hurt the sentiments of anyone rather presents a story inspired by true events. The Sudipto Sen directorial serves the purpose of spreading awareness among the people, especially Hindu girls against the Islamist terror conspiracies and the subsequent consequences.

Notably, The movie The Kerala Story written and directed by Sudipto Sen revolves around Shalini Unnikrishnan, played by Adah Sharma, an innocent Hindu woman from Kerala, who is brainwashed by her Muslim friend and gets converted to Islam and marries a Muslim man. The lead actress soon realizes that she has been trapped in a huge terrorist web after she is raped, separated from her only child, and then forced to serve as a sex slave.

Update: This story has been updated with recent information.

“Unfair,” says BSP’s Mayawati on Opposition boycott of new Parliament building

ANI
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“Unfair,” says BSP’s Mayawati on Opposition boycott of new Parliament building

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday said it was “unfair” that some opposition parties have decided to boycott the unveiling ceremony of the new Parliament building stating that government has the right to unveil it as they are the ones who have made it.

“The boycott and linking it to the respect of a tribal woman (President Murmu) is completely unfair,” the BSP chief said. Mayawati has, however, said she will not attend the ceremony due to pre-scheduled engagements.

Amid the decision by Congress-led opposition parties to boycott the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday welcomed the historical ceremony, to be held on May 28.

Taking to Twitter, Mayawati said that BSP has always risen above party politics and supported the government at the Centre on issues related to the country and public interest.

“Whether it was of Congress in the past or that of the BJP now, the BSP has always supported the government at the Centre on issues related to the country and public interest, rising above party politics and the party sees the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28 in the same context and welcomes it,” Mayawati posted on Twitter.

Taking a potshot at those who opposed the New Parliament building, Mayawati said it was not fair to boycott the ceremony just because it was not being inaugurated by President Murmu.

“To boycott because it is not being inaugurated by President Draupadi Murmu is unfair. The government has built it so it has the right to inaugurate it. It is also unfair to link this with respect to tribal women. They should have thought of this while fielding a candidate against her instead of electing her unanimously,” Mayawati posted.

However, in the series of tweets, she clarified that she will not be able to attend the ceremony due to her prior commitment.

“I have received the invitation for the program dedicated to the country, that is, the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament House, for which I thank and extend my best wishes. But due to my pre-scheduled engagement regarding the continuous review meetings of the party, I will not be able to attend that function,” the BSP leader said.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have said they will boycott the ceremony to unveil the new Parliament building. The opposition said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to inaugurate the building without President Droupadi Murmu is an “insult to the high office of the President, and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution”.

The opposition parties said in the statement that the new Parliament building has been built “at great expense during a once-in-a-century pandemic with no consultation with the people of India or MPs, for whom it is apparently being built.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament Building on December 10, 2020.

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

Delhi Court awards life sentence to drug addict who used to walk up to 40 KMs in search of children to rape and murder them

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Court awards life sentence to drug addict who used to walk up to 40 KMs in search of children to rape and murder them

On Thursday, the Rohini Court in Delhi awarded a life sentence to a UP-based man who worked as a labourer in Delhi, identified as Ravinder Kumar, in the case of kidnapping, murder, and physical assault of a 6-year-old child. Ravinder is infamous as a psychopath killer and has raped and murdered over 30 minor girls between 2008 to 2015.

According to the reports, the court conducted trials of only three cases and awarded life imprisonment to the accused in the sexual assault and murder case of a 6-year-old girl. The crucial decision by Delhi’s Rohini Court comes days after Kumar was convicted by the court.

On May 10 this year, the Court said that it would sentence Ravinder within the next two weeks. As reported earlier, the convict had a habit of getting high on drugs, engaging in pornographic films and then searching for small children. He used to assault minors and then kill them brutally. The Delhi Police had revealed that the accused developed this routine since the year 2008. He was 18 years old at the time. He continued this dreadful routine for the next seven years and until 2015, he killed 30 children.

Ravinder Kumar, then 18 years old, travelled to Delhi from Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, in quest of employment. His mother was a domestic helper who worked at people’s houses while his father was a plumber.

A few days after arriving in Delhi, Ravinder developed a drug addiction and acquired a videotape with a pornographic movie. He soon established a terrible routine. According to the authorities, Ravinder Kumar would work all day as a labourer before getting intoxicated at night. He would go to bed in a slum between eight o’clock and midnight, then get up and start looking for kids.

