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Archaeologist BB Lal, who had unearthed remains of an ancient temple at Ram Mandir site, passes away at 101

OpIndia Staff
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Archaeologist BB Lal, who had unearthed remains of an ancient temple at Ram Mandir site, passes away at 101

Renowned archaeologist Braj Basi Lal (commonly referred to as BB Lal) passed away at the ripe age of 101. Born in 1921, Lal went on to serve as the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India and the Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies.

In a tweet, BJP Minister G Kishan Reddy shared his condolence to the family of the archaeologist. “In the passing of Prof BB Lal Ji, we have lost one of the brightest minds who has contributed significantly towards our archaeological excavations & endeavours and trained archaeologists for over 4 decades,” he wrote.

Lal was the director general of the Archaeological Survey of India between 1968 and 1972, and led the excavation at the Ramjanmabhoomi site in Ayodhya which proved the existence of an ancient temple at the site.

The veteran archaeologist had led a project named Archaeology of Ramayana between 1975 and 1976 to examine certain sites having references in Ramayana. There were nine members in the team out of which five archaeologists namely, Professor Lal, Dr KP Nautiyal, SK Srivastava, RK Chaturvedi and KM Asthana were from Jiwaji University.

Three members namely, Mahdava N Katii, LM Wahal and MS Mani were from the ASI and one member named Hem Raj was from the Department of Archaeology, Uttar Pradesh. According to Professor Lal, a five-site excavation project was carried out at Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringaverapur, Bharadwaj Ashram and Chitrakoot to date the sites associated with Ramayana.

He said that while excavating the area immediately south of the Babri structure, he found pillar bases. He wrote a seven-page preliminary report about the discovery of pillar bases near the Babri structure. However, following the discovery, all technical facilities were withdrawn from the area and the project was halted.

It was not resumed despite repeated requests of Professor Lal and remained suspended for 10-12 years. The final report was never submitted but his preliminary report was published by the Indian Council of Historical Research in 1989 in its volume on Historicity of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The work of BB Lal in unearthing the remains of an ancient temple under the Babdi structure constituted a major argument in support of Ram Mandir, which eventually led the Supreme Court to rule in favour of the Mandir.

On November 9, 2021, President Ramnath Kovind felicitated Professor BB Lal with Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award. The centenarian was named among the list of awardees earlier in January that year. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan Award in the year 2000.

What happens now to the Kohinoor diamond, stolen by the British from India, after Queen Elizabeth II’s death: Details

OpIndia Staff
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What happens now to the Kohinoor diamond, stolen by the British from India, after Queen Elizabeth II’s death: Details

Kohinoor, the world’s most contentious diamond, is about to change hands. The diamond is currently placed in the Imperial State Crown, which was produced in 1937 for King George VI’s coronation and eventually passed on to Elizabeth II. The diamond, however, is scheduled to be worn by the Queen’s daughter-in-law and Prince Charles III’s wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, during the coronation of the new King.

Camilla has been named Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth states as the wife of King Charles III, and during the coronation of King Charles, the Crown of Queen Elizabeth, which now holds the Kohinoor, will be placed on her head. The crown was made in 1937 for Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, and as she continued to wear it after her daughter Elizabeth II became the Queen, the crown is also known as Queen Mother’s Crown. The Crown is made of platinum and decorated with about 2,800 diamonds, the most famous of them being the Kohinoor.

However, while several Indian media reports said that Kohinoor is fitted on the Imperial State Crown, and Camilla will inherit this crown, which is completely wrong. Imperial State Crown is the crown of the Monarch, which can be a King or Queen, which means this crown will go to King Charles III. Moreover as informed above, the Kohinoor diamond is on the Queen Mother’s Crown, not the Imperial State Crown. The Imperial State Crown has another large diamond, the Cullinan II from Africa.

The Queen Mother’s Crown is currently on display along with the other British Royal Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. These crown jewels are Royal property, and actually, they don’t become personal property of anyone. This means while Camilla will wear it during the coronation, it does not become her personal property.

It is also notable that Camilla has become the Queen Consort, the wife of the Monarch, and not the Queen, which means a female monarch, a key difference several Indian media reports have missed. And for that reason, Queen Elizabeth II used the Imperial Royal Crown, not the Queen Mother’s crown, because she was the Queen, the Monarch. In February this year, the Queen announced that Camilla Parker Bowles would become Queen Consort when Charles took the reins of the monarchy in England.

