Home Blog Page 3102

Bihar: RJD MLA Saud Alam refuses to stand up for Vande Mataram in the assembly, says ‘India is not a Hindu nation’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bihar: RJD MLA Saud Alam refuses to stand up for Vande Mataram in the assembly, says ‘India is not a Hindu nation’

A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker refused to respect “Vande Mataram” in the Bihar assembly, stirring up controversy over the song. The incident took place on Thursday 30th June 2022, the last day of the monsoon session of the Bihar legislative assembly. RJD MLA Saud Alam stood up for the national anthem Jana Gana Mana but did not stand up for the national song Vande Mataram. He tried to justify his action by saying that it is a Hindu song and the country has not become a Hindu nation yet.

Thursday was the last day of the Bihar Legislative Assembly’s monsoon session. When the proceedings were over, all MLAs, including CM Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav, stood up for the national song Vande Mataram, with the exception of one MLA Saud Alam from Lalu Yadav’s party Rashtriya Janata Dal. Saud Alam is an MLA from the Thakurganj constituency. His refusal to stand up while Vande Mataram was being played in the Bihar legislative assembly sparked a controversy.

When all the members came out of the assembly hall, journalists asked him why he didn’t respect the National Song. Saud Alam defended his action saying that India is not a Hindu nation yet. He said, “Vande Mataram is not our national anthem. Our national anthem is Jana Gana Mana, and that’s why I did not stand.” Sanjay Kumar Singh, a Bihar BJP MLA, chastised Alam and stated that such behavior would not be accepted. Singh told reporters that the RJD MLA had disrespected national heroes by refusing to stand in honor of Vande Mataram. He further stated that such persons are unneeded in the legislature.

This is not the first time an RJD leader disrespected Vande Mataram. Previously, prominent RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui stated that reciting Vande Mataram violated his religious convictions. Siddiqui went on to say that individuals who believe in a single God will never sing Vande Mataram.

SC judges blame Nupur Sharma for the Udaipur beheading by Islamists: Read how one of the killers had paid to buy 2611 number for his bike

OpIndia Staff
-
0
SC judges blame Nupur Sharma for the Udaipur beheading by Islamists: Read how one of the killers had paid to buy 2611 number for his bike

In the latest development in the brutal Udaipur beheading case, reports have emerged that one of the prime accused Mohammed Riyaz Akhtar had paid Rs 5000 to buy a customised number 2611 for his bike.

The two Islamists had used this bike to escape the scene after carrying out the ISIS-style execution of the Hindu man Kanhaiya Lal on June 28. As per reports, the bike with the 2611 number belongs to Mohammad Riyaz. The number was purchased several years ago in 2013.

The number 2611 denotes the 26th of November, the day when Ajmal Kasab and other Pakistani terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba had unleashed mayhem in Mumbai in the year 2008.

Accused Islamists were obsessed with the number 2611, the day Pakistan-backed terrorists carried out the Mumbai terror attacks

According to reports, Mohammed Riyaz Akhtar was obsessed with the 26/11 date and had spent Rs 5,000 for purchasing the special number for his bike.

With this revelation, one can clearly understand how radicalised these Islamists must have been to choose a number to coincide with the date that Pakistani-backed terrorists had chosen to carry out one of the worst terror attacks in the history of India.

Besides, earlier in the day, OpIndia also reported how the inquiry has thus far revealed that Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Gaus, who had released a video gloating about Kanhaiya Lal’s beheading, were not responsible for the massacre alone. They were part of a group that included more than a dozen other Islamists. For a very long time, these Islamists discussed the news of the Hindu-Muslim conflict on their social media group. They had been preparing to accomplish something significant for a while. Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Gaus envisioned creating an Islamic State in India, similar to ISIS. Both accused admitted to regularly watching ISIS and Taliban videos.

They considered Hindus as ‘kaafirs’ (infidels), and their sole purpose in carrying out this beheading was to terrorize Hindus. Post Nupur Sharma’s remark, when Islamists started unleashing mayhem in several parts of the nation, the accused saw it as an opportunity to become a hero of their religion. They thought Kanhaiya Lal would be the easiest target given his response to Nupur Sharma’s remark.

Notably, the Kanhaiya Lal murder case had been taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after a Pakistan link emerged. During a press conference on Wednesday, Director General of Police (DGP) ML Lather confirmed that one of the two accused, Ghouse Mohammad, who carried out the brutal murder of a tailor in Udaipur has links with Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and had visited Karachi in 2014.

