Shimon Hayut, the con man presented in Netflix’s new documentary “The Tinder Swindler,” has been removed from the dating app Tinder as per reports. The documentary, directed by Felicity Morris, was released on Netflix on February 2. Shimon Hayut, who swindled many women on the popular dating app Tinder, is the subject of the series.
Tinder confirmed in a statement to Variety on Friday that “we have conducted internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is no longer active on Tinder under any of his known aliases.
The users of the popular dating app can no longer swipe right on Shimon Hayut, also known as “Simon Leviev”, a common who poses as the billionaire son of a Russian-Israeli diamond magnate and lured multiple women by providing them with lavish gifts, flying them by private jet to luxury hotels around the world and expressing his love—then asking them to send him money, frequently telling them that his life was in grave peril from his “enemies”.
Describing him as “Prince of Diamonds”, Hayut asked women to take out their American Express credit cards and pestered them to increase their spending limits and borrow him cash that he never repaid.
Shimon is an Israeli convicted criminal. He met several women using dating apps, then set up credit and debt lines in their names, leaving them with the payments. He is accused of duping women into believing his identity was “Simon Leviev” and that he was the son of Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev before defrauding them for millions of dollars.
While Tinder has now banned him, he still has an Instagram account with over 200,000 followers, according to Variety. Hayut stated in an Instagram post on Friday that he was prepared to present his version of the tale. However, when Variety visited his Instagram profile on Friday afternoon, it was marked as “no longer available.”
“The Tinder Swindler” premiered on Netflix on Wednesday, and Variety reported on Friday that Netflix is in discussions with producers about turning the documentary into a feature film.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the decades-old litigation regarding the Manikonda Jagir land in favour of the state government saying that ‘all the lands are held with the state government only’. The Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board had claimed the ownership of 1,654.32 acres of Manikonda village and had said that the land belonged to Dargah Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali.
The final verdict pronounced by a division bench comprising Justice Hemnath Gupta and Justice V Ramasubramanian provided much-needed relief to several public and private institutes besides individual landowners. The lands in question are situated at Manikonda Jagir Village, Gandipet Mandal of Rangareddy district and value more than Rs 50,000 crore as of today, as per reports.
Settling the old land tussle between Dargah Hazrat Syed Hussain Shah Wali and the State government on the other side, the court observed that all the lands are held with the state government only. It said that the govt had sold some of these lands through e-auction to different individuals, companies and also allotted to various institutions, including Lanco Hills, Jana Chaitanya Housing Pvt Ltd, TNGOS Housing Society, Hyderabad Public Services Cooperative Society, Phoenix, WIPRO, ISB School and Urdu University.
Image via munsifdaily
The dispute came to light when the state government auctioned a portion of land to Lanco Group for establishing an integrated township. Another controversial project, Emaar also came upon the same land. The Court declared that the land would vest with the state and Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) and was free from encumbrance. It further declared a notification issued by the Wakf Board claiming the ownership of the land as invalid.
According to the reports, in the year 1989, the AP Waqf Board had issued a gazette notification showing the 5,506 square yards of land as owned by the Waqf Board authorities. Further, the Waqf Board issued an addendum to the gazette notification in 2006, stating an extent of 1,654.32 acres lands in various survey numbers of Manikonda Jagir, Rajendranagar Mandal as Waqf Lands.
One of the Dargah devotees had also moved to the High Court seeking a declaration that the action of the authorities allotting Waqf Lands to private organisations and individuals as illegal. The government had then filed an appeal before the division bench which set aside the single judge stay order on the lands.
The Telangana government and TSIIC along with the Lanco Hills Technology further moved to the Supreme Court and filed together three Special Leave Petitions (SLP). In the meantime, individual respondents had filed a writ before High Court, claiming that they have purchased land prior to the issuance of gazette notification. Subsequently, a transfer petition in Supreme Court was filed requesting that the judgement may be heard with Lango Hills Technology’s and TSIIC’s SLPs.