Therefore, in summary, the Kohinoor diamond remains fitted on the Crown of Queen Elizabeth, which is on display at the Tower of London. As Queen Consort, Camilla will wear during the coronation of the King, and perhaps in other royal ceremonies in future.

History of the Kohinoor

Golconda, India, is where the Kohinoor originated. During the Kakatiya era, it was discovered during coal mining in the Kollur mine (particularly, the Rayalaseema diamond mine signifies the ‘Land of Stones’). It began to pass from one governing dynasty to the next at that period. Originally, it was called ‘Samantik Mani,’ which means “Prince and Leader of All Diamonds.” When the Persian King Nadir Shah (King of Persia) invaded India in 1739, he called it the “Mountain of Light.” It was treasured at the time as a sign of an Empire’s power. It is well said that “he who has this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes; only God, or a woman, will know all its misfortunes.”

The story of how the British East India Company captured the ‘cursed’ Kohinoor

During the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 AD, the British army made Raja Ranjit Singh’s son Duleep Singh surrender the Sikh empire. Following that, the British Government in Lahore entrusted the famous Kohinoor diamond to the treasury of the British East India Company.

When Duleep Singh, then 11-years-old, ‘surrendered’ the Sikh kingdom to the British, it is said he also surrendered the Kohinoor diamond. Dr. John Login was named the guardian of Duleep Singh and the Kohinoor after the Sikh dominion was surrendered to the British East India Company. Dr. Login persuaded Duleep Singh to become a Christian. Singh is widely regarded as the “King Who Gave Away Kohinoor.” However, according to Peter Bance, the truth was far from what people believed.

When Duleep Singh was 11 years old, Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India, took the diamond from the Sikh Empire’s treasury. When Duleep Singh met Queen Victoria in 1854, he expressed a wish to view the diamond. Lady Login argued that seeing the diamond would do him no damage, and it was brought from the British treasury on the Queen’s orders. “Duleep grasped the diamond in his hand and took it to the window,” Bance explained. When he saw the diamond gleaming in the sunlight, he raised his hand and murmured, ‘to Humble Majesty Kohinoor diamond,’ and thus the bid to donate the diamond came into being.”

Taj Hotel manager recalls horrors of 26/11 terror attack at Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism, sends a message to global community: What he said

OpIndia Staff
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Taj Hotel manager recalls horrors of 26/11 terror attack at Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism, sends a message to global community: What he said

General Manager of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai Karambir Kang recounted the tragedy of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai while addressing the Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism at the United Nations in New York. He urged the international community to combat terrorism and seek justice for the attack’s victims. “…while the terrorists who entered the hotel met their fate, the people who planned it financed it and organised the attack remain free,” Kang said.

Karambir Kang revealed heartbreaking flashbacks of the 26/11 attack when he lost his family, including two minor sons and his wife while addressing the inaugural Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism to pay respect to victims throughout the world. “The Entire world watched with horror when 10 terrorists attacked my country, city and my hotel, the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai where I was the general manager. During the tragedy that continued over three long days and night, over 34 previous lives were lost,” Kang said, recalling the attack in which he lost his entire family.

“My wife and two young sons could not escape and perished during the attack, I lost everything. My staff members armed only with courage and the deep-rooted culture of the family, which the TATA and taj group stands for, stood strong without any weapons, we lost many brave colleagues and this heroic act saved thousands of lives that night,” Kang went on to add.

Kang added, “Today I call upon the international community to work together to seek justice nationally and across borders, as our own act of defiance to the terrorism, we opened the hotel which was totally destroyed in 21 days.”

26/11 Mumbai terror attack

The 26/11 terror attack was one of the most heinous in Indian history, carried out by ten Pakistani terrorists who killed 166 people, including 18 security officials, and wounded 300 more, as well as destroyed property worth crores.

Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist apprehended alive, was executed four years later. It is worth noting that Ajmal Kasab and his fellow terrorists were carrying identity cards with Hindu names and were dressed in religious threads. A book by a former senior police officer of Mumbai Rakesh Maria revealed shocking discoveries that all 10 terrorists were made to appear to be angry Hindus who were against India because of ‘atrocities’ against Muslims.

Saffron or red thread was knotted around the wrists of all 10 terrorists. The ISI and Lashkar intended all 10 terrorists to perish in the attack, therefore identity cards with Hindu names and Indian addresses were placed in their wallets. The capture of Kasab alive was the most significant accomplishment for Mumbai Police. If he hadn’t been apprehended alive, the entire world would have assumed that this was a Hindu terror act.