In search of prey, he would occasionally go up to 40 KMs through slums and construction zones. The Delhi Police apprehended Ravinder Kumar in 2014 after he was charged with kidnapping, attempted murder, and physical abuse of a 6-year-old child.

It was said that after kidnapping the child, he dumped her into a sewage tank. Following this, the police detained him in Rohini, Delhi, close to the Sukhbir Nagar bus stop as they looked into the case of the 6-year-old girl from 2015. The police first examined information gathered from a large number of CCTV cameras, questioned their informants, and then detained Ravinder.

In 2015, Vikramjeet Singh, who was the DCP of the outer Delhi district, said that Ravinder Kumar gave information about his crimes after being caught and spoke in detail about each crime he committed. “He remembered almost all the children who became victims of his lust,” Singh said.

Retired ACP Jagminder Singh Dahiya, who was part of the investigation team of this case, was further quoted as saying that Ravinder used to rape the dead bodies of the children after killing them. Many times, when children were not under his control, he would kill them first, and then rape them.

Ravinder Kumar had also executed crimes against the children of his relatives. He also confessed to having targeted two children of a relative of his aunt. Not only this, he has shown the police 15 such places where he had carried out kidnapping, rape and murder.

Sweden-based troll Ashok Swain, who challenged Modi govt to host G20 summit in Kashmir, cries hoarse after it actually happened

Jhankar Mohta
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Sweden-based troll Ashok Swain, who challenged Modi govt to host G20 summit in Kashmir, cries hoarse after it actually happened

Ashok Swain, the Sweden-based troll who is renowned for his serial fake news peddling and Hinduphobia, has made a hilarious U-turn on India hosting the G20 Summit in 2023. The ‘professor,’ who was until six months ago challenging the Modi government to host the G20 meeting in the “Muslim minority region, Kashmir” is now seeming visibly miffed when India actually held the tourism meeting in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

The 3rd G20 Tourism Working Group meeting took place at the SKICC on the banks of the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar from May 22–24, 2023.

Extremely disgruntled by the decision, Ashok Swain, on May 20, rushed to Twitter to lament how the Modi government’s decision to host the G20 meeting in Kashmir had the same effect as the revocation of Article 370. He wrote, “Holding the G20 meeting in Kashmir has the same effect as the abrogation of Article 370. It doesn’t make India’s position stronger as the Kashmir issue gets internationalized more, it just makes Modi’s Hindu supremacist vote bank happy.”

Amusingly, until six months ago, Ashok Swain was challenging the Modi government to convene the G20 conference in Kashmir. Swain praised Indonesia for holding the G20 summit in its “Hindu minority” district of Bali and preached that India should show the same religious tolerance by hosting the G20 Summit 2023 in “India’s Muslim minority, Kashmir.”

He had taken Twitter on November 14, 2022, to write, “Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, is holding the G20 summit this year in its Hindu minority region Bali. Can India, whose turn is next year, hold the G20 summit in its Muslim minority region, Kashmir?”

Swain seemed to be taken aback by the Indian government’s decision to hold the summit in Jammu and Kashmir. He may have believed that the BJP administration would never choose a Muslim-majority region to host the massive event and by throwing an open challenge at the central government, he might gaslight Indian Muslims into believing the imaginary construct of ‘rising intolerance’, which jibes perfectly with the hackneyed liberal narrative of painting the Modi government as the enemy of Muslims.

His plans were, however, thwarted when India decided to hold the G20 meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. It was then that the ‘professor’ decided to take a U-turn and declare the decision an attempt to ‘make Modi’s Hindu supremacist vote bank happy.’

Interestingly, Swain’s displeasure with India’s decision to hold the event in Kashmir coincided with that of Pakistan, which has also expressed strong opposition to India’s decision to hold the G20 summit in Jammu and Kashmir. The country stated that India holding the G20 summit in what it blatantly called the ‘Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)’ is disconcerting.

Releasing an official statement on the matter, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry criticized India’s action and said it continued its ‘illegal occupation’ of Jammu and Kashmir. It added that such incidents could not obscure the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is a recognized international dispute that has been on the UN Security Council’s agenda for more than 70 years.

But this was no surprise, as Ashok Swain’s anti-India rhetoric has always sold well in Pakistan. His tweets in which he claimed that the NDA government was triggering conflict between India and Pakistan to gain electoral points were picked up by Pakistani media for absolving Pakistan of the ghastly terrorist attack in Pulwama. Swain had also accused the Vajpayee government of ‘setting up’ the Kargil war. Interestingly, a Pakistani Minister had recently admitted in the National Assembly that the Pulwama attack was carried out by Pakistan.