The Supreme Court today took into consideration the Jagir Abolition Act and returned the land to the state. The Court also has directed the government to make a cash payment to the jagirs and imams in terms of the commutation regulation, 90 per cent of the gross basic sum referred to in Section 4 of the Commutation Regulation. The arrears shall be calculated and paid to the dargah within six months, it ruled.
“Yogi Adityanath will only win 2022 elections. The entire state will see”, affirmed Munesh Devi, mother of Sachin and relative of Gaurav who were murdered in Kawal during 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. Munesh Devi and Bishen Singh are residents of Malikpura of Meerapur, which is one of the six constituencies of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
On February 6, as team OpIndia gained went to have a conversation with the relatives of Sachin and Gaurav ahead of the UP Assembly Elections, mother Munesh Devi and father Bishen Singh could not hold on their tears and recalled the dreadful murder of their son Sachin and his cousin Gaurav on August 27, 2013.
Sachin and Gaurav, two Jatt brothers were murdered by seven men, named Muzassim, Muzammil, Furquan, Nadeem, Jehangir, Afzaal and Iqbal, triggering one of the biggest communal clashes in Muzzafarnagar killing at least 60 and leaving around 55,000 homeless. The riots that continued for over a month in Muzaffarnagar had severe consequences on the Lok Sabha Elections then, riding the anger of the Jatt community.
The Sessions Court in 2019 had declared the seven accused guilty in Kawal double murder case. They were charged under sections 147, 148, 149, 302 of the IPC. The seven had slaughtered Sachin and his 17-year-old cousin Gaurav by hitting with rods and had brutally crushed their faces with heavy stones.
Sachin’s family at Malikpura includes his parents accompanied by two of his uncles, Tajinder Singh and Prahlad Singh. As Munesh Devi controlled her emotions and wiped the tears off her face, Tajinder Singh spoke to Opindia and said that the two of their sons were severely beaten and there was no place left on their bodies where they had not been tortured. “They (murderers) hit them, tied their hands and legs with rope and took out a full procession in the village. Nobody came to help. By the time we were informed, the two had already stopped breathing”, he stated.
Munesh Devi added that they were clueless about what had exactly happened. Both of their kids were murdered. “Our brains had stopped working. We could not think of anything. We had lost our sons”, she said adding that since Yogi government has come to power in Uttar Pradesh, there is enhanced security and respect for law and order. “Now the hooligans are afraid of threatening, abusing the girls. They now know that the Yogi government will not spare those who create nuisance in the society”.
‘No better UP CM than Yogi Adityanath’-
In 2013, according to Prahlad Singh, the Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav had set the grounds open for criminals and thugs to pester the civilians, making their normal life miserable. Prahlad Singh, the eldest of three in Sachin’s family said that during SP’s regime, people feared to even roam around in the village. “The village had become a bad place for our daughters and our women. They were not at all safe”, he said.
He added that since Yogi Adityanath’s government has come to power, there has been a lot of development. “Yogi Aditynath has made massive progress in last 5 years in Uttar Pradesh. The most important change we’ve noticed is regarding peace in the state. Now nobody dares to disturb and destroy the peace for civilians”, he said. Munesh Devi also agreed and affirmed that Uttar Pradesh is a better place now for women under Yogi Adityanath’s government. “Hooliganism, kidnapping, theft, dacoity are all over”, she added.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate of Meerapur Prashant Gurjar also joined in the conversation and said to OpIndia that the entire Jatt community is in support of the law and order. “Yogi Adityanath has a different law altogether and it is appreciated by everyone in the Jatt community”, he said. “The ballot fight in Meerapur is not between SP’s Chandan Chauhan and BJP’s Prashant Gurjar, it is between Akhilesh Yadav and Yogi Adityanath. People know that if Akhilesh Yadav led government powers again, they will have to face the bad days”, he affirmed.
Meerapur BJP candidate Prashant Gurjar (extreme left) with Sachin’s father (Center)
Samajwadi Party led govt had pressurized the Police to arrest Sachin’s family-
The family of Sachin and Gaurav are still fighting the case after the families of the seven culprits had said that they would approach the High Court in 2019. Munesh Devi said that the Akhilesh Yadav led government had pressurised the Police to arrest father and uncles of Sachin. “Even father and another relative of Gaurav were trapped. Total 6-7 members of our family were unnecessarily arrested. The police and the government knew that we were innocent”, she stated.