Here is how Day 1 collection of Karan Johar’s Brahmastra, made on a 410 crore budget, stacks up against KGF 2, made on a budget of 100 crore

OpIndia Staff
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Here is how Day 1 collection of Karan Johar’s Brahmastra, made on a 410 crore budget, stacks up against KGF 2, made on a budget of 100 crore

Producer-Director Karan Johar’s highly ambitious film Brahmastra starring Bollywood heavyweights such as Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and even Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo role was released on September 9, 2022, in over 8000 screens across the world.

The first-day collection of the movie, which is said to have been made on a whopping Rs 410 crore budget, grossed around 35-36 crore nett in all its versions. Trade website BoxOfficeIndia.com has reported Brahmastra’s collection at around Rs 35-36 crore. This is being considered the highest opening day on a non-holiday for original Hindi content.

Brahmastra is the most expensive Hindi film ever made at 410 crores, breaking the record of Thugs Of Hindostan which was made at a cost of around 310 crores. Incidentally, Thugs of Hindostan earned around 52.5 crores on its opening day.

In comparison to these numbers and statistics for Brahmastra, Prashanth Neel’s KGF 2, starring South star Yash in the lead role of Rocky, not only grossed more at the box office but was also produced on one-fourth the budget of Brahmastra.

According to reports, KGF- Chapter 2 which was made on a budget of Rs 100 crore, collected Rs 134.50 crore in India and Rs 164 crore worldwide on the first day of its release. The Hindi version raked in Rs 53.95 crore at the box office on the first day, making it the highest opening day collection for a film in Hindi.

So if the budget and the first-day collection of these two movies are compared, KGF-2 emerges as the clear winner, as it not only grossed a higher first-day collection than Bramhastra but was also made on one-fourth of the budget giving it a clear edge.

King-sized disappointment: Karan Johar’s Brahmastra fails to impress

Notably, Karan Johar’s movie Brahmastra, which is now in theatres, failed to make an impression on film critics and reviewers despite all of the hype surrounding it. Well-known film critic Taran Adarsh took to Twitter on Friday to review the movie. He completely wrote off the movie and called it a ‘king-sized disappointment’. Giving the Ayan Mukherjee directorial movie a two out of five-star rating, Adarsh said that the film was ‘low on content’. He opined that the movie was ‘all gloss, no soul’.

Taran Adarsh was not the only one who was unimpressed with the movie. Many other movie reviewers and media houses gave the movie abysmal ratings ranging from 2 to 3.5 stars out of 5.

Financial Express went on to take a dig at the movie by calling it a ‘film for kids’. “Brahmastra review: Ayan Mukherji’s Rs 410 crore grand vision ends up becoming a film for kids!”, read the headline of Financial Express’ report reviewing the big-budget movie.

In fact, moments after the bad reviews of the movie started to appear, the stock price of major multiplex chains in the country started to fall. According to estimates, PVR and INOX, the two major listed theatre chains, lost over Rs 800 crore in market capitalisation on Friday. The stocks had started to gain in recent days, but they crashed on September 9, coinciding with the release of Brahmastra.

Karan Johar’s movie faces boycott calls

For the unversed, Karan Johar’s Brahmastra has been facing trouble ever since its trailer premiered. It came under attack after its lead actress Alia Bhatt also told people that they were under no compulsion to watch her movie. Besides, a video of actor Ranbir Kapoor, who is playing the protagonist in the movie, surfaced where he said he was a beef-eating foodie. This too attracted a lot of criticism. To add fuel to the fire, the Hinduphobic tweets of Dharma Productions’ Development Executive Shreemi Verma also went viral on social media.

With the screenshots of her anti-Hindu tweets, netizens started to post on Twitter that she is associated with Dharma Productions, and linked to the upcoming movie Brahmastra. Netizens called for a boycott of the movie for its association with such a Hinduphobic person. She eventually deactivated her account to control the backlash of her remarks.

Madhya Pradesh: Ikra becomes Ishika after willingly accepting Hinduism and marries a Hindu boy, asks her Islamist family to stay away

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Ikra becomes Ishika after willingly accepting Hinduism and marries a Hindu boy, asks her Islamist family to stay away

On Friday, a Muslim woman named Ikra willingly converted her religion from Islam to Hinduism in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandasaur district and married a Hindu man. The woman married her love Rahul Verma and accepted Hinduism as her new religion amid the religious chants at Gayatri Mandir.