Republic TV had also quoted sources as saying that the accused allegedly visited Karachi twice and spent about 45 days in the Islamic country before returning to India and carrying out the heinous murder.

SC judges blame Nupur Sharma’s ‘loose tongue’ for the brutal beheading of Kanhaiya Lal by two fanatic Islamists

Given that all of this information is available on the public forum, judges of the Supreme Court of India blaming ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for the brutal Udaipur murder are being criticised by social media users.

As per reports, Nupur Sharma had moved the SC seeking the transfer of all the FIRs registered against her, across several states to Delhi for further investigation. Sharma, in her application, stated that she is facing constant life threats.

The judges of the apex court, surprisingly, had placed all the blame on Nupur Sharma and her ‘loose tongue’ over the remarks on Prophet Muhammad that were deemed as ‘blasphemy’ by Islamists. The SC judges have lambasted Sharma saying that it was her and her ‘loose tongue’ that has set the entire country on fire and she should apologise to the whole country.

Congress supporter and ‘activist’ calls Nupur Sharma a ‘prostitute’, wishes for her death, Twitter removes the tweet for violating rules

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress supporter and ‘activist’ calls Nupur Sharma a ‘prostitute’, wishes for her death, Twitter removes the tweet for violating rules

Congress supporter and self-proclaimed ‘social activist’ Jyotsna Dhankhar Gulia took to Twitter to call former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma a ‘prostitute’ and wish for her death in the crudest language imaginable.

Ever since Supreme Court Judges blamed Nupur Sharma for the brutal Udaipur murder, and accused her ‘loose tongue’ for setting the entire country on fire, it has set off a new round of hate against Nupur Sharma. Already facing several death and rape threats, Nupur is once again under attack for her comments during a news debate on the Shivling inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure.

Following the comments by the Indian Supreme Court, a Congress leader from Delhi, Mukesh Sharma, commented that as per Supreme Court’s comment Nupur Sharma should apologise to the entire country. The comments that followed that post were full of misogynistic hate against Nupur.

Among the hateful comments that followed, was a comment from the ‘activist’ and Congress supporter Jyotsana Dhankhar Gulia. Jyotsana has shared pics on her Twitter account with Congress leaders like Randeep Surjewala and her participation in the Congress protest against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over their questioning of Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald Scam case.

In her comment, Jyotsna wished for the death of this ‘prostitute’ in crude Hindi, referring to Nupur Sharma.

Screenshot of the tweet (Courtesy @befittingfacts)

When some users found this remark too distasteful and asked police to take a note of it, they were greeted with more crude remarks from Jyotsna.

Going through the Twitter profile of this ‘social activist’, one can see her support for Congress, and her pics with senior Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and Randeep Surjewala, among others.

While she may not find anything wrong with her comment and is continuing to brazen it out, Twitter found it too unpalatable even for their platform and decided to remove her tweet for violating their rules.

However, with Supreme Court Judges blaming Nupur Sharma for the violence across the country and the Udaipur beheading, more people are now likely to say the same line that Jyotsna did in her highly unsavoury tweet.

Gau Mahasabha leader Ajay Gautam files petition with CJI seeking directions to withdraw remarks of Supreme Court judges against Nupur Sharma

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Gau Mahasabha leader Ajay Gautam files petition with CJI seeking directions to withdraw remarks of Supreme Court judges against Nupur Sharma

After a vacation bench of the Supreme Court severely criticised former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma blaming her for the violence by Islamists including the murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur, a petition has been filed pleading to withdraw the remarks. In letter petition sent to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Gau Mahasabha leader Ajay Gautam requested for orders to withdraw the oral remarks made by the judges while rejecting the writ petition of Nupur Sharma to club all FIRs against her and transfer them to Delhi.

In the petition sent to the chief justice, Ajay Gautam has requested the court to issue orders to Justice Surya Kant to withdraw his observations while hearing the petition of Nupur Sharma, so that she gets the chance of a fair trial. He also requested that the comments of Justice Kant should be declared uncalled for.

Ajay Gautam has also petitioned the CJI to issue Su Moto order to transfer all cases against Nupur Sharma to Delhi under Article 20(2) of the constitution, and direction of a fast track trial keeping in mind the threats to her.