On August 27, 2013, Gaurav and Sachin had tharashed one Shahanawas because he was harassing their sister. Later the duo were slaughtered by seven Muslims in front of the entire village. The family says that the law and order situation in the area was in tatters. “The Panchayat and the police were managed by the Samajwadi Party led govt who tortured our family after our own sons were killed. Now we don’t have anything to do with Muslims here. Earlier we maintained relations of brotherhood with them. But now we don’t care about the Muslim community”, she said.
She and her family reaffirmed that the most important development undertaken by Yogi Adityanath government is that of advancement in law and order. “There definitely is caste equation to some extent but there’s no division among the Jatt community. Yogi’s government will definitely come to power again. Everybody will see”, she said.
Meerapur Assembly constituency is one of the 403 constituencies of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. It is a part of the Muzaffarnagar district and one of the five assembly constituencies in the Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency. Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh from February 10 to March 7 in seven phases. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on March 10.
On Tuesday (February 8), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to claim that protestors cannot stall the economy under the garb of democratic rights. The development comes two days after the Mayor of Ottawa declared a state of emergency over ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests in the Canadian capital city.
In a tweet, he said, “Canadians have the right to protest, to disagree with their government, and to make their voices heard. We’ll always protect that right. But let’s be clear: They don’t have the right to blockade our economy, or our democracy, or our fellow citizens’ daily lives. It has to stop.”
Justin Trudeau vowed that the Canadian government will do everything necessary to bring the situation under control. He emphasised, “So far, hundreds of RCMP officers have been mobilized to support the Ottawa Police Services. We’re also working with municipal partners to further strengthen our response, and we’ll continue to be there with whatever resources are needed to get the situation under control.”
So far, hundreds of RCMP officers have been mobilized to support the Ottawa Police Services. We’re also working with municipal partners to further strengthen our response, and we’ll continue to be there with whatever resources are needed to get the situation under control.
On January 29 this year, a convoy of 2700 trucks had entered Ottawa to protest against the ‘undemocratic’ Covid-19 policies of Justin Trudeau including mandatory vaccination for truckers entering Canada through the US-Canada border. Dubbed the ‘Freedom convoy’, it has amassed support from all sections of the public including prominent people like Donald Trump Jr, Joe Rogan and comedian Russel Brand.
Justin Trudeau had supported anti-farm law protests in India
In December 2020, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to interefere in the internal decision-making process of the Indian government in what appeared like a bid to appease the Khalistani elements in Canada. When the ‘farmer protestors’ began agitating against the democratically passed farm laws, he and his Ministers expressed ‘concern’ over the protests.
Trudeau had said, “I would be remiss if I didn’t start also by recognizing the news coming out of India about the protests by farmers. The situation is concerning. And we all are very worried about family and friends; I know that’s a reality for many of you. Let me remind you.”
He further claimed, “Canada will always be ready to defend the right to peaceful protest. We believe in the importance of dialogue and that’s why we reached out to multiple means directly to Indian authorities to highlight our concerns.”
This was despite the fact that the anti-farm law protestors had caused economic loss to the tune of ₹70000 crores. According to the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), the huge economic loss was caused in the December quarter of 2020 due to disruptions in the supply chains particularly in the states of Punjab and Haryana and the bordering areas of the national capital.
Sanjay Aggarwal, President PHDCCI, had then remarked, “The 36 days farm agitation so far has led to more than Rs 70,000 crore economic loss in the Q3 FY 2020-2021 due to… disruption in supply chains and day-to-day economic activities particularly in the progressive states of Punjab and Haryana and border areas of National capital Delhi”.
However, Justin Trudeau, who had endorsed the farmer protests in 2020, is now complaining about the economic blockade in Ottawa caused by those protesting against his government’s vaccine mandates.