According to the reports, the woman will now no more be identified as Ikra but as Ishika Verma after she accepted Hinduism following her marriage with Rahul. The incident is said to have happened on September 9 at Mandsaur’s Kalakhet Gautam Nagar Gayatri temple. The girl who performed Ghar Wapsi however has demanded security from her family members fearing they may harm her or her husband. “My family should leave us alone. They should not do anything to me or Rahul”, she said.

Mandsaur BJP MLA Yashpal Sisodia took cognizance of the incident and congratulated the couple on their wedding. He mentioned that journalist Jafar who had recently accepted Hinduism and changed his name to Chaitanya Singh Rajput was also present at the wedding.

Rajput (earlier known as Jafar) who helped the duo get married, talked to Opindia and confirmed that Rahul who hails from Mandasaur now stays in Jodhpur, Rajasthan with his family. “He owns a dance class and also is completing his education. The girl Ikra was his neighbour and they loved each other”, he added.

Rajput further said that both Rahul and Ishika are adults and they had already signed a marriage agreement in the Udaipur court. “Now both of them got married in Madasaur following the Hindu culture. All the rituals were performed during the wedding”, he stated.

Meanwhile, Rajput also added that the Rajasthan Police are harassing the family members of the boy. “After their Court marriage, the girl’s family reported an FIR against Rahul in Jodhpur. The Rajasthan Police is harassing his family. First, they took Rahul’s mother and later Rahul’s brother to the police station. They are still there being harassed”, Rajput said.

According to media reports, Ishika has studied till class 9 and is 19 years old. Ishika reiterated that she has converted her religion to Hinduism willingly and that she wants her family members to stay away from her husband and her new family.

Singer Jubin Nautiyal lands in controversy after the organiser of his US concert turns out to be a Khalistani criminal absconding for 30 years: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Singer Jubin Nautiyal lands in controversy after the organiser of his US concert turns out to be a Khalistani criminal absconding for 30 years: Details

Indian playback singer Jubin Nautiyal drew the ire of social media users after it came to light that the organiser of his music concert in Houston in Texas is allegedly an absconding criminal who used to be associated with a banned Khalistani outfit.

A Facebook post has been doing the rounds of the internet where an ISI agent named Rehan Siddiqui was seen heaving praises on the 33-year-old singer. “My favourite singer is coming to Houston. Good shows are worth the wait. Let’s begin its officially show time,” the post read.

Siddiqui further added, “Great job Jai Singh. Looking forward for your amazing presentation.” Jai Singh, the organiser of Nautiyal’s event, has been absconding from India for the past 30 years.

Screengrab of the Facebook post by Rehan Siddiqui

In January 2019, The Quint reported that Jai fled India and settled in Fermont city in the California State of the US. He is wanted at the Chandigarh police stations over serious charges of drug smuggling and video piracy.

He was associated with a banned Khalistani outfit in Punjab and has been providing logistical support to the Sikh separatist movement from Fermont. He has been accused of committing monetary fraud at the gurdwara, where he stayed.

Rehan Siddiqui, on the other hand, is a Pakistani ISI agent. In June 2020, Minister of State for Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy, informed that Union Home Ministry have blacklisted three individuals including Siddiqui on the recommendations of the Consulate General of India in Houston.

Screengrab of the response of G Kishan Reddy

“Further, the Embassy of India in Washington DC and the Consulate General of India in Houston have also been requested to engage with prominent influences, cultural bodies and bona-fide ‘Bollywood affiliated’ local entities to ensure that, appropriate message is conveyed to Indian actors and artists, so that they disassociate themselves from such anti-national elements,” he added.

Following outrage on social media, Rehan Siddiqui pulled down his Facebook post. The Houston event, where Jubin Nautiyal was scheduled to perform on September 23 this year, has allegedly been removed for online ticket sales. Amidst the controversy, the hashtag ‘#ArrestJubinNautiyal went viral on social media.

While the playback singer has not made any statement so far, a tweet dating back to July 19 is still up on his official page. Jubin Nautiyal had announced his music tour of the USA and Canada. He even shared the phone number of Jai Singh, the alleged Khalistani extremist, and asked people to contact him for more details about the event.

The archived version of the contentious tweet can be accessed here.