Talking to Times Now over the issue, Ajay Gautam said that it was shocking that the judges made the comments when no investigation or any court have decided whether Nupur Sharma is guilty or not. He said that everyone including the judges must follow the rule of the law, and the rule of law does not permit such observations. Saying that it is wrong to blame Nupur Sharma for the violence, he said that this not a healthy sign for Indian judiciary.

The petitioner further said that the observation of the judges by linking Nupur Sharma’s comment with the Udaipur murder justifies the brutal beheading of Kanhaiya Lal, and thereby gives clean chit to the killers justifying their motive of murder.

Earlier in the day, the vacation bench of the Supreme Court of India had shocked people with remarks on Nupur Sharma. While Nupur Sharma is facing death threats from Islamists for allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammad, Justice Surya Kant had actually blamed for the violence unleashed by Islamists across the country, including the brutal beheading of Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur.

The justice had said that she should apologise to the entire nation for the violence by Islamists, because the court deemed that her comments in a TV debate were responsible for the riots and murders. Justice Surya Kant had said, “The way she has ignited emotions across the country… This lady is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country.”

The bench also said that while it is norm to club FIRs when multiple cases are registered for the same offence, Nupur Sharma does not have that right. The court said she had no rights to comment on Prophet Mohammad, and therefore she has lost the judicial right available to common citizens.

However, the oral comments made by the vacation bench was not included in the final order issued by the court. It merely said that the counsellor has been allowed to withdraw the petition. While oral comments have no legal binding, it is also true that even oral comments of Supreme Court judges can influence the lower courts, and therefore the petition has been filed for directions to withdraw them.

Power crisis hits basket-case Pakistan: Telecom operators warn of shutting down mobile, internet services amid power outages

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Power crisis hits basket-case Pakistan: Telecom operators warn of shutting down mobile, internet services amid power outages

On Friday, the Pakistan National Information Technology Board (NITB) warned of shutting down mobile phone services and internet services due to the ongoing power outage in the country.

“Telecom operators in Pakistan have warned about shutting down mobile and internet services due to long hours of power outages nationwide, as the interruption is causing issues and hindrance in their operations,” the NITB said on Twitter.

The statement by the NIBT comes days after Pakistan’s Prime Minister warned of increased electricity load shedding in July as the country failed to clinch a deal for natural gas supply for the month. “Pakistan could not get LNG supply but the coalition govt is trying to make the deal possible”, Shehbaz had said.

The country of Pakistan has been facing an escalation of its power crisis. Also, the country’s monthly fuel oil imports hit a four-year high in June. The country has for the past two years alternating between importing oil and LNG, depending on their prices, to meet its energy requirements.

According to the reports, the LNG tenders were scrapped by the country for July due to high prices. This is not the first time that Pakistan has failed to complete an LNG tender. Earlier also, the state-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd had scrapped a purchase tender for July shipments of LNG after it received the costliest offer ever delivered to the nation.

In an attempt to boost energy conservation, Pakistan’s government has cut working hours for public servants and ordered shopping malls and factories to shut early in various cities, including Karachi. It already has two long-term supply deals with Qatar, the first signed in 2016 for five cargoes a month, and the second in 2021. Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the ‘government is in midst of talks with Qatar about a new five or 10-year LNG supply deal for three monthly cargoes, as well as an additional cargo under an existing deal’.

Reports mention that the main reason for the power outages in Pakistan is a shortage of power and energy sources. This has led to 12-hour long blackouts in several states. Reportedly, adding to the crisis, Inflation has also reached the double-digit mark in July marking the biggest surge in nearly the past six years.

Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders supports Nupur Sharma yet again, says ‘radical intolerant jihadi Muslims’ responsible for Udaipur murder, not her

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders supports Nupur Sharma yet again, says ‘radical intolerant jihadi Muslims’ responsible for Udaipur murder, not her

Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders has again defended former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, saying she is not responsible for anything and should never apologise for speaking the truth about the Islamic prophet. This followed after some judges of the Supreme Court of India deemed the former BJP spokesman ‘responsible’ for the barbaric murder of Hindu man Kanhaiya Lal by two Islamists in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

In a tweet made on Friday, Wilders wrote, “I thought India had no sharia courts. She should never apologize for speaking the truth about #Muhammad. She is not responsible for Udaipur. Radical intolerant jihadi Muslims are responsible and nobody else. NupurSharma is a hero.”