While West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is busy campaigning for the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav before the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari warned Uttar Pradesh voters not to fall Mamata Banerjee’s false rhetorics. He reminded the voters that the lady on a “propaganda peddling tour” has “blood on her hand.”
It may be noted that Mamata Banerjee is on a two-day visit to Uttar Pradesh to extend her support to Samajwadi Party in the upcoming assembly elections. “Akhilesh Yadav has invited me to go there and to campaign for SP. We (TMC) want BJP to be defeated and Akhilesh to win Uttar Pradesh. All of us should support him in the fight against the BJP. That is the reason we have decided not to contest in Uttar Pradesh this time,” Banerjee, also the TMC president, told reporters before leaving for Lucknow.
Suvendu Adhikari shares videos of horrific atrocities unleashed on people by TMC goons after WB polls
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, meanwhile, shared horrific videos of brutal atrocities inflicted by TMC goons during WB post-poll violence to caution UP voters not to fall for hollow words of ‘tyrant’ Mamata Banerjee. The BJP leader Tweeted on February 8: “I would like to remind the respectable people of UP, that, the lady on propaganda peddling tour preaching democratic values, has blood on her hands. Blood of 55 @BJP4Bengal karyakartas including WB Vidhan Sabha election candidate Manas Saha. History would depict her as a tyrant.”
She unleashed such terror that lakhs of Bengali Hindus fled their homes. Those couldn’t, got beaten up. Many of them haven’t returned back yet out of fear. Their properties got looted or destroyed. Homes burnt. Women raped & molested. Please don’t get swayed by her hollow words.
— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) February 8, 2022
Requesting voters of Uttar Pradesh not to get swayed by her “hollow words”, Suvendu Adhikari added: She unleashed such terror that lakhs of Bengali Hindus fled their homes. Those couldn’t, got beaten up. Many of them haven’t returned back yet out of fear. Their properties got looted or destroyed. Homes burnt. Women raped & molested. Please don’t get swayed by her hollow words.”
To back up his assertion, the BJP leader shared a few videos in a Tweet thread. In the first video, a brutally injured man is seen lamenting how he was beaten by TMC goons for supporting the BJP in the West Bengal polls in 2021.
— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) February 8, 2022
Another video released by Suvendu Adhikari shows a woman being forced to do sit-ups while holding both ears as a punishment for not following the Trinamool Congress’s ideologies and instead, expressing support for the BJP party in the state.
Similarly, the BJP leader provided many more recordings showing TMC goons, emboldened by their supremo Mamata Banerjee’s support, subjecting BJP workers and supporters to grave human rights violations following the 2021 West Bengal elections.
— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) February 8, 2022
Suvendu Adhikari, in particular, is one of several BJP leaders who have vociferously spoken out against the unprecedented wave of violence directed towards BJP workers and supporters, who were allegedly brutally murdered, prosecuted, and raped by Trinamool Congress leaders and workers after the state’s elections.
Post poll violence in Bengal
Notably, following the announcement of the results in May 2021, post-poll violence has become a recurring theme in Bengal news. The state has reported a slew of incidents of violence against political opponents. More than two dozen BJP workers were killed in the post-election violence that erupted following the TMC party’s victory in the assembly elections.
Many victims, over the course of months, have come forward to share their harrowing stories of the barbarism perpetrated on them by the goons belonging to the Trinamool Congress Party. On July 26 2021, OpIndia editor-in-chief Nupur J Sharma spoke with Ritu, a victim of TMC atrocities, unleashed in West Bengal following the party’s assembly election triumph on May 2. She had described her anguish as well as the helplessness of victims in the state due to police apathy.
The CBI had taken over the investigations on the orders of a five-judge panel of the Calcutta High Court, which on August 19, tasked the agency with a court-monitored probe into the innumerable murder and rape instances reported during West Bengal’s post-poll rioting which occurred in the aftermath of West Bengal Assembly elections in the month of May 2021.
On Tuesday, February 8, Congress MPs created a ruckus and stormed out of the Upper House while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was replying to Motion of Thanks on President’s address in Rajya Sabha.