Delhi: Irshad Ali poses as a Hindu to befriend a woman, sexually assaults her and inflicts 28 injuries on her body when his identity is revealed

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Irshad Ali poses as a Hindu to befriend a woman, sexually assaults her and inflicts 28 injuries on her body when his identity is revealed

Delhi police have arrested a youth named Irshad Ali Khan based on a complaint filed by a woman in Jyoti Nagar on September 7, wherein she accused the former of cheating, kidnapping, sexually assaulting and sodomising her. According to police, Irshad Khan is also a co-accused in a 2008 murder case in Bhajanpura.

Subhi Vishwakarma, a journalist working for Swarajya took to Twitter on September 10, Saturday to share a TOI report on the incident. “In Delhi now; Irshad Ali, a murder accused posed as Guddu Choudhary to rape a woman in Jyoti Nagar area in Delhi,” Tweeted the journalist, sharing the news report.

The Times of India report quoted the victim as telling the police that Irshad Ali concealed his religious identity and pretended to be Guddu Chaudhary in order to initially befriend her. After she fell into his trap, he ‘married’ her. When his true identity was exposed after marriage, the accused held her captive in Delhi and Bhopal, where he sexually assaulted and sodomised her.

The police said that it received the complaint on September 7, adding that the medical examination of the victim revealed that she had injuries in 28 places on her body.

In the complaint, the victim alleged that Arshad Ali Khan alias Guddu Chaudhary befriended her in 2011 and even got a goddess tattoo done on his hand. The accused married her while claiming to be an advocate.

She further said that when after the wedding, she discovered that the accused was previously married, had two children, and practised a different faith, the accused held her captive in Delhi and Bhopal where he raped and assaulted her.

Greece Love Jihad: 35-year-old woman found murdered, wrapped in a blanket in Larissa home, Police searching for absconding Pakistani partner

OpIndia Staff
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Greece Love Jihad: 35-year-old woman found murdered, wrapped in a blanket in Larissa home, Police searching for absconding Pakistani partner

The forced Islamification of women under the veil of love is not only restricted to the Hindu population residing in the South Asian part of the globe but the cases have now reached other countries like Greece as well. The women in Greece are facing the heat of Grooming Jihad where Islamist men are first trapping the women in a love affair and then forcing them to convert to Islam.

In one such recent case, a 35-year-old woman in Greece’s city of Larissa was found murdered and wrapped in a blanket in the basement of an apartment building on Papanastasiou Street in the city. The woman was reportedly banged on her head by the accused who hails from Pakistan. The accused fled from the spot after the murder and left the woman wrapped in a blanket.

The incident came to light on Friday morning when the neighbour’s store owner complained about the stench coming out of the apartment. He checked at the basement to discover the dead body of the 35-year-old woman. He then informed the Police who reached the spot for further investigation.

The body was in advanced decomposition and initially, police officers suggested it was death due to pathological causes. However, the body was then sent for forensic examination, reports of which revealed that the deceased woman has suffered a major head injury. “It appears that the main suspect in the case is her partner who is a Pakistani national. He has disappeared and efforts are being taken to nab him”, the Police stated.

Reports mention that the victim woman had been living with her partner and had complained about domestic violence in the past. The woman had been murdered and covered in a blanket for 6 days. The Police investigating the case stated the possibility that the suspect might have fled from the country.

Earlier, a similar incident was reported from the Athens neighbourhood of Peristeri, Greece when a 17-year-old girl named Nicoletta was murdered by her Pakistani boyfriend identified as Ahsan. The accused had concealed his identity as an illegal Pakistani immigrant and was residing with the victim’s family. He later fell in love with the victim and murdered her after she allegedly spoke badly about the Quran and asked him to become Christian.

Reportedly, the accused had possessed four different identity documents with different names and ages. The forensic examination revealed that the victim identified as Nicoletta died from suffocation as the culprit covered her nose and lips. The victim’s death by suffocation took four to five minutes, and it seemed that she struggled a lot to survive.

The police later arrested the accused who had initially fled from the spot after murdering the victim. He had taken his and the victim’s phone with him. However, the police issued an international warrant in the case and tracked the accused’s phone to arrest him along the border with North Macedonia.

Jharkhand: Kasamuddin Ansari pours petrol on Deepak Soni and sets him ablaze after Soni told Ansari to stop harassing another person

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Kasamuddin Ansari pours petrol on Deepak Soni and sets him ablaze after Soni told Ansari to stop harassing another person

As per reports, a man named Deepak Soni was set ablaze by one Kasamuddin Ansari over a minor discussion in which Deepak advised Kasamuddin not to argue with another person. Kasamuddin was arguing with someone when Deepak Soni, who was standing close, simply remarked, “Why are you fighting?” Kasamuddin lost his calm in this affair, splashed fuel on Deepak Soni and lit him on fire.