Wilders’ tweet was in response to remarks made by some Supreme Court judges where in they had slammed Nupur Sharma for her ‘loose tongue’ and had held her responsible for the chaos and violence unleashed by radical Islamists over alleged ‘blasphemy’.

Nupur Sharma had petitioned the Supreme Court to have all FIRs lodged against her in different states transferred to Delhi for future investigations. Sharma stated in her application that she constantly faces threats to her life.

Shockingly, the judges of the Supreme Court cited Nupur Sharma’s “loose tongue” as the cause of her remarks on the Prophet Muhammad being deemed “blasphemous” by Islamists. The judges berated Sharma, saying that she was to blame for the chaos unleashed across the country because of her “loose tongue” and that she owed the country an apology.

Geert Wilders, a Dutch legislator who has frequently taken a strong stance against Islamic fanaticism in his country, has already spoken out in favour of Nupur Sharma who was suspended by the BJP for her remarks on the Prophet’s life. Recently in a sequence of tweets, Wilders asserted that Nupur Sharma’s remarks on the Prophet Muhammad are actual facts, not fabrications.

Islamists prodded the Dutch lawmaker to criticise Hinduism days after Geert Wilders extended his support to former BJP spokesman Nupur Sharma. Wilders had responded to the Islamist trolls by saying that he appreciates Hinduism a million times more than he does Islam.

It must be mentioned that the Dutch legislator had received multiple assassination threats for supporting Nupur Sharma. He had shared screenshots of threats sent by Islamists on social media.

One of the threats read, “InshaAllah, a day will come when I will take off your head with my dagger and hang it on the minaret of Pakistan, then we will raise a slogan. Mumtaz Qadri has passed away but the gun is still there. You have no more days.”

Another one read, “You Son of a bitch you will be killed soon. We will make you a sign of fear for people like you till the end of times..” Wilders has maintained that he receives death threats on a daily basis from Pakistani and Turkish Muslims who wish to kill in the name of Prophet Muhammad.

Enforcement Directorate arrests two more aides of Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain in a money-laundering case

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Enforcement Directorate arrests two more aides of Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain in a money-laundering case

Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain was arrested at the end of May by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case. Now two more associates of the AAP leader, Vaibhav Jain and Vikas Jain have been taken into custody by ED after their unsatisfactory responses during questioning.

As per Enforcement Directorate, Ankush and Vaibhav are allegedly among those assisting the Delhi Health Minister in money laundering. Besides them, Naveen Jain and Siddharth Jain (Directors of Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), G S Matharoo (Chairman of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust which runs Prudence Group of Schools), Yogesh Kumar Jain (Director in Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), father-in-law of Ankush Jain and Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust are also on ED radar for assisting Satyendar Jain.

Both Ankush and Vaibhav Jain will be produced in a special ED court later following their arrest.

Earlier, Satyendar Jain was arrested by Enforcement Directorate on 30th May under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) involving a Kolkata-based firm and hawala transactions. On August 25, 2017, the CBI filed an FIR against Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case. Based on this FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the ED initiated a criminal case against the AAP leader, alleging that Jain could not clarify the source of cash received by four firms in which he was a stakeholder. From 2010 to 2014, the firms allegedly laundered Rs 16.39 crores in funds.

According to government sources, Jain surrendered black money in the form of cash worth Rs 16.39 crore, which was laundered through shell companies in Kolkata for the purchase of 200 bighas of land, under the Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS) 2016 on the Benami names of Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain, when questioned by the IT Department.

In the same case, ED had seized 2.85 crores of cash, and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg from Satyendar Jain`s aides during its day-long raid on the 6th of June conducted at various places across National Capital Region.

Following these raids, Satyendar Jain claimed that he has lost his memory after suffering from Covid and he can’t recall the details of the hawala transactions.

Comments against Nupur Sharma made by Supreme Court judges not included in the final order of the court

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Comments against Nupur Sharma made by Supreme Court judges not included in the final order of the court

While rejecting the petition of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma to club a large a number cases filed against her across the country and transfer them to Delhi, the Supreme Court had made several scathing comments against her. While Nupur Sharma is facing death threats from Islamists for allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammad, Justice Surya Kant had actually blamed for the violence unleashed by Islamists across the country, including the brutal beheading of Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur.

But what comes as a minor saving grace for Nupur Sharma, none of the verbal comments against by the Supreme Court has made it to the formal written order. As the vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala refused to admit the plea, the bench had allowed the counsel of Nupur Sharma to withdraw the petition.