“We’ve walked out of the PM Speech on Motion of Thanks because instead of speaking on President’s Address he accused Congress,” Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge stated justifying his party MP’s disrespectful action.
Congress MPs walk out of Rajya Sabha as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in the House.
Mallikarjun Kharge says, “We’ve walked out of the PM Speech on Motion of Thanks because instead of speaking on President’s Address he accused Congress.” pic.twitter.com/8NL6vHabyZ
PM Modi’s lashes out at Congress during his reply to Motion of Thanks on President’s address in Rajya Sabha
During the reply to Motion of Thanks on President’s address in Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at opposition leaders who enjoyed presenting a disappointing picture of India in the house. He said, “Some colleagues presented a disappointing picture of the country in the house. It felt like they were enjoying those moments. When I see such disappointed people, I feel ups and downs are part of public life. Winning and losing is also part of life. However, the disappointment that you are feeling after defeat should not be imposed on the country.”
He spoke on how some opposition leaders are still stuck in the past. He added it does not matter on which side the leader is sitting. He can be with the ruling party or the opposition. However, that does not mean he become a disappointed leader and lose the will to lead. He further urged the opposition leaders not to lose the will to work.
On Tuesday (February 8), Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress and Opposition parties for fuelling vaccine hesitancy in India. He made the remarks during his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha.
PM Modi said, “A few leaders of some political parties have shown immaturity in the last 2 years which has disappointed the nation. We have seen how games have been played due to political selfishness. Campaigns were done against Indian vaccines.”
He added that leaders must work for the people, irrespective of their political affiliations. “The mindset that being in the Opposition means stop working towards solving people’s issues is wrong,” he pointed out.
Congress and Opposition parties fuelled ‘vaccine hesitancy’ in India
At a time when Covid-19 cases were on the rise, we had witnessed how the Congress ecosystem and other Opposition parties had tried to derail the ongoing vaccination drive. While some opposed vaccination programme to turn around their political fortunes, others targetted the vaccine manufacturers in a bid to demoralise them. One of the strategies employed by them was discrediting the indigenous Covaxin vaccine, developed by Bharat Biotech. The government had approved its emergency use in the month of January 2021.
Using this as the primary tool for propaganda, Congress leaders such as Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, and Chhattisgarh health Minister TS Singh Deo trivialised the vaccination drive altogether. This is despite the fact that Covishield (developed by Oxford-Astrazeneca) and manufactured by Serum Institue of India (SII) was primarily used until Covaxin completed the third phase trials (with 81% efficacy). Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav had gone even a step further to claim that he could not trust ‘BJP’s vaccine’. He claimed that he would only get vaccinated when his government is formed after the next election.
PM Modi speaks about government initiatives to fight Covid-19
During his speech in the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi highlighted the initiatives taken by the BJP government at the Centre to provide relief to people amidst the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. He pointed out that a total of 23 meetings were conducted with the Chief Ministers of States on the issue since the outbreak of Covid-19.
He informed that the Indian government provided free ration to 80 crore people and set an example of welfarism before the world. PM Modi said that the government focussed on infrastructure projects to generate jobs during the pandemic. He pointed out that record number of houses were built, which were equipped with tap water connections. He said that more than 5 crore rural families were impacted under the ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme.
He said that a conscious decision was taken to avoid lockdowns in rural areas and impacting the lives of farmers. As such, MSMEs and agriculture sector has been generating emploment opportunities on a large scale. While speaking about the vaccination programme, he said that the government is working towards achieving 100% vaccination.
PM Modi applauded the discipline and willpower of 130 crore people since the outbreak of the pandemic. He appreciated the people’s response to Covid-19 jabs amidst global vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax campaigns. While talking about the job market, he pointed out record trends in hiring in IT sector wherein 27 lakh jobs were generated. At the same time, he said that India built unicorn companies in 1 year equalivelnt to total unicorns in India till date.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused to grant any relief to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan who was seeking interim bail to campaign in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh State Assembly Elections. Justice L Nageswara Rao-led bench asked Khan to approach Allahabad HC and requested the High Court to decide the case expeditiously.