According to reports, the incident occurred in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district. Deepak, who drives a car for a livelihood, had gone to park near his uncle’s house in Narhi village after coming from work. At the same time, he noticed a man named Kasamuddin Ansari arguing with someone. When Deepak Soni, who was standing nearby inquired about the cause of the argument and asked Kasamuddin to stop harassing the other person, Kasamuddin became enraged and poured a bottle of petrol on Soni, setting him on fire.

In this attack by Kasamuddin Ansari, Deepak Soni sustained serious injuries. He was admitted to the closest hospital for treatment, but the doctors referred Deepak to Sadar Hospital because of his serious condition. The police arrived at the scene and began their investigation after receiving the information. The accused Kasamuddin runs a grocery shop in his own house. There is tension in the village after the incident.

It is noteworthy that very recently a teen Hindu girl in the Dumka district of Jharkhand was set ablaze by her stalker Shahrukh for refusing his advances. The number of such incidents is apparently on the rise in Jharkhand where the state government is struggling to survive and the chief minister is being accused of having a conflict of interest.

Following the death of two teen girls in Dumka, when JMM MLA from Dumka and chief minister’s brother Basant Soren was asked about the reason for his absence from the district, he said that he was in Delhi to buy his undergarments.

Mufti accuses former Maharashtra govt led by Uddhav Thackeray of supporting terrorists, says, ‘refused support to those who spoke against terrorism’

OpIndia Staff
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Mufti accuses former Maharashtra govt led by Uddhav Thackeray of supporting terrorists, says, ‘refused support to those who spoke against terrorism’

Speaking on The Debate with Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami Friday, Mumbai-based Islamic scholar Mufti Mansoor Ziyaee accused the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray led-Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of colluding with Mumbai-based terrorist organisations. The Sufi scholar added that the former Maharashtra government has never supported those who have spoken against terrorism.

The panel on Republic TV was debating the recent controversy over the grave beautification of Yakub Memon, the convicted terrorist in the 1993 Mumbai bombings case when Mufti Mansoor Ziyaee levelled some serious allegations against the erstwhile Shiv Sena government in the state. He accused accusing it of extending support to ‘anti-national forces’ and using Muslims only as a vote bank. 

At around 25.00-minutes into the debate, he said, “the previous MVA government used to work with all the terrorist organisations. They refused to support those who spoke against terrorism. Everybody in the world knows that I always speak against terrorism.

“I say this with full responsibility that the kind of atmosphere the MVA has created both in the state, as well as the country, needs to be looked into. These people have made it difficult for us to live, for people like us who always speak against terrorism, that is how MVA removed our security. They use us Muslims as a vote bank, just to get votes. These people are supporting the anti-nationals, who are breaking the unity of this Nation. Because of them, we face problems in the country,” the Islamic scholar added.

During the show, the media outlet also revealed photos of Yakub Memon’s kin Rauf Memon with several MVA government ministers. In the pictures, Rauf Memon is seen meeting NCP’s Nawab Malik and Aslam Shaikh of Congress. While Malik was the Minority Affairs Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, Shaikh handled the portfolios of Ports, Fisheries and Textiles.

Rauf allegedly threatened a former trustee of the Juma Masjid Of Bombay Trust on behalf of Tiger Memon to construct a permanent Yakub grave, failing which he would be ‘made to disappear.’

Uddhav Thackeray govt accused of glorifying 1993 Mumbai bomb blast convict Yakub Memon

On September 7, a political controversy erupted after BJP leader Ram Kadam shared images of the grave of the Islamic terrorist at Mumbai’s Bada Qabrastan, saying that the terrorist’s grave was beautified when the MVA government was in power. He had added that the leaders of the MVA alliance parties, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of India for allowing a convicted terrorist and traitor’s grave to be glorified.

Since the photographs surfaced, the former Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has been under fire for beautifying the tomb of terrorist Yakub Memon.

Who was Yakub Memon? 

Yakub Memon was convicted for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts and was sentenced to death. In 2015, the death sentence was carried out after his mercy petition was rejected. He was buried on July 30, 2015, at Bada Cemetery in South Mumbai. Yakub was the only convict awarded the death penalty. An attempt is now being made to turn Yakub’s grave into a tomb. LED lights have reportedly been put on this marble-covered grave. It is guarded 24 hours a day.

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