Accordingly, an order issued by the court simply says that the counsel of the petitioner had sought to withdraw the plea, and the court permitted the counsel to withdraw the write petition, who may take alternate remedies available under the law. It does not contain any remarks made by the judges during the hearing.

It is notable that as the petition was not admitted in the court, no order was issued by the bench. Instead, the order informing that the petitioner has been allowed withdraw the petition has been issued by the court master.

Earlier in the day, the vacation bench of the Supreme Court of India had shocked people with remarks on Nupur Sharma. The court had said that she should apologise to the entire nation for the violence by Islamists, because the court deemed that her comments in a TV debate were responsible for the riots and murders. Justice Surya Kant had said, “The way she has ignited emotions across the country… This lady is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country.”

The bench also said that while it is norm to club FIRs when multiple cases are registered for the same offence, Nupur Sharma does not have that right. The court said she had no rights to comment on Prophet Mohammad, and therefore she has lost the judicial right available to common citizens.

More people supporting Nupur Sharma were on target of Riyaz and Gaus, were ordered by operators to behead and not shoot: Report reveals chilling facts

OpIndia Staff
-
0
More people supporting Nupur Sharma were on target of Riyaz and Gaus, were ordered by operators to behead and not shoot: Report reveals chilling facts

According to Rajasthan Police authorities quoted in a story by Dainik Bhaskar, it is not clear yet who was instructing Mohammed Riyaz and Mohammed Gaus but the inquiry so far has revealed that many more persons were involved in the gruesome murder and that this murder was organised at the command of someone.

It has also been revealed that the assassins targeted not just Kanhaiya Lal, but also numerous individuals who commented on social media in favour of Nupur Sharma. Their destiny was also decreed to be the same as Kanhaiya Lal’s. The operators who handed on the directions for the crime also trained the killers in this case.

According to the early investigation, the handlers of the murderers had specifically instructed them to not shoot the Hindus who were supporting Nupur Sharma, but to behead them ISIS-style and click a video of it. The aim of this was to create fear and panic amongst the Hindu population with the gruesome imagery of the beheading.

Reportedly, the Bhaskar team also visited the site of SK Engineering, a company where the two had allegedly made the weapons used in the beheading. Mohammad Gaus was a welder and he was the one who reportedly made the weapon. Further, the videos that were shot before and after the murder were taken in this factory itself. Several weapons have been recovered from this factory, according to the Bhaskar report.

Plan to kill a businessman in Udaipur

Early investigations, according to the report, have shown that the murders of Kanhaiya Lal, Mohammed Riyaz, and Mohammed Gaus had intended to kill a businessman in Udaipur who had shared a post on social media supporting Nupur Sharma. On June 7, businessman Nitin Jain admitted to unintentionally sharing a post with Nupur Sharma’s reference. A complaint was also filed against him for disturbing the communal harmony, and he was detained by police.

Since June 9, 7 people were conducting Recce at his establishment on a regular basis. On June 11, these terrorists planned to execute Nitin. However, out of fear, Nitin stopped visiting the shop and moved away from Udaipur to another city.

Bike with number plate 2611

Gaus and Riyaz had arrived on a motorcycle to assassinate Kanhaiya Lal. Interestingly, the bike’s licence plate had the shocking number 2611, the date of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Both had left the bike at a street corner 70 metres away from the shop of Kanhaiya Lal so that they could quickly flee after killing him.

Following the murder, both took the bike and rode it to a garage in Devgarh. Both had intended to stay there, but the garage owner refused. Following that, both of them hopped on the bike and headed towards Ajmer. They intended to escape to Ajmer, but the police apprehended both of them beforehand. The bike is now in police custody.

Disconnected CCTV cameras

Kanhaiya Lal had installed CCTV cameras at his shop 6 days ago. His wife Yashoda told that Kanhaiya Lal was running very upset for the past 15 days. Continuous recce was being done at and near his shop. They were receiving threats every day. It is because of all this, that Kanhaiya Lal got CCTV cameras installed at his shop.

Riyaz and Gaus came to know about this, so they disconnected the connection of CCTV before entering the shop. The CCTV was not operational during the incident.

WhatsApp group to continue killings

During the inquiry, it was discovered that Riyaz and Gauss were on their way to Ajmer to record the third video linked to the assassination. Both intended for the third video to become viral after the murder in order to induce terror. The NIA is investigating where and with whom the two planned to stay in Ajmer.