Supreme Court refuses to grant any relief to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan who was seeking interim bail to campaign in upcoming #UttarPradeshElections. SC asks Azam Khan to approach concerned court with his plea. pic.twitter.com/XfozRnyuVs
Azam Khan has been fielded from Rampur constituency and had moved to the apex court on January 22 to seek interim relief for poll campaigns. In his plea he had alleged that the Yogi Adityanath led government had purposely delayed three criminal cases to ensure that he is incarcerated during the assembly elections.
He also had said that he had acquired bail in all other cases against him but was not able to secure relief in three criminal cases. According to reports, Khan has more than 84 cases lodged against him and is in Sitapur jail since February 2020.
Recently, Azam Khan’s son who was booked under 43 cases was granted bail, after 23 months of imprisonment. “The oppression will end on March 10”, he had said taking a dig at the Yogi-led government.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Keshav Prasad Mourya sharply criticised the Samajwadi Party for its criminal mindset. Mourya said that SP will not win from Manipuri and from Rampur. “Both Akhilesh and Azam khan will lose their seats. Those sitting in jails dream of winning assembly elections. Every vote for BJP means sending a goon behind the jail. Samajwadi Party will be Samaptawadi Party after March 10”, he was quoted.
It is pertinent to note that SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav is all set to contest UP Assembly polls from Manipuri constituency and Azam Khan will contest from Rampur. Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh from February 10 to March 7 in seven phases. The counting of the votes and the results will be declared on March 10.
On February 8, during the reply to Motion of Thanks on President’s address in Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at opposition leaders who enjoyed presenting a disappointing picture of India in the house. He said, “Some colleagues presented a disappointing picture of the country in the house. It felt like they were enjoying those moments. When I see such disappointed people, I feel ups and downs are part of public life. Winning and losing is also part of life. However, the disappointment that you are feeling after defeat should not be imposed on the country.”
Speaking on how some opposition leaders are still stuck in the past, he said, “There is a saying in Gujarati. ‘When fields are green, and someone accidentally loses his eyes after seeing those green fields, he remembers the same scene for the rest of his life.’ Those who spent their lives in worse infrastructure and rule till 2013 and lost their vision after the countrymen spread the light with change in power, they are still stuck in those old days.”
He added it does not matter on which side the leader is sitting. He can be with the ruling party or the opposition. However, that does not mean he become a disappointed leader and lose the will to lead. He said, “I want to say something in this house. It does not matter where you are sitting. However, if someone is representing people, he is the leader of his constituency. The people of his command area look upon him. They follow him. It is not right to feel disappointed and lose the will to work if you are in opposition. No matter where you are if you are representing people, you are their leader. If a leader feels disappointed, how will the country function? Are you going to work only if you are in power? It does not work like that.”
He further urged the opposition leaders not to lose the will to work. He said, “You should not be disappointed. The area where you rule might have shrunk, but you still have a responsibility towards the people of your constituency.” He added, “It does not matter who is in power. No one should underestimate the strength of the country. We should promote the strength of the country in front of the world. The country needs that.”
It is an open secret that Charanjit Singh Channi’s selection as a preferred Chief Ministerial candidate for Punjab owes to the Congress’ ambition of wooing Dalit voters in the upcoming assembly elections. In the just-before-elections change of guard that transpired, veteran Captain Amrinder Singh lost his chair; thanks to his stronghold in Punjab posing a direct threat to the depleting hegemony of the Gandhis in the Congress party. Amidst a barrage of speculations for the new face – underlined by rife within the Punjab Congress leadership, ‘Charanjit Singh Channi’ rose to the highest seat from nowhere.
Among the frontrunners in the chief ministerial race were Navjot Singh Sidhu (A Jatt Sikh also famous as a former cricketer), Sunil Jakhar (Congress’ Hindu face in the Hindu-minority state) and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa (strong face against the Badals). However, even before Channi could play to the galleries, he was painted the state’s first Dalit Chief Minister. Since the elevation of Channi as a CM six months before the upcoming elections, Congress is going all guns blazing about championing Dalit politics all over the country.