Ashok Swain and anti-India activities

Ashok Swain has often claimed that he only criticises the government and does not make anti-India comments but this has proven completely wrong. He has regularly been caught spreading anti-India hatred and sharing fake news that paints India as an anti-Muslim country.

Just a couple of days ago, he shared a video claiming that a man was beaten for being Muslim. Sharing a video, he tweeted, “Another day, another lynching! One more Muslim man being lynched in Maharashtra, India.” While the man survived, he falsely claimed that it was a lynching, however, he corrected this in a subsequent tweet. And the man was not beaten for being Muslim, he was beaten on the suspicion of being a thief.

Ashok Swain has shared similar fake claims earlier also, labelling random acts as anti-Muslim acts. Earlier in 2019, he had claimed that a Muslim boy was set on fire for not chanting Jai Shri Ram, when the fact is that the boy had set himself on fire in a dargah.

In India, people regularly take the law into their hands after catching a thief, pick-pocketer etc, and most times the mob does not even know the religion and other identities of such people. But if such culprits happen to be Muslim, people like Ashok Swain claim they are attacked for being Muslim. The only reason to do this is to paint India as an anti-Muslim country. Therefore, it is definitely an anti-India activity.

Ashok Swain also wanted ‘Muslim Lives Matter’ protests in India to protest against supposed extra-judicial killings of Muslims in the country. He had in May 2020 said that the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in the US after the death of George Floyd need to be replicated in India to “oppose extra-judicial killings of Muslims in the country”. At that time, ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests meant riots and violence, where the protestors vandalised and looted stores. They had clashed with police, set vehicles, buildings including several police stations and medical stores on fire.

He wanted such riots and arson by Muslims and supporters of Muslims in India, which can be definitely called an anti-India activity.

Ashok Swain also regularly posts Hinduphobic tweets and mocks BJP, RSS, Narendra Modi and other leaders using condemnable terms. He denies that Muslim rulers had destroyed and looted Hindu temples, and he denies that there was a genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. He had called LTTE a Hindu terror organisation and even blamed Hindutva for the Covid-19 pandemic. He also praises Pakistan while criticising India, which indicates the direction of his loyalty.

Maharashtra: Hindu man arrested for an Instagram post against Aurangzeb, mob had demanded arrest after ‘hurt’ Muslim man filed complaint

Gopal Tiwari
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Maharashtra: Hindu man arrested for an Instagram post against Aurangzeb, mob had demanded arrest after ‘hurt’ Muslim man filed complaint

On 20th May 2023, a case of allegedly spreading disharmony between two communities was booked in the Sillod (Rural) police station in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra. As per the complaint filed by one Amir Shaukat Shaha (age 31), the Sillod police filed an FIR against a 23-year-old Hindu youth Sagar Viththal Wankhede who shared an allegedly contentious social media post and arrested him as he was charged under section 295A of the IPC.

Sagar Wankhede was produced before the Sillod sessions court on the same day and he was remanded to magistrate custody for 14 days. There is resentment among the local Hindu youths as the young man was booked under the severe section just for sharing a post on social media. The post showed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj crushing Aurangzeb’s head under his feet calling him ‘Aurangya’. In this post, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was identified as Dharmaveer as he is popularly known in Maharashtra.

Complainant Amir Shaukat Shaha is a resident of Borgaon Bazar in the Sillod Taluka of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra. He complained against Sagar Viththal Wankhede who lives in the same village for allegedly sharing the said post on his Facebook page ‘Sagar Bhai’. Amir Shaukat Shaha took screenshots of the post and showed them to Sheikh Kalim Sheikh Mohammed Sharif and Sheikh Kalim Sheikh Shakur. Sagar Wankhede allegedly shared this Facebook post on 19th May 2023 at around 9:54 pm.

Amir Shaukat Shaha alleged in his complaint that because Aurangzeb was called ‘Aurangya’ in this post and Dharmaveer was written for Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, his religious sentiment got hurt and religious sentiments of Muslims got hurt and hence he is filing the complaint. He said that this act by Sagar Wankhede is spreading disharmony between two communities, therefore an action should be taken against him.