Riyaz and Gauss had many WhatsApp connections with the youth. They hoped that if the police apprehended them after killing Kanhaiya Lal, other accomplices would continue to kill those who supported Nupur Sharma in the same way, which is why they recorded a video to urge their accomplices before killing Kanhaiya Lal. Riyaz stated in the video that he will be captured, but that the killings should continue.

Once a mistake, twice a pattern, thrice a habit: Rahul Gandhi again avoids sharing images of Hindu Gods as he extends wishes on Rath Yatra

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Once a mistake, twice a pattern, thrice a habit: Rahul Gandhi again avoids sharing images of Hindu Gods as he extends wishes on Rath Yatra

On July 1, Friday, around a million devotees from across the country have congregated at Puri to attend the auspicious Jagannath Rath Yatra after a hiatus of two years owing to the Covid pandemic. People from all walks of life have taken to various social media platforms to wish Hindus whole-heartedly on the occasion of the famous Rath Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath. Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi, too, extended greetings but was ‘careful’ not to share any images of Hindu deities, as usual.

The Gandhi scion’s greeting adhered to his habit of not posting any images of Hindu gods or goddesses while conveying his wishes. In his Tweet posted today morning, Rahul Gandhi included an infographic with the word “Rath Yatra” and a picture of three ’empty’ chariots. As is customary with the Congress leader, Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Balabhadra’s images were absent from the image he used to send his wishes to Hindus celebrating the occasion.

His Tweet, on the occasion of Rath Yatra in Hindi, read, “Hearty greetings to all the countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath Rath Yatra. I wish that this journey filled with reverence and faith brings happiness, prosperity, peace and better health in all your lives. #RathYatra.” It, however, did not have the images of the three Hindu deities to whom the annual festival of Rath Yatra is dedicated.

Rahul Gandhi and his habit of not using images of deities to wish on Hindu festivals

This is, however, not the first time that the Congress leader has avoided sharing any images of Hindu Gods on his social media wishes. On the occasion of Ram Navami in April, Rahul Gandhi had resorted to similar antics. He had posted an infographic that read, “Shree Ram Navami”, pierced by an arrow. Interestingly, the image of Prabhu Ram was missing from the image.

Rahul Gandhi’s Tweet on the occasion of Ram Navami (source: Twitter)

A month prior to this, Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi was caught shaming ‘Hindus’ on the occasion of Saraswati Puja as he politicised the festival by dragging the hijab row.

Rahul Gandhi’s tweet on Saraswati Puja was about promoting Hijab and shaming Hindus on their festival

Last year, the Congress leader had wished his followers on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. He had shared a graphic with the inscription “Ganesh Chaturthi ki hardik shubhkamnaye”. However, one crucial element is missing from the tweet. The image of Lord Ganesh himself.

Image source: Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account

In another instance, Rahul Gandhi had wished Hindus on the occasion of Shri Krishna Janmasthami. However, the image of Bal Gopal or baby Krishna, the deity who is worshipped on the occasion of Janmashtami, was missing.

Rahul Gandhi’s Tweet on last year’s Janmasthami (source: Twitter)

In June last year, Rahul Gandhi’s Ratha Yatra tweet just had the image of Puri Jagannath temple.

Rahul Gandhi’s last year’s Tweet on the occasion of Rath Yatra (Source: Twitter)

Again during Maha Shivarathri, Rahul Gandhi put out an image of the Kailash mountains instead of posting Lord Shiva’s images, or his symbols in his tweet.

Rahul Gandhi’s last year’s Tweet on Mahashivratri (source: Twitter)

The habitual act of Rahul Gandhi to avoid sharing images of Hindu Gods in his tweets has often triggered discussions on social media platforms as to whether it is to ‘appease’ or confirm certain Abrahamic beliefs. Netizens have time and again accused Rahul Gandhi of mistreating Hindus and Hindu festivals and often hinted at a larger plan of Congress leader’s attempt to secularise Hindu festivals.

Many social media users have speculated that Rahul Gandhi is probably inspired by the Abrahamic religions like Islam and Christianity which do not support the existence of numerous gods or the human representation of those gods. In Islam, the representation of idols and gods in human form is prohibited as it is considered ‘haram.’ Most of the tweets by Rahul Gandhi resonate with such beliefs

1...3,1013,1023,103...7,635Page 3,102 of 7,635