It’s great that for the first time in the country, a Congress candidate (Charanjit Singh Channi) will be from the Dalit community (for CM). Punjab public will accept it, too, as he’s a common man who does good work. Rahul Gandhi has given a good message: Mallikarjun Kharge pic.twitter.com/u9wfBJI1Tn
Today, the Former Congress Leader of Opposition in Loksabha, Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that it is for the first time in the country that a Congress candidate will be from the Dalit community as Chief Minister. While it is true that Charanjit Singh Channi rose up to become the first Dalit Chief Minister in Punjab, the party itself has had Dalit faces as Chief Ministers including Bhola Paswan Shastri and Ram Sundar Das in Bihar, Sushil Kumar Shinde in Maharashtra and Jagannath Pahadia in Rajasthan among others. This time, pertaining to a large 31.9% population of backward castes in the state of Punjab, Congress thinks it has secured a large share of the Dalit vote bank with Channi as the CM face.
However, looking back at the track record of earlier Dalit Chief Ministers representing Congress, there’s much reason for Charanjit Singh Channi to chart the forward path with extreme caution. When Damodaram Sanjeevaiah was made the first Dalit Andhra Pradesh CM in 1960, his tenure lasted not more than two years. In a similar case, when Jagannath Pahadia became the first Dalit chief minister of Rajasthan in 1980, his term, ended within a year. The same was the case with Bhola Prasad Shastri too, whose term as the first Dalit Chief Minister of Bihar lasted only for three months because the Congress party lost the majority in the Bihar assembly. But Channi’s case bears the most striking resemblance with that of Sushil Kumar Shinde of Maharashtra.
Sushil Kumar Shinde’s political journey in Maharashtra serves as a cautionary tale for Charanjit Singh Channi
Sushil Kumar Shinde, who hailed from a family of cobblers, rose up to become the first Dalit Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2003. Similar to what happened in Punjab Congress in 2021, factionalism within the Maharashtra Congress leader cropped up a year before the state assembly elections in 2004. Vilasrao Deshmukh, a popular face from the majority Maratha community had to release his chair even after being a five-time MP and a leader who won a state assembly election in 1999 with the highest margin. He made way for Sushil Kumar Shinde, a Gandhi family loyalist. Shinde was selected as a Chief Minister of Maharashtra by Sonia Gandhi who thought of playing a Dalit card before the next assembly elections. The selection of Shinde was also a trickle-down effect of Mandal politics that played out at the Centre more than a decade earlier, in the 1990s.
Nonetheless, after the elections, the Democratic front aka the Aghadi alliance between Congress, NCP and communist parties got the majority seats with the highest number of (71) seats bagged by Sharad Pawar’s NCP. With NCP racking up more seats than the Congress, the dynamics of the alliance as agreed upon by the coalition partners altered significantly. Consequently, in place of Shinde, who was then the incumbent chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh was sworn in to the office of CM in October 2004. Shinde, who had stewarded the storm-tossed ship of Congress in the tumultuous months before the all-important 2004 assembly polls, was replaced by Vilasrao Deshmukh after the party once again found itself in a formidable position in Maharashtra.
From being ‘appointed’ as a chief minister to govern a state amidst crisis to being hailed as the ‘Dalit’ face of the party, there are glaring similarities between what Congress did with Sushil Kumar Shinde and what is playing out with Channi today. Perhaps, there are lessons for the latter to examine the authority and honour given by the Congress to their Dalit Chief Ministers. In the forthcoming elections in Punjab, if the grand-old party manages to retain power, it will not be a surprise if Channi meets the same fate as Sushil Kumar Shinde did after the Maharashtra assembly elections in 2004 and is defenestrated from the office of CM to accommodate the demands of competing factions within the party.
The state of Punjab will go on assembly elections on February 20, 2021, in a single phase with current CM Charanjit Singh Channi contesting two seats of Chamkaur Sahib and Barnala.