In the FIR, police said that after the spot investigation, the mobile phone used by the accused is seized and the accused is arrested. The police further said in the FIR that the complainant is a Muslim and the accused belongs to the Maratha caste. The police told the court that the post shared by Sagar Wankhede caused a law and order situation. The police also said that the post shared by the accused harmed the religious sentiments of Muslims and that there was a possibility of a serious law and order situation and breach of the peaceful environment could be caused by that post. The police urged the court to grand 14 days Magistrate Custody Remand of Sagar Wankhede which was approved the same day. Sagar Wankhede is currently lodged in the Harsul jail in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

OpIndia contacted Appasaheb Paradhe – the joint secretary of the RSS for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. While providing more information about the case, he said, “This FIR was booked because of the pressure exerted by some workers of the local MLA Abdul Sattar. The clip shared by Sagar Wankhede was not made by him. He too got it from somewhere on social media. Maybe an Instagram handle that is named in the watermark of that reel or cartoon. The complainant then reached the Sillod (Rural) police station along with a mob of 50 Muslims to file the complaint.”

It is notable that Abdul Sattar is the MLA from Sillod. He was earlier in the Indian National Congress. Later, he joined Shiv Sena. He was among the 40 MLAs who went to Guwahati with Eknath Shinde alleging that Uddhav Thackeray was moving away from the Hindutva ideology.

Appasaheb Paradhe added, “The API Sitaram Mehetre involved as an officer, in this case, has a past record of booking cases against pro-Hindutva people. A similar case was also registered against Kalicharan Maharaj, Kamlesh Katariya (BJP city chief of Sillod) and Ketan Kalyankar (RSS Bauddhik Head of the district), and others in the recent past. That case was filed suo moto, without anyone filing the complaint.”

Appasaheb Paradhe further said, “The complainant Amir Shaukat Shaha is made to file this case by some local supporters of Abdul Sattar. Abdul Sattar is known for taking a specific stand in such cases. The police officer Sitaram Mehetre probing this case is considered to be close to MLA Abdul Sattar. Systematic suppression of RSS and BJP is a usual thing in this constituency. While the rural demography here is Hindu majority, the urban demography in Sillod is Muslim dominated.”

He added, “There was no law and order situation here. No one initiated any violence in this case. But there was a feeling of resentment among the Hindu youths as Sagar Wankhede was booked under the severe section for just a social media post. As the news is spreading, the people in the rural parts of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district are sharing the same feeling. Around 50 people reached the police station. I don’t know if they raised any slogans but hurting religious sentiment is mentioned in the FIR. Most of them were from the village of Borgaon Bazar only.”

Informing more about similar incidents in the past, he said, “So many such incidents have happened here in Sillod in the past where the religious sentiments of Hindus were hurt. The police did not take such swift action against offenders at that time. Ratnapur (Khultabad) where Aurangzeb was buried is not so far from here. Some local Muslims tried to name a Chowk as Aurangzeb Chowk in that town. This happened around 40 to 50 days ago. Dr Wankhede is a local medical practitioner in that town. He opposed this move by the local Muslims and reached the police station with a complaint. He said that the local body has not given any permission to name that square after Aurangzeb. But at around 12:30in the night, a mob of Muslims pelted stones at his hospital and caused heavy damage. In that case, the Khultabad police took a stance that would protect the offender Muslims.”

When asked about probing officer API Sitaram Mehetre’s stand on this case, he said, “We also talked to API Sitaram Mehetre. During our conversation, we told him that Aurangzeb is not a religious figure. He is not any prophet too. He is not regarded as someone great. He is not named or pictorially represented in our constitution. In fact, he is seen as a tyrant. He cited the reasons for probable disturbance to law and order. We then cited some of the incidents in the past and asked him why these problems arise only when some Hindus allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims and why not the other way around. Why didn’t you take any suo moto action at that time? Why didn’t the police entertain any complaints by Hindus and file any FIR at those times? To this question, he told that the mob that came to the police station was assertive to get this FIR booked. If we had not registered it, maybe some unsolicited incident would happen then.”

Appasaheb Paradhe further said, “Advocate Samadhan Jadhav is representing the case of Sagar Wankhede. A bail plea is submitted in the district court. The court will hear it on 26th May 2023. We will also urge the court to cancel the severe charges over some social media posts. We will also go to the tribunal against the session judge who gave the Magistrate Custody Remand of the Hindu youth. If the police are unnecessarily taking such cases under the pressure of the mobs, at least the judiciary should show some sensibility in such cases.”

Many Hindu activists on social media expressed that API Mehetre who got this FIR registered should be transferred or suspended. OpIndia also contacted the officer but he could not give time to communicate citing that he was on duty.